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Will “Sex/Life” live to see (aka get renewed for) Season 3 on Netflix? Or has the streaming giant cancelled the ballad of Billie and Brad? A month after Season 2’s release, Netflix finally gave fans the privilege of knowing the series’ fate. Here is where things stand.
No Season 3 Renewal – “Sex/Life” Cancelled
Netflix has confirmed that “Sex/Life” has not been renewed for Season 3, canceling the series with Season 2, per Deadline. The news comes a month after Season 2’s release, roughly the same time it took to renew the drama for a second season. In comparison, “You” was renewed 15 days after the second half of its fourth season premiered. Obviously, “You” is a far more established series and is still popular.
In contrast, the news of “Sex/Life” getting cancelled should not shock fans. The numbers did not add up for one. Outside of those key figures lives a lingering question. Why did “Sex/Life” experience such a sharp sophomore slump after a dizzying debut? This Season 1 viewer thinks the answer lies in how Season 1 ended.
It All Began with an Ending
Billie went chasing after Brad despite seeming to settle her marital woes with her husband, Cooper. In the trailer for Season 2, fans learn that Brad ends up squashing Billie’s “tango” proposal. He supposedly moved on with his life, which Billie had only pretended to do when “Sex/Life” viewers met her in Season 1. Of course, that did not last long.
What is more surprising than Brad’s “love” for Billie is the difference twenty-one months can make. The Sarah Shahi-led drama about a wife and mother’s disconcerting quarter-life crisis became a huge hit for Netflix in 2021. Nearly two years later, Season 2 dropped out of Netflix’s top ten in less than a month, flaming out of the buzz that carried its first season forward.
A third season felt like a distant dream for the oft-smoldering series.
What Sarah Shahi Has Said About Season 2
Ratings issues aside, “Sex/Life” had another key problem facing a potential Season 3: what Sarah Shahi had to say about Season 2. The talented actress did not mince words when discussing Season 2, its reduced screentime for Brad, and the whole messy affair that was the behind-the-scenes cohesion of the second season. Speaking with the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, Shahi shared (via Variety):
“I’m not going to put it down, but I definitely did not have the support that I did the first season from the people involved in the show. It became a much different thing for me, and I’m not afraid to say that. I struggled with the material. I just felt the thing that it had the first season — I mean, I’m never gonna work for Netflix again now after saying all this, but I can’t lie. And it was definitely a challenge.”
And a brave Sarah Shahi did not stop there when it came to getting candid about “Sex/Life” Season 2. If you were disappointed that Brad did not have a larger role in it -- Shahi felt your pain -- with one major difference. For Shahi, the lack of Brad impacted her both professionally and personally. The actress is in a relationship with Adam Demos, who plays Brad. Speaking about Brad’s diminished role in Season 2, Shahi said:
“I was bummed that I wasn’t able to work with him as much because I really liked our stories[,] and I like working with him. He was a brilliant scene partner. Also, what ended up happening is I was working so much[,] and he was working so little. He’s like, in 60 seconds of the entire thing. I never saw him.”
Time will tell if Sarah Shahi and Adam Demos can re-team. They have believable on-screen chemistry, which is a rarity for off-screen couples. Shahi’s frustration is understandable. While flipping through “Sex/Life” Season 2, I could not help but notice the absence of Demos’ Brad. Why dial down Demos’ screen time, especially when he was available to participate?
Whatever the reason, Sarah Shahi’s brilliantly blunt hot take on “Sex/Life” Season 2 highlights the issues that faced the drama in its sophomore season. Intriguingly, Shahi did not feel as much “support” from the show in Season 2. You would think that following the success of Season 1, it would have been just the opposite. Hollywood can be weird, though.
Why I Haven’t Watched “Sex/Life” Season 2
The idea of watching a very unlikable Billie cry about not having Brad – again – is not exactly must-see TV. Billie is self-centered and preeminently preoccupied with herself to a level that a supposed psychology Ph.D. candidate should find worrisome. This viewer was just not ready for the back-and-forth between the obvious endgame that is Brad and Billie. Find out how Season 2 ends here.
They deserve each other, but they also do not deserve to have what they want. As a Season 1 viewer, I have had no interest in checking out Season 2. Billie is awful for wanting Brad at the expense of her children and husband’s feelings, and Brad is horrible for wanting Billie, knowing that.
There is more to life than the first half of the show’s title and more to watch on Netflix than “Sex/Life.” Season 2 and its staggering lack of stamina prove that. If it had gotten renewed for Season 3, I would have been shocked. The story the show wanted to tell -- that of Billie selfishly wrecking other people’s lives for her happiness -- got told. What more was there for “Sex/Life” to say? Exactly.
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