Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jan 30, 2026

I’m not surprised Sex/Life is one of the most watched shows on Netflix right now

I’m not surprised Sex/Life is one of the most watched shows on Netflix right now

It’s the latest so-bad-it’s-good hit, Suzannah Ramsdale

The second most-watched show in the UK at the moment is Sex/Life.

In an effort to keep my finger on the pulse, I spent Sunday recovering from my raging England Euros victory hangover by binging the entire series. It’s not something I’m proud of. Objectively, it’s terrible. It has 31 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and has been widely savaged by the critics. One Twitter user sums it up: “Is this porn?”

I love-hated it (other shows in that file include The Masked Singer, Say Yes to the Dress and Married at First Sight), which has incurred judgement from friends and family who couldn’t get through more than 10 minutes.

Sex/Life is an eight-episode shagathon that makes Bridgerton seem about as sexy as The One Show. Based on BB Easton’s book 44 Chapters about four Men, it follows psychologist-turned-suburban-housewife Billie Connelly (not that one) as she gets progressively fed up with her safe but sexless marriage.


She begins fantasising and journalling (“The stability and sanity he offered was a soothing balm to my spent, scorched soul,” reads one entry) about her troubled record producer ex-boyfriend who is gifted in the sack and the trouser department (Google “Sex/Life shower scene” or skip to the 19-minute mark in episode three). There are sex parties, more than one swimming pool cunnilingus scene and something called the “coital alignment technique” (please do also Google).

There are attempts to disguise all this shagging within layers of deeper meaning. If one were trying really hard, you could say it’s an examination of monogamy, or about how having children can make someone lose all sense of self. I will say that it is refreshing to see the subject of female desire explored (however heavy handedly) and there is an attempt in there somewhere to show that motherhood and sexuality are not mutually exclusive, mostly by way of sexy dresses and breast pumps. But really it’s pantomime porn. The dialogue is lifeless and, for the most part, the acting is wooden. But it’s what we need.


It’s no coincidence that where Sex/Life is the number two most-watched show in the country on Netflix, just behind it is Too Hot to Handle, a reality competition which sees bronzed, waxed and randy singles who are forbidden from indulging in any form of sexual activity. Many of us have been starved of human contact, gossip and sexual melodrama (Matt Hancock’s CCTV clinch aside) for well over a year and Sex/Life ticks all the boxes. Unless you want clever dialogue and well-developed characters, then I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
UK’s Starmer and Trump Agree on Urgent Need to Bolster Arctic Security
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
Prince Harry Says Sacrifices of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Deserve ‘Respect’ After Trump Remarks
Barron Trump Emerges as Key Remote Witness in UK Assault and Rape Trial
Trump Reverses Course and Criticises UK-Mauritius Chagos Islands Agreement
Elizabeth Hurley Tells UK Court of ‘Brutal’ Invasion of Privacy in Phone Hacking Case
UK Bond Yields Climb as Report Fuels Speculation Over Andy Burnham’s Return to Parliament
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Prince Harry Breaks Down in London Court, Says UK Tabloids Have Made Meghan Markle’s Life ‘Absolute Misery’
Malin + Goetz UK Business Enters Administration, All Stores Close
EU and UK Reject Trump’s Greenland-Linked Tariff Threats and Pledge Unified Response
UK Deepfake Crackdown Puts Intense Pressure on Musk’s Grok AI After Surge in Non-Consensual Explicit Images
Prince Harry Becomes Emotional in London Court, Invokes Memory of Princess Diana in Testimony Against UK Tabloids
UK Inflation Rises Unexpectedly but Interest Rate Cuts Still Seen as Likely
Starmer Steps Back from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Strained US–UK Relations
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Tells UK Court Daily Mail Was Complicit in Unlawful Privacy Invasions
UK Government Approves China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London Amid Debate Over Security and Diplomacy
Trump Cites UK’s Chagos Islands Sovereignty Shift as Justification for Pursuing Greenland Acquisition
UK Government Weighs Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Under-Sixteens Amid Rising Concern Over Online Harm
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
×