20 Best Shows Like Netflix’s Sex/Life

Summary

• Complex romances, extramarital affairs, and self-destruction drive the drama in
  Sex/Life
  and similar shows like it.
• Themes of passion, lust, and fantasy run through the compelling narratives of
  Sex/Life
  and its TV counterparts.
• High-stakes love affairs, illicit romances, and psychological drama characterize the best shows akin to Sex/Life’s intriguing storytelling.

The Netflix series Sex/Life offers a complex story of love, humor, and drama, and there are a lot of shows like Sex/Life out there for audiences to enjoy. Much of the appeal derives from the fantasy-fuelled blast from the past that the main character Billie Connelly (Sarah Shahi) experiences when her sexy ex-beau Brad Simon (Adam Demos) returns and crashes her domestic life as a married mother of two. Sex/Life joins a rich tradition of television shows that explore topics around steamy romances, extramarital affairs, casual hookups, lusty fantasies, and the challenges of dating.

Sex/Life also goes into dramatic territory with Billie at risk of destroying her and her family’s life with her foray into self-destruction. Billie’s marriage to her husband, Cooper (Mike Vogel), is already complicated, but things only become more strained as she begins ruminating on her wild child past and former relationships. Affairs, lies, and heaps of drama make Sex/Life a highly watchable series. The best shows like Sex/Life contain shadows of these same complex romantic relationships and are sure to add a healthy dose of intrigue as layers are peeled back, and more information is revealed.

20 Virgin River (2019-Present)

A Woman Moves To A Small Town To Start Over

While it’s a much more wholesome show than Sex/Life, there are a lot of similarities between the two series. Both are about women who are trying to become something different, even though life doesn’t always allow that. In Virgin River, Alexandra Breckenridge stars as Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a nurse practitioner and midwife who leaves Los Angeles to settle in the small remote town of Virgin River to start her life over after her husband dies.

The series then follows her as she tries to integrate into the new community while also falling in love with a local guy named Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), someone with a tragic past of his own. While there is nowhere near the sex that Sex/Life offers, the series still focuses on a woman who isn’t sure who she is meant to be and a romantic male lead who’s also struggling with identity. Virgin River is for Sex/Life fans who want to see similar characters in a tamer situation.

19 Summertime (2020-2022)

Summer Explores Her Love Life In A Coastal Town

Summertime takes place on Italy’s Adriatic Coast and follows a young woman named Summer (Coco Rebecca Edogamhe), who is spending a lot of time trying to figure out who she is supposed to be in life. While Sex/Life sees a middle-aged woman who wants to relive the freedom of her younger days, Summertime is about a similar character who is still living in those younger days, refusing to be who anyone else expects her to be, and dreaming of getting away and into a new life.

It is an interesting contrast because in Sex/Life, there is a woman who wishes she could go back to a life she loved, while Summertime is about a woman hoping to get to the next stage in her life, proving that many people believe the grass is always greener on the other side.

18 Sex Education (2019-2023)

A Sex Therapist & Her Son Navigate Relationships

For people who like the sexual subject matter in Sex/Life, another great Netflix series to watch is Sex Education. The show follows Gillian Anderson’s Jean, a sex therapist who has several affairs and refuses to maintain a relationship, and her awkward son, Otis (Asa Butterfield), a young man who comes into his own after he sets up his own “clinic” to help high school students with their sexual problems, only to fall in love himself. The character of Jean seems to be what Billie might think she wants in Sex/Life.

However, as Sex Education shows, that isn’t always the best situation to be in. Sex Education aired for four seasons and 32 episodes and was both critically acclaimed and one of Netflix’s most popular streaming series. Sex Education maintained high reviews, with a 91% in season one and a high 98% in the second and third seasons before dropping back to a still respectable 91% for season 4. It also won an International Emmy Award in 2022 for Best Comedy Series.

17 Tiny Pretty Things (2020)

People At A Chicago Ballet School Find Love & Murder

Based on the novel by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, Tiny Pretty Things follows the students, instructors, and benefactors of a ballet school in Chicago. This series brings all the drama that fans of Sex/Life could want. It is also a show that should attract people who love the over-the-top melodramatic tone of a series like Riverdale, but with the action moved from a small town to an elite ballet academy.

Tiny Pretty Things starts with a murder, and everyone at the academy seems to be a suspect, from the students to the faculty. At the same time, the students find love, betrayal, and more, and with only one season, Tiny Pretty Things is an explosive, action-packed drama all wrapped up in a binge-able package. It received slightly positive reviews when it was released, but Netflix chose not to move on with a second season.

