Netflix’s psychological thriller You (2018-present) follows the life of stalker and serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). Throughout the series, Joe will see a woman, fixate on her, and eventually murder her. As his lies and deceptions become harder to hide, his actions become more and more erratic. He is often torn between trying to create a perfect life and blowing that life up. Each season he is in a different milieu and surrounded by a mostly new group of characters.
Season three took Joe to the suburbs of San Francisco with his wife Love (Victoria Pedretti) and their new son. They befriend their power couple neighbors Sherry and Cary Conrad (Shalita Grant and Travis Van Winkle). Sherry is a “momfluencer” and Cary runs a supplement company/cult of masculinity.
Sherry approaches Love about the possibility of the two couples swinging together and they agree to discuss the idea. The incredibly awkward conversation does lead to this incredible moment.
Of course things go south almost immediately, but there was an out bi character for one season. Every aspect of Sherry’s and Cary’s lives was performative, Cary’s bisexuality almost felt like a gimmick. The show has a shortage of characters that really good people and the fact that they are often seen from Joe’s perspective warps them even more.
If you’re looking for a show with great bi characters and representation, this one has fairly little to offer. However the line “Some don’t understand that a bisexual man is a truly optimized man” will continue to be a favorite and in the end Sherry and Cary didn’t turn out to be the worst characters.