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Netflix recently released a steamy romantic drama. Find out why "Sex/Life" is driving both critics and audiences a different kind of crazy.
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‘Sex/Life’: Why is everyone raving about this Netflix drama?

Move over 365 Days, there’s a new steamy romantic Netflix drama that’s captured the internet’s attention. Stacy Rukeyser & Belle Nuru Dayne based their new hit series Sex/Life on the BB Easton novel 44 Chapter About 4 Men. The show aired on June 24th, and it has captured the imaginations of Netflix viewers all around the world.

The series follows the sex life of its protagonist Billie. Netflix has described the premise for the show as being “a suburban mother of two takes a fantasy-charged trip down memory lane that sets her very married present on a collision course with her wild-child past”. The eight-episode show is filled with rising drama and erotic scenes as Billie tries to navigate her reemerging desires.

The show failed to impress critics, but audiences are eating it up. Read on to find out why fans are so entranced by Sex/Life.

Meet Billie

Sarah Shahi (The L Word and Fairly Legal) plays Billie Connelly, a former Columbia University psychology Ph.D. candidate. Billie is married to investment banker Cooper Connelly, played by Mike Vogel (Under the Dome and Secret Obsession). When Billie has a run-in with her ex-boyfriend Brad Simon (Adam Demos), she starts longing for her more sexually exciting younger days.

Now a housewife raising two children, Billie decides to turn her memories into writing. When her husband happens upon what she’s written, he decides to use the ideas he finds to spice up the couple’s sex life. Meanwhile, Brad decides that he wants to win Billie back all these years later, and as the show plays out the rivalry between Brad & Cooper heats up.

Impressing different crowds

Critics were unamused with the sexy exploits of Sex/Life. The show earned a two-star review from The Guardian, which called its plot “sparse and almost criminally silly”. Buzzfeed’s Scaachi Koul called it “the worst show I have ever seen”. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show sits at thirty-one percent. The critic consensus describes the show’s writing as “melodramatic” and “too obsessed with sex to ever fully come to life”.

The poor critical reception hasn’t stopped audiences from tuning into Netflix’s newest drama. Legitimate critiques aside, no one is watching Sex/Life for the writing. The “steamy interludes” that critics have bashed are exactly the content Sex/Life fans are looking for, and there’s no shortage of it throughout the show.

One scene, in particular, has really caught the internet’s attention. In the show’s third episode, Cooper & Brad share a shower at the gym (because of course, they do), and Brad gives the camera a full-frontal shot. Adam Demos said he didn’t mind getting explicit for the show because, “you read the script and know what you’re getting yourself into from the start”. He also insisted the show’s sexy scenes “drive the story and the characters”.

Hello, internet

Obviously, Sex/Life is getting a lot of attention online. Some people are voicing complaints about the story’s ending, but most are just enjoying window shopping.

There’s more than nostalgia that can make you long for the past.

Don’t worry, we all showed up for the plot. Yeah.

Is this really the time to be examining a character’s logic?

It’s easy to criticize Netflix, but we all keep showing up.

Let’s just say the ending was polarizing, at the very least.

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Are you watching Sex/Life on Netflix? Did you have a favorite episode? We’ve got a pretty good guess what it is, but tell us what you really think in the comments!

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Gabran Gray grew up in & around Sioux City, Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in English (and more). He now lives and writes in Omaha, Nebraska with his wife and their mean cat.

ggray@filmdaily.co

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