Sex/Life may come across as your average steamy love triangle, but the new Netflix series is really about female desire and a woman's place in modern society. With its 8-episode first season arriving on June 25, the show tackles the difficult question of how to balance domestic life with other avenues for happiness.
Based on the novel 44 Chapters About 4 Men by B. B. Easton, Sex/Life follows ex-wild child and current housewife Billie (Sarah Shahi, Person of Interest) and the fantasies about old flame Brad (Adam Demos, UnREAL) which she tries to use to spice up her stable-but-stale marriage to Cooper (Mike Vogel, Fantasy Island)
Series creator Stacy Rukeyser spoke to Screen Rant about the choices she made when adapting the far-out concept, and the importance of the female gaze in the context of Billie's journey.
I haven't read the book Sex/Life is based on yet, but it seems like a more light-hearted comedic take on the material. What was behind the much more psychological exploration of the series, if you will?
Stacy Rukeyser: Yeah. It's inspired by the book, and I really connected on a very personal level with the idea of a wife and mom who can't stop thinking about her wild child, single girl in the city days, and who is longing for this other version of herself.
The setting is different, and a bunch of the players are new. And, yeah, all the [different] drama that ensues after her husband reads her journal, which really becomes this Pandora's box. And the love triangle that develops too.
Sarah Shahi does such a great job of encapsulating both those sides of Billie and making her feel like a complete person. What qualities did she bring that made her right for the part?
Stacy Rukeyser: Sarah really fought for this role. An actress of Sarah's caliber doesn't always audition for roles anymore - but Sarah not only came into audition, she went back to the casting director on her own because she was not satisfied with her audition. She re-taped several times, I think, because she connected so personally with the material. She was like, "I am Billie. This is me, and I need to show you how."
And I think Sarah is so gorgeous that you just cannot take your eyes off of her when she's on screen. But the most beautiful part about her really is her soul, because she really wears her heart on her sleeve. There's so much vulnerability and emotion that helps you get inside Billie's head, and hopefully, you know, brings the audience along on this journey with her.
Absolutely. I read that all the directors and most of the writers are women, and I really love the idea of capturing the female gaze and focusing on Billie's journey through a woman's eyes. Why was it so important to you, and how do you think it changed your approach to the story?
Stacy Rukeyser: Well, it's a woman's story. It's Billie's journey, and it's her experience. So, it was really important for us to do it from that perspective.
I often say that films and TV shows - even the ones that are about sexuality and desire - are very often about the kind of sex that the man likes, and whether or not the woman will agree to like that kind of sex. But this is about the kind of sex that we want, that we've had, that we dream of having again, and that we dream of having if we've never had it - even better than we've ever had it.
It was really important to feel that on a very visceral level. To understand what it is that Billie is missing, and why it is that this man and this time in her life and this version of herself is so present for her still, and why she's missing it so much.
We had all female directors and an intimacy coordinator. It's really about her experience, so the camera hangs on the male bodies instead of on her body. Usually, the woman is the one who's objectified, but we have a healthy dose of objectifying and fetishizing the men in this piece. It's time; we've turned the tables.
Finally, I love Sasha. And I think that Margaret Odette plays her so well. Is there any parts of her life that you'd like to explore in a second season? Because she's on the opposite side of the spectrum, if you will.
Stacy Rukeyser: Totally, we're absolutely hoping for a second season. I also have a Sasha Snow spin-off that I think we could do. But I think Margaret's incredible. I think this is her Star Is Born moment.
I think she's just such a smart and talented actress. I think everybody has that origin story of what has made you who you are. And I think that Sasha is such an unapologetic woman that it would be really exciting to get to understand how she came to be that way.
Sex/Life premieres all 8 episodes of its first season June 25 on Netflix.