16 Masters of Sex (2013-2016)

The Pioneers Of Human Sexuality Research

In Sex/Life, the characters traverse a life where they constantly question their place in the world, specifically with regard to their sexuality. This is the main theme of the groundbreaking Showtime series Masters of Sex, which is the based on true life story of William Masters, a fertility specialist, and Virginia Johnson, his secretary, as they set up a research program to study human sexuality. However, as expected, since the series takes place in the 1950s, they find opposition from all fronts.

The cast is spectacular, with Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as Masters and Johnson, respectively, and Beau Bridges as one of the people standing in their way, Washington University provost, Barton Scully. The series was mostly critically acclaimed, with the first two seasons sitting over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Only the third season had lower reviewers, but it rebounded in the fourth and final seasons. It was also highly rewarded with one Emmy win in 11 nominations and an AFI win for Television Program of the Year.

15 Love Life (2020-2022)

An Anthology Series About The Complications Of Relationships

Anna Kendrick takes in season 1 of Max’s original seriesLove Life, in which she plays a lovelorn woman named Darby Carter navigating the pitfalls of coupledom. The anthology series follows a different person each season. Season 2 follows much more in the style of Sex/Life, as it focuses on Marcus’ (William Jackson Harper) budding affair with Mia (Jessica Williams), with both parties already in relationships.

Love Life depicts the main characters’ first real meaningful romance until their last. In Darby’s case, she graduates from being an unhappy single to a part of a happy couple and a dissatisfied wife. With casual hookups, engagement parties, marital reconciliation, and more, the show has a bit for everyone on the relationship spectrum and is similar to Sex/Life in its depiction of complex romances and protagonist-focused character studies.

14 Normal People (2020)

Two Young Star-Crossed Lovers Embark On A Complicated Romance

The BBC/Hulu original series Normal People is a compelling romantic drama series in which the rocky romance between college students Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) is explored in great detail. The show is honest, accurate, and deeply affecting. Despite being polar opposites from different social strata of their quaint Irish town, affluent academic Marianne and athletic, blue-collar Connell cannot stay away from each other.

Features plenty of psychological drama like
Sex/Life
as Marianne and Connell go through various miscommunications, ups and downs, and heartbreak.

Due to the surrounding societal pressures, they keep their romance a secret as long as possible. Like Sex/Life, Normal People showcases how people’s actions, or inaction, can negatively affect a relationship. It also features plenty of psychological drama like Sex/Life as Marianne and Connell go through various miscommunications, ups and downs, and heartbreak. The miniseries served as a breakout for actors Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones who have gone on to successful movie careers.

13 What/If (2019)

A Married Couple Faces A Moral Dilemma

Netflix’s original and anthology series What/If boasts a similar but darker premise than that of Sex/Life. Also reminiscent of Indecent Proposal, the first season imagines what it would be like if a married couple accepted an offer for the man to have a one-night stand in exchange for a large sum of money. The hypothetical fantasy involves Sean (Blake Jenner), an EMT who is approached by venture capitalist Ann (Renée Zellweger) and offered to pay for his wife Lisa’s (Jane Levy) startup for one night together.

The steamy morality play is sure to appeal to Sex/Life fans. While there’s no affair at its center like Sex/Life, the series explores the territory of gray morality and themes of passion gone awry. It shows the damage that can be caused when such questions of loyalty and faithfulness enter into a marriage.

12 Love (2016-2018)

A New Couple Struggles With The Ups And Downs Of Romance

Not to be confused with Gaspar Noé’s explicit film of the same name, Love is a Netflix original series that lasted for three seasons from 2016 to 2018.The Judd Apatow-created rom-com series chronicles in painful detail the intimate highs and lows between characters Gus (Paul Rust) and Mickey (Gillian Jacobs). As with many of Apatow’s projects, it mixes humor and romance while also examining some flawed main characters.

Mickey’s self-destruction bears a striking resemblance to
Sex/Life
‘s Billie, making it a perfect watch afterward.

Just like the complex dynamic between Billie and Brad in Sex/Life, much of the drama comes from the conflict of Mickey being someone who struggles with several different addictions, while Gus is socially awkward and emotionally co-dependent. The two work out various romantic problems, overcome hurdles, and do their best to remain in a meaningful relationship. Mickey’s self-destruction bears a striking resemblance to Sex/Life‘s Billie, making it a perfect watch afterward.

11 The Girlfriend Experience (2016-2021)

An Exploration Of The Lives Of Sex Workers

When looking for shows like Sex/Life, fans are likely hoping for a steamy and complicated relationship drama at the center — and they need look no further than The Girlfriend Experience. Adapted from the Steven Soderbergh film of the same name, season 1 of the underrated Starz anthology series is set in the world of high-class escort Christine (Riley Keough), who entertains several exclusive clients in Chicago.

