Sex/Life's Full-Frontal Nude Shower Scene Had A Little Problem
"Sex/Life" raised eyebrows when it dropped on Netflix in 2021 due to its daring nature and provocative subject matter. It was loaded to the gills with steamy sex scenes that got audiences talking. but one little story detail slipped by the editorial team while they were putting together the first season.
During Episode 3 of Season 1, "Empire State of Mind," Brad Simon (Adam Demos) is seen fully nude while showering at the gym. While the camera lingers on Brad's groin, it's impossible to avoid noticing that something's missing — and no, it's not that. What isn't on display is Brad's bee tattoo. It ought to be on the upper right side of his groin, and in this particular moment, it's nowhere to be found. Audiences know that it still exists within the show's modern timeframe — he shows it off to Billie (Sarah Shahi) to prove that he still loves her. So where did it go? No one mentions it, remarks on it, or even notes that it's gone. That means it's likely to be a simple continuity error that occurred at some point during the episode's editorial process.
While Brad's little bees may flitter in and out of view, there's one thing that the producers of "Sex/Life" never lost sight of — making sure its copious nude scenes had a purpose within the frame of the series.
The executive producers in Sex/Life say Brad's extended nude scene is important to the story
"Sex/Life" showrunner Stacy Rukeyser told Collider in 2021 that when she created the show, its copious nudity didn't matter — what mattered is that it told an important story that forwarded the series. So it went for that shower scene, intended to reflect one important character's mental state.
"It's important for Cooper's [Connelly, played by Mike Vogel of "The Help"] character. It was important to show how down the rabbit hole obsessed he has gotten, that he is now stalking his wife's ex-boyfriend," explained Rukeyser. She noted that the camera does a lot of lingering on the male-presenting characters – an intentional choice since the story's being told from Billie's point of view for the main part. But in the case of Cooper spying on Brad, everything was to be grounded in the character's jealousy of his wife's ex. "I really felt like we couldn't do this show without at least one piece of that, and that it's really about Cooper and his character. It's not even really a sexual moment," Rukeyser said. "It's about intimidation and measuring up and all of that."
While "Sex/Life" was canceled after a two-season run, it continues to live on in some memorable and eye-popping ways.