Sarah Shahi is calling out Netflix for being too “gimmicky” with Season 2 of her Sex/Life series
Just over a month after season 2 of her Netflix series Sex/Life debuted, Sarah Shahi is hitting the streaming service for the “gimmicky” season.
The 43-year-old actress – who spoke in February about falling in love with co-star and boyfriend Adam Demos – opened the season on an episode of Amanda Hirsch’s Not skinny Not fat podcast on tuesday.
While Shahi seemed pretty happy with the show’s first season — following her character Billie, a married housewife seduced by a now-famous old fling (Demos) — she clearly wasn’t happy with the direction they took in season 2 .
“I’m not going to put it down, but I certainly didn’t have the support I got the first season from the people involved with the show. It became something completely different for me, and I’m not afraid to say that,” admitted Shahi.
She also added that Demos, who she started dating in 2020 after meeting on the set of Sex/Life, isn’t involved much with the show this season.
Gimmicky: Just over a month after season 2 of her Netflix series Sex/Life debuted, Sarah Shahi is blowing up the streaming service for the ‘gimmicky’ season
Love: The 43-year-old actress – who spoke in February about falling in love with co-star and boyfriend Adam Demos – opened up about the season on Tuesday in an episode of Amanda Hirsch’s podcast Not Skinny Not Fat
“I struggled with the material. I just felt what it had the first season – I mean I’m never going to work for Netflix now after saying all this, but I can’t lie. And it was definitely challenging,” she added.
Sex/Life debuted its six-episode second season on March 2, though the streaming service has not announced a renewal or cancellation at this time.
But even if the show is picked up for a third season, Shahi would be interested in returning.
“They always say it’s about the viewers. If it’s performing astronomically and is hugely successful, then it’s in their interest to bring it back. If not, it’s not in their best interest to take it,” she said.
The series debuted at #2 on Netflix’s Top 10 charts for the first week the second season was available, with 43.9 million hours watched.
“In Season 2, I felt like there were more moments that felt very gimmicky. Things like that are always very hard for me to read… But I didn’t have to do them. The boys do,” Shahi added.
“There were other things I just couldn’t figure out, and it was just a challenge,” she admitted.
‘But that’s part of what I do! I don’t always get along or agree with a filmmaker. I will not always like what to do or say. But that’s my job, to make it believable,’ Shahi continued.
Struggling: ‘I struggled with the material. I just felt what it had the first season – I mean I’m never going to work for Netflix now after saying all this, but I can’t lie. And it was definitely challenging,” she added
Not renewed: Sex/Life debuted its six-episode second season on March 2, though the streaming service has not announced a renewal or cancellation at this time
Gimmicky: “In Season 2, I felt like there were more moments that felt very gimmicky. Things like that are always very hard for me to read… But I didn’t have to do them. The boys do,” Shahi added
Believable: ‘But that’s part of what I do! I don’t always get along or agree with a filmmaker. I will not always like what to do or say. But that’s my job, to make it believable,’ Shahi continued
The actress added that “things just felt very different” both on set and in terms of the scripts, adding that she barely worked with her boyfriend Demos.
“I was bummed that I couldn’t work with him as much because I really liked our stories and I enjoy working with him. He was a brilliant scene partner,” she said.
“And what ended up happening was that I worked so much and he worked so little. He’s like, in 60 seconds of the whole thing. I never saw him,” she added.
However, in late February while promoting the second season, Shahi said that they had even more sex scenes this season.
“It’s a lot and I feel like we might have even more sex scenes in the second season,” Shahi said in an interview with The Times.
“It’s scary, you’re vulnerable. I just prayed a lot and asked for very nice lighting,” she added.
She also opened up about falling for Demos, saying, “I think it was February and I was wearing an old, raggedy Christmas sweater. I was like, oh, this is the person I’ve been looking for all my life.”
Shahi shares three children William Wolf, 13, and twins Violet Moon and Knox Blue, 7, with her ex Steve Howey.
Barely: The actress added that “things just felt very different” both on set and in terms of the scripts, adding that she barely worked with her boyfriend Demos
Barely: “And what ended up happening was that I worked so much and he worked so little. He’s like, in 60 seconds of the whole thing. I never saw him,” she added