The second and third seasons follow Erica Myles (Anna Friel) in Washington, D.C., and Iris (Julia Goldani Telles) in London. The illicit culture of high-end escort services is charted in the show, as well as the personal issues of the three leading women. It’s a colder chaser to follow Sex/Life with and includes tons of themes that feature at the forefront of that show, such as desire, complicated relationships, and salacious secrets.

10 Elite (2018 – 2024)

Working-Class Teens Attend A Private School Filled With Scandal And Murder

Elite is like a Spanish combination of Sex/Life and Normal People. The seductive Netflix drama series follows the complex relationship between a trio of working-class students enrolled at an affluent private school. The three students include Samuel (Iztan Escamilla), Nadia (Mina El Hammani), and Christian (Miguel Herran), all of whom experience the pros and cons of adolescent romance, sexual awakening, and the culture clash between their upbringing and the private school elite.

Its key difference is that it adds an extra layer of intrigue with murder and focuses on high schoolers rather than a married couple.

Like Sex/Life, Elite is full of drama, self-destruction, and illicit romance. Its key difference is that it adds an extra layer of intrigue with murder and focuses on high schoolers rather than a married couple. The show is sexy and electric to no end, with a scandalous murder mystery at its center. The combination of sex and danger often makes for more exhilarating storytelling.

9 Californication (2007-2014)

A Writer Deals With Sex Addiction

Definitively a product of its time, Californication is nonetheless one of the best shows like Sex/Life. David Duchovny gives a blistering turn as Hank Moody in Californication, a novelist beset with writer’s block who struggles with his multiple addictions. The beachy California vibe and laid-back atmosphere is the perfect antidote to Sex/Life‘s busy New York environment but contains all the same marital strife and complex romances.

As Hank tries to get a grip on his self-destructive vices, he also attempts to reconcile his relationship with his former lover, Karen (Natasha McElhone), and become a role model for his teenage daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin). Unfortunately, his fantasies often get the best of him. In a way, Hank is the male Billie from Sex/Life, struggling with preventing his own downfall by constantly giving in to the temptations of his darkest fantasies.

8 The Affair (2014-2019)

A Married Man And Woman Have An Affair That Has Lasting Consequences

The highly-acclaimed and award-winning romantic drama The Affair takes a long, hard, exhaustive look at an extramarital relationship between a troubled novelist named Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and a waitress named Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson). As such, it can be viewed as a more grown-up version of Sex/Life. The show takes an interesting narrative approach, seeing the story from various angles to show how perceptions change the facts.

Less about sex, the show underscores the emotional fallout of such a high-stakes love affair.

Noah begins the series as a happily married father of four who meets Alison at her diner workplace while on vacation with his family. Alison, reeling from the loss of her child, is struggling to keep her marriage afloat until she meets Noah. Less about sex, the show underscores the emotional fallout of such a high-stakes love affair. Like Sex/Life, The Affair has an illicit romance at its center and sees the harrowing destruction of a marriage.

7 Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)

In many ways, Sex/Life‘s Billie is portrayed as a suburban housewife who is desperate for a more exciting love life. Therefore, a perfect companion piece to watch is ABC’s smash-hit mystery rom-com series. Desperate Housewives’ collection of characters is made up of several suburbanites, and the show tracks their lives as seen through the eyes of their deceased friend and neighbor on Wisteria Lane, whose death turns their lives upside down as secrets begin spilling.

Dating back 15 years, the women’s most sensitive secrets, sexual escapades, and intense familial struggles are depicted in both comedic and dramatic ways sure to resonate with Sex/Life viewers. Desperate Housewives was one of the most buzzworthy shows upon its release and created the blueprint for shows like Sex/Life‘s success.Desperate Housewives is also full of secrets, drama, and lies as these women either shirk or bear the consequences.

6 Sex And The City (1998-2004)

Four Friends Navigate Love Lives In The Big Apple

The landmark HBO series that started the erotic rom-com TV subgenre is Sex and the City, a must-see for those who enjoy Sex/Life. In addition to both shows being set in glitzy NYC, Sex and the City features Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her closest friends experiencing the ups and downs of romance in the big city. It certainly takes a more comical and less masochistic approach to dealing with love, but resonates in similar ways to Sex/Life.

The show celebrates female empowerment, sexual expression, the importance of friendship, and the difficulty of finding true love, even in a city full of millions of people.

