Netflix’s romantic dramedy series Sex/Life is a complex tale of one’s past bleeding into the present and the consequences of that in one’s life, 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, the challenges of dating, and the like.
However, Sex/Life isn’t all fun and games. The series sees Billie at risk of completely destroying her and her family’s life with her foray into self-destruction. Billie’s marriage with her long-time husband Cooper is already complicated, but things only become more strained as she begins ruminating on her past as a wild child and her ex comes to win her back. 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.
15 Love Life (2020 – 2022)
- Available to stream on Fubo TV
One of the best shows like Sex/Life is Love Life. Character actress Anna Kendrick takes center stage as Darby in season 1 of Max’s original series Love 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 in relationships.
Love Life depicts the main character’s 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)
- Available to stream on Hulu
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, and it’s one of the best shows like Sex/Life. 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.
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. As well, it features plenty of psychological drama like Sex/Life as Marianne and Connell go through various miscommunications, ups and downs, and heartbreak.
13 What/If (2019)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Netflix’s original and bingeworthy anthology series What/If boasts a similar but darker premise than that of Sex/Life, making it one of the best shows like 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 (Renee 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.
12 Love (2016 – 2018)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Not to be confused with Gaspar Noe’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), and it’s one of the best shows like Sex/Life.
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 after Sex/Life.
11 The Girlfriend Experience (2016 – )
- Available to stream on Starz
When looking for shows like Sex/Life, audiences are hoping for a steamy and complicated relationship drama at the center. 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, The Girlfriend Experience, is set in the niche 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 Sex/Life, such as desire, complicated relationships, and salacious secrets.
10 Elite (2018 – )
- Available to stream on Netflix
Elite is like a Spanish combination of Sex/Life and Normal People. The seductive Netflix drama series from Spain is one of the best shows like Sex/Life and follows the complex relationship between a trio of working-class students enrolled at an affluent private school. The show is sexy and electric to no end, with a scandalous murder mystery at its center.
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. 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.
9 Californication (2007 – 2014)
- Available to stream on Fubo TV
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 into the temptations of his darkest fantasies.
8 The Affair (2014 – 2019)
- Available to stream on Showtime
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 restaurant waitress named Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson). As such, it can be viewed as a more adult version of Sex/Life and one of the best shows like Sex/Life.
Noah begins the series as a happily married father of four who meets Alison at her diner while on vacation with his family. Alison, reeling over 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)
- Available to stream on Hulu
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 flagship mystery rom-com series, Desperate Housewives, and the long-running soapy dramedy is one of the best shows like Sex/Life. It tracks the lives of several suburban women 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 imbroglios, and intense familial struggles are depicted in both comedic and dramatic ways sure to resonate with Sex/Life viewers. Desperate Housewives was the talk of the town upon its release, and in reality created the blueprint for shows like Sex/Life‘s success. Like Sex/Life, Desperate Housewives is full of secrets, drama, and lies as these women either shirk or bear the consequences.
6 Sex And The City (1998 – 2004)
- Available to stream on Max
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 being set in glitzy New York City, one of the best shows like Sex/Life features fashions worn by Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her closest friends that are second to none. 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. With both Sex/Life and Sex in the City featuring female leads, complex romances, an emphasis on sexual exploration, and an NYC setting, the latter series actually bears more similarities to the former than one might initially believe.
5 Dark Desire (2020 – 2022)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Another stellar option for those looking for shows like Sex/Life is the Mexican thriller drama Dark Desire. The Spanish 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 home 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)
- Available to stream on Netflix
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 that 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, the series has a fair amount of drama and passions as the character’s love lives either soar or fall into shambles. Like Sex/Life, Easy follows up with 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)
- Available to stream on Hulu
One of the biggest plot threads of Sex/Life is Billie’s dangerous attempts to reclaim her youth, and Younger definitely fits the bill in terms of shows like Sex/Life. In Younger, 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. However, things get complicated when she meets a 26-year-old tattoo artist named Josh who believes Liza is the same age as him.
This gives Liza the idea to pretend 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 – )
- Available to stream on Paramount+
The iconic movie about cheating Fatal Attraction got its own series in Paramount+’s Fatal Attraction, starring Joshua Jackson as LA district attorney Dan Gallagher and Lizzy Caplan as member of the Victim Services Bureau Alex Forrest. In terms of shows like Sex/Life, Fatal Attraction is a new and delectable choice, as the psychological thriller sees an illicit romance at its center and explores what happens when passions wreak 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. Like Sex/Life, 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)
The quirky show Made for Love surprisingly shares a lot of the same themes as Sex/Life, and is subsequently one of the best shows like 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.
In the sci-fi black comedy, it turns out that Byron has fitted Hazel with a tracking 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. Also like Sex/Life, Made For Love sees flashbacks to the past, chronicling exactly how Hazel was lured into Byron’s clutches and how he manipulated and controlled her for years.