The second season of Netflix‘s “Sex/Life” was a very different experience for Sarah Shahi. In a new podcast interview, the actor opened up about the “challenging” process of filming Season 2 of the risqué drama.
“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,” Shahi said on Dear Media’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. “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.”
She went on to explain that while she liked some of the themes, “things just felt very different” both behind the scenes and in terms of the script. She and co-star Adam Demos, who she is dating in real life, had very few scenes together in the six-episode second season.
“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,” she said. “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.”
In term of storylines —including the male nudity —Shahi felt they were a bit less realistic than the first batch of episodes.
“In Season 2, I felt like there were more moments that felt very gimmicky. Those kinds of things for me are always really hard to read… But I didn’t have to do them. The boys did,” she said. “There were other things that I just felt I couldn’t get behind, and it was just challenging. But that’s part of what I do! I’m not always gonna get along or agree with a filmmaker. I’m not always gonna like what I have to do or say. But that’s my job, to make it believable.”
While it doesn’t sound like a third season will be happening, she says it’s up to Netflix: “They always say is that it’s about the viewership. If it does astronomically high and is hugely successful, then it’s in their interest to bring it back. If it doesn’t, then it’s not in their interest to bring it.”
Season 2 of “Sex/Life” reached No. 2 on Netflix’s Top 10 list during its premiere week with 43.9 million hours viewed.
