Warning! This article contains minor spoilers about Netflix’s Sex/Life.
With its ridiculous melodrama, full frontal nudity and countless sex scenes, it doesn’t take a genius to work out why Sex/Life is one of the most popular shows on Netflix right now.
The US dramedy tells the story of a married woman called Billie who fantasises about the wild sex life she used to have with her ex-boyfriend Brad.
And as the people of Twitter have already spelled out in hilarious fashion, it is quite the ride.
But if you’ve been gagging for more after the climax of the eight-part series, we’re here to satisfy those needs with the secrets of the show you hadn’t realised while watching it...
Sex/Life is inspired by a true story
The series is based on BB Easton’s self-published book 44 Chapters About 4 Men, which was inspired by her own experiences in life.
She told Oprah Daily of seeing her story make it to the small screen: “Seeing these gorgeous supermodel humans on a screen portraying characters based on my husband and myself while we’re sitting on our busted, 12-year-old couch in our sweatpants, quarantine day 587...we’re just so tickled.
“It’s been an absolute dream come true that I didn’t even know I had.”
However, BB Easton was not involved with Sex/Life.
There is one major difference between the book and the series
BB Easton never got together with an ex, like Billie does with Brad in the show.
“It’s the same undertone of the book. Is there something better? Does it get better than this? She’s exploring the same question...it ramps up the drama,” she told Oprah Daily.
The show had an all-female directing team
Having an all-female directing team – comprising of Jessika Borsiczky, Sheree Folkson and Patricia Rozema – helped create a safe space for the exploration of empowered celebration of female sexuality and desire in the show’s many sex scenes, according to Stacy.
She told Collider: “Each of the intimate scenes is there for furthering the story or character, and it was quite defined. So, everybody knew what the story was and what they were getting into, and they were excited about it and excited for this new way of showing female sexuality and desire.
“And obviously, we had all female directors, we had an intimacy coordinator, so everybody felt, I think, really safe and free to explore.”
She added to About Netflix: “We had six writers, including myself, and four are women. Many of our department heads are women, including our production designer and our costume designer. It was so important that the show was both written and brought to life through a female gaze.”
The creator insisted the scripts were explicit in detail for the sex scenes
Stacy Rukeyser said it was really important for her to “have all the details of our intimate scenes written out on the page very, very specifically”.
She told About Netflix: “I’ve heard from many actors that oftentimes when you get to a sex scene, the script just says something like, ‘And then they have sex.’
“Often people are too embarrassed to write the actual words on the page. But I really wanted to be much more specific than that, because each scene is not just about the sex.”
This allowed Stacy to work with the actors and the show’s intimacy co-ordinator Casey Hudecki to choreograph those intimate moments.
Adam Demos did not use a body double in that shower scene
Showrunner Stacy Rukeyser recently weighed in on speculation that Adam used a body double or a prosthetic for the scene that has got the whole internet talking.
She told Collider: “That’s not a body double. I mean, people usually ask is it real or is it a prosthetic?
“And I can tell you what Adam Demos says about it, which is, a gentleman never tells. So, we are leaving that up to the viewer’s imagination.”
Adam himself told Entertainment Weekly of the scene: “I was okay with it because you read the script and know what you’re getting yourself into from the start, so I don’t think you would sign on to a show after reading the scripts and then say no last minute.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have discussions about comfort level, which they allowed us to have - and with the intimacy coordinator, so it felt a lot safer.”
That scene contained a continuity error though
Eagle-eyed viewers picked up on a tattoo missing from Brad’s body that bore significance in later episodes.
In a flashback scene in episode four, it was revealed that years earlier Brad had two bees inked around his groin in a tribute to Billie. The tattoo was also referred to in the final episode, when he admitted to keeping it while declaring his love to his ex.
However, the tat was mysteriously absent as the camera zoomed in on Brad’s body as he showered in the gym.
Billie and Brad are together in real life
Actors Sarah Shahi and Adam Demos are a real-life couple, which, when you find out, really brings another dynamic to Sex/Life.
It’s unknown exactly when the pair started dating, but they went Instagram official in January 2021, when Sarah posted a photo of them together writing: “Time to celebrate. Thank you to my love @adam_demos for making it so very special.”
He then posted a photo with the caption: “Happy bday my baby. I f*#kin love you You’re everything.”
They first met on the set of the show, which began shooting in August 2020, with Sarah recalling of their meeting to People: “I said, ‘Well, that’s a tall drink of water.’ When I first met Adam, I was really blown away with him.
“We met in the makeup trailer and we just got on instantly. We had the exact same taste in music. We had the same taste in whiskey and tequilas and I was really blown away by him just as a person and all I knew was that I wanted more.”
Sarah really fought for the role of Billie after messing up her audition
Showrunner Stacy Rukeyser recalled to Collider: “I don’t know if she does, but an actress of [Sarah’s] calibre doesn’t always audition, and Sarah really came in and fought for this role. I mean, she came in, she wasn’t satisfied with what she did, she went back to the casting director on her own to retape, I think more than once.
“She spoke quite honestly about how much she connected with this character and how deeply she felt this identity crisis that she’s going through and how much she wanted it.”
In fact, she loves the show so much she has been viewing it on repeat
In an interview with Australian Vogue, Sarah was asked which show she had been binge-watching, and she replied with her own.
“I’m obsessed with it, honestly. I know I sound like such an asshole for promoting my own show, but it’s true,” she said.
“I watched the show many times back and forth, and I found a way to separate myself from the character that I saw, and I’m immensely proud of all the work that the actors put out there and the pedigree of filmmaking, and I’m just obsessed with the music—the soundtrack blows my mind! That’s my latest obsession.”
The critics are a lot less keen, however
The show has a 31% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where its critical consensus reads: “Suffocating its more provocative ideas with steamy interludes and melodramatic writing, this erotic drama is too obsessed with sex to ever fully come to life.”
Sex/Life is streaming on Netflix now.