The show celebrates female empowerment, sexual expression, the importance of friendship, and the difficulty of finding true love, even in a city full of millions of people. With both Sex/Life andSex in the City featuring female leads with sexual agency, complex romances, and an NYC setting, the latter series actually bears more similarities to the former but through a much less dramatic lens.

5 Dark Desire (2020-2022)

A Woman Cannot Escape The Consequences Of A Brief Fling

Another stellar option for those looking for shows like Sex/Life is the Mexican thriller drama Dark Desire. The Spanish-language Netflix series follows a married woman and law school professor named Alma. She’s married to a judge named Leonardo, who has a penchant for keeping secrets from her, and the two share a daughter named Zoe. Similar to Billie, she’s naturally deeply unsatisfied in her married life.

Things change for Alma when she has a fling with a stranger while away from home. However, when her vacation ends in tragedy, she returns to find that the consequences of her actions have followed her. There are a ton of parallels between Alma and Billie from Sex/Life. Both are educated women who are unsatisfied with their marriages and are now facing the consequences of their illicit passions.

4 Easy (2016-2019)

An Anthology Series About People Struggling Through Love, Sex, And Modern Culture

Netflix’s anthology series Easy didn’t get nearly long enough on the screen, but it’s nonetheless one of the best shows like Sex/Life. Easy follows a stellar ensemble cast of characters who are living and working in Chicago. Each player is in a different type of relationship, and the series explores the dramas, triumphs, and heartaches of their situations. The one recurring relationship seen in the series is the married couple Kyle (Michael Chernus) and Andi (Elizabeth Reaser).

While Easy does include some important lessons in love like the dangers of changing oneself for romance, it has a fair amount of drama and passion as the characters’ love lives either soar or fall into shambles. Like Sex/Life, Easy shows how seemingly small decisions can complicate relationships to an extreme. This is primarily explored through Kyle and Andi, who are similarly unhappy in their marriage like Sex/Life‘s Billie and Cooper, though they decide to try an open marriage rather than an affair.

3 Younger (2015-2021)

A Woman Starting Over In Life Embraces Being Mistaken For Younger

One of the biggest plot threads of Sex/Life is Billie’s dangerous attempts to reclaim her youth, and Younger tells a similar story as Liza finds herself divorced from her gambling-addicted husband and all alone after her daughter moves to India. She’s now single, in her 40s, and looking to start over.

Like Billie, Liza is seeking to reclaim her youth to a dangerous degree, and she’s trying to run away from her present.

Having trouble finding work, Liza pretends she’s in her 20s to restart her career in the publishing industry. She becomes assistant to the head of Empirical Press Marketing Chief Diana Trout and befriends her much younger co-worker, Kelsey. As she attempts to live this lie, her past and present often collide. Despite being more of a comedy, the premise of Younger and Sex/Life align in major ways. Like Billie, Liza is seeking to reclaim her youth to a dangerous degree, and she’s trying to run away from her present.

2 Fatal Attraction (2023)

Based on the iconic movie about cheating, Fatal Attraction got its own series in Paramount+’s updated version starring Joshua Jackson as LA district attorney Dan Gallagher and Lizzy Caplan as member of the Victim Services Bureau Alex Forrest. Fatal Attraction is a psychological thriller that sees an illicit romance at its center and explores what happens when passion wreaks havoc and destruction on personal and professional lives.

Like the movie, Fatal Attraction explores what happens when Alex and Dan carry on an extramarital affair, and the dangerous consequences that occur when Alex refuses to let Dan end it. Much like Sex/Life, it’s a fascinating psychological study of rejection, desire, and passion. It also focuses on the characters’ past and present, featuring separate timelines. The Paramount+ show is the perfect choice for those who enjoyed Sex/Life and are looking for an edge of present danger.

1 Made For Love (2021-2022)

A Woman Has Difficulty Escaping A Toxic Relationship

The quirky show Made for Love shares a lot of the same themes as Sex/Life. Like Billie, Made For Love‘s Hazel (Christine Milioti) feels trapped in her marriage to tech billionaire Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen). Hazel makes a grand escape from the virtual reality complex he has forced them to live in for the past ten years, only to find out just how diabolical Byron really is.

Made For Love
is another show that

sees flashbacks to the past, chronicling exactly how Hazel was lured into Byron’s clutches and how he manipulated and controlled her for years.

In the sci-fi black comedy, it turns out that Byron has fitted Hazel with a device that tracks her location, sees through her eyes, and gathers emotional data as she fights to regain her independence. Like Sex/Life, the show zeroes in on the harrowing results and psychological damage of a toxic relationship. Made for Love is another show that sees flashbacks to the past, chronicling exactly how Hazel was lured into Byron’s clutches and how he manipulated and controlled her for years.