“Sex/Life” has been canceled by Netflix after two seasons

Netflix’s ‘Sex/Life’ has been removed from life support. The erotic drama series will not return for a third season on the streamer, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed to IndieWire.

The news comes just over a month after the show’s second season debuted on March 2. Created by Stacy Rukeyser, the first season premiered in June 2021. A Netflix spokesperson told IndieWire that the service is proud of the cast and crew’s work on the show, and that the second and now final season brought the series’ story to a natural conclusion.

Loosely inspired by BB Easton’s novel “44 Chapters About 4 Men,” “Sex/Life” starred Sarah Shahi as Billie Connelly, a housewife and mother of two living in suburban Connecticut. Struggling with a midlife crisis, Billie reconnects with Brad (Adam Demos), her music producer ex-boyfriend from her party days, and strains her marriage to tight-lipped investment banker Cooper (Mike Vogel). The series also starred Margaret Odette, Cleo Anthony, Darius Homayoun, Craig Bierko, Wallis Day, Jonathan Sadowski, Joyce Rivera and Li Jun Li.

“Sex/Life” debuted with great fanfare around the first season, mainly due to its explicit content and full frontal male nudity. The first season topped Netflix’s global English TV ratings for two weeks – the first show to top the charts since Netflix released the charts shortly after its premiere. Season 2 was less successful, finishing at No. 2 behind “Outer Banks” Season 3 and falling off the charts entirely after four weeks.

Just this week, Shahi openly criticized the writing of Season 2 in an interview with the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast. Shahi said she “struggled with the material” for the show’s sophomore season, calling the writing “trickier”.

“I definitely didn’t have the support I had from the people on the show in the first season,” Shahi said on the podcast. “It’s become a lot different for me – and I’m not afraid to say that. It’s part of what I do. I won’t always get along or agree with a filmmaker. I won’t always like what I have to do or say. But it’s my job to make it believable. Having said all that, I will never work for Netflix again. But I can’t lie.”

Before “Sex/Life’s” cancellation was official, Shahi was delivered in ABC and 20th Television’s new pilot, the legal soap “Judgment,” from former “Charmed” showrunner Joey Falco.

In addition to creating the series for Netflix, Rukeyser served as showrunner and executive producer with Jordan Hawley and J. Miles Dale. The series was produced by De Milo Films and Little Ruke.

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