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Hot girl summer<\/a> is over. This year, it\u2019s all about the m\u00e9nage \u00e0 trois. Yes, trios have been having a moment across the entertainment landscape this year\u2014from film to scripted TV to reality TV\u2014adding an extra touch of frisson to steamy stories while moving the Overton window for audiences. What is most thrilling is that these new throuples are also marked by power dynamics that may be even more subversive than the sight of three people sharing a kiss at the same time.<\/p>\n Historically in popular culture, threesomes have been a mostly male-dominated enterprise. Frat bro films from the early aughts like EuroTrip<\/em>, Road Trip<\/em>, Old School,<\/em> and American Pie<\/em> positioned threesomes as the pinnacle of male sexual conquest, where the man was in control and the women (it was always one man with two women, often twins) were objects to be pursued and won. Threesomes were sexy punchlines meant to stroke the male ego.<\/p>\n But not anymore. The most explicit threesome in this new era turns that very notion on its head. Netflix\u2019s Bridgerton<\/em> steams things<\/a> up in the latter half of its third season (coincidence?!) with an outrageous and unexpected threesome subplot surrounding the second-oldest Bridgerton brother, Benedict, played by Luke Thompson<\/strong><\/a>. Benedict romances the adventurous widow Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New<\/strong>), only to wind up fooling around with Tilley and her male friend Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio<\/strong>), at Tilley\u2019s request.<\/p>\n Before the excitement picked up on Bridgerton,<\/em> the threesome trend was already in motion thanks to Luca Guadagnino<\/strong>\u2019s Challengers<\/em><\/a> and its central triad, tennis phenoms Art Donaldson (Mike Faist<\/strong>), Patrick Zweig (Josh O\u2019Connor<\/strong>), and Tashi Duncan (Zendaya<\/strong>). The overwhelming sexual tension and ever-changing power dynamics between Art, Patrick, and Tashi set the internet ablaze with Challengers<\/em>-centric throuple memes<\/a> and helped Challengers,<\/em> the rare R-rated film not based on any existing IP, crack into the zeitgeist.<\/p>\n While its protagonists never consummate their three-way relationship as explicitly as the Bridgerton<\/em> crew, the film has plenty of three-way-coded moments, from hotel room hangouts to churros to sauna sessions. And while the film\u2019s ending may have been intentionally ambiguous<\/a>, Guadagnino seems pretty clear as to what happened immediately after the credits rolled. \u201cThey go back to the hotel room,\u201d Guadagnino said to Times<\/em> reporter Kyle Buchanan<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> We all know what happens in hotel rooms.<\/p>\n Naturally, Luke Thompson<\/strong> can see the parallels between his show and Guadagnino\u2019s film. \u201cChallengers<\/em> I\u2019ve seen recently, and I think that was really interesting,\u201d the Bridgerton<\/em> star says in a recent interview with VF.<\/em> \u201cIt\u2019s such an interesting relationship, and the dynamics within it are so interesting.\u201d But he also noted that similar dynamics have been depicted in older stories, like Noel Coward\u2019s 1932 play, Design For Living.<\/em> \u201cYou\u2019re saying [threesomes] are having a moment, but I guess what I\u2019m saying, in terms of Coward, as well, is that they\u2019ve always been there,\u201d says Thompson.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true\u2014but both throuples and polyamory in general have become much more visible in mainstream culture in recent years. In April, The New York Times<\/em> went long on a 20-person polycule<\/a>, unpacking the trials and tribulations of maintaining a massive multiple-person relationship in a post Sam Bankman-Fried<\/strong><\/a> society. New York Magazine<\/em> published its own polyamory-focused issue<\/a> back in January, around the same time that Molly Roden Winter<\/strong>\u2019s More: A Memoir of Open Marriage<\/em><\/a> became a bestseller. Network comedies traditionally known for more wholesome fare have been pushing the envelope this year as well, with CBS sleeper hit sitcom Ghosts<\/em><\/a> showcasing a spooky threesome of its own.<\/p>\n The experiment of dating multiple people at the same time has been a hallmark of reality television since the genre\u2019s invention (see The Bachelor,<\/em> for starters). But an explicit focus on trios and polyamory is relatively new. In February, Peacock debuted a reality show called Couple to Throuple<\/em><\/a> that took four couples new to non-monogamy, introduced them to a host of more experienced singles, and left them with the choice to pursue a relationship as a threesome or return to monogamy. While we\u2019ve seen almost every possible ending for two romantics looking for love on, say, The Bachelorette,<\/em> we\u2019ve never seen a Bachelorette end the show in a relationship with two of her paramours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n