– get overshadowed by the wanton silliness. Yet whatever inherent truths the show explores – marriage is hard, the magic/romance fades, etc. It’s a tactic premium networks have tried periodically, usually with mixed results. Granted, that push-the-envelope approach has worked before in terms of garnering attention, and “Sex/Life” - with the title’s either/or implications - might operate for some viewers as the TV equivalent of a trashy summer read, those novels with airbrushed shirtless perfection gracing the cover. The concept actually might work better if everyone wasn’t so conspicuously gorgeous, reinforcing a sense that the goal is less to relate to these characters – and this latest made-for-TV version of a desperate housewife – than simply to ogle them. Under the stewardship of producer Stacy Rukeyser (whose credits include the underappreciated “UnReal”), “Sex/Life” takes off in all kinds of ridiculous directions thereafter, leaving one of two choices: accept the show on its wacky terms, like the sexual version of a “Fast and Furious” movie, or check out what else is trending. Sarah Shahi and Adam Demos in 'Sex/Life' (Courtesy of Netflix). Nor does Brad remain strictly a figment of Billie’s past, coming back into her orbit in an unexpected way that tests her repeated insistence about how happy she is and what a wonderful life she and Cooper have built together. Inspired by the book “44 Chapters About 4 Men” by BB Easton, the eight-episode series features Shahi (last seen on “Person of Interest”) as Billie Connelly, seemingly living a life of suburban bliss with her two young children and Adonis-like husband, Cooper (Mike Vogel), a budding Master of the Universe (in author Tom Wolfe’s literary coinage) whose career has taken precedence over her own.Īppearances aside, Cooper has become a person of little interest (a mini-Cooper, if you will) in their marital bed, prompting Billie to begin reminiscing and fantasizing about her carefree, club-hopping youth as a single gal in Manhattan with friend Sasha (Margaret Odette), who’s still living that life while reminding Billie how good she has it.īillie, however, is less convinced, thinking a lot about former boyfriend Brad (Adam Demos), an Australian sex god/record executive with whom she enjoyed soul-shattering, spine-tingling, gauzy-montage-worthy encounters, even writing a journal detailing their trysts that her husband, naturally, finds. Alas, thanks to the overwrought Harlequin Romance trappings, there’s a lot more guilt here than pleasure. Having caused a sensation with steamy and explicit sex on “Bridgerton,” Netflix dips into that genre again - minus the costumes - in “Sex/Life.” Sarah Shahi stars as a wife and mother in the throes of a not-quite-midlife crisis, pining for all the wild sex she used to have.
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