Sexuality is a topic that is still fairly taboo in the US entertainment industry. Sure, there have been great strides made over the last decade to shed that silly stigma, but by and large, the films and TV shows created for mass consumption in theaters and network TV tend to shy away from open, honest depictions of any sort of LGBTQ lifestyle. For filmmaker-actress Desiree Akhavan, she found a way around that — go to the UK.
In the new teaser for Akhavan’s comedy series “The Bisexual,” she tackles the issue of bisexuality, and sexuality in general, with honesty…and laughs. She plays a woman that breaks up with her long-term female partner and finds herself exploring her sexuality and what it means to be bisexual. And since the States wouldn’t provide the series’ creator with the freedom she needed to make the series, she teamed up with the UK’s Channel 4. US fans, don’t worry, the series will eventually make its way Stateside thanks to Hulu.
“I don’t think I would have had any of the freedom I had. I was given such a long leash. Between Sister Pictures and Naomi de Pear and Channel 4, it was incredible. They were constantly saying: ‘We want you to take it further.’ They were my enablers. I just feel like I’d never have been able to take the risks that I took if I’d made this show anywhere else,” admits Akhavan (via Deadline).
While the filmmaker, who is best known for her role on “Girls” and her latest directorial effort “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” admits to being a member of the LGBTQ community, she doesn’t claim that anything in “The Bisexual” is autobiographical.
READ MORE: Chloë Grace Moretz In ‘The Miseducation Of Cameron Post’ [Sundance Review]
Akhavan explains, “I’ve never identified as a lesbian and came out as bisexual from the start, but the characters in it are inspired by the people Cecilia and I know and love, so it comes from a very personal place. It’s a look at London and particularly Hackney as we know it.”
“The Bisexual” will hit Channel 4 and Hulu soon.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Bisexual looks at the difference of dating men and women from the perspective of a person who finds herself doing both. It’s an honest look at the last taboo, bisexuality and what it means to refuse to compromise on what you want.