Sex/Life season 3 renewal status: Everything we know so far

Sex/Life is easily one of Netflix’s steamiest original series, with sex scenes in almost every episode as we follow the romantic exploits of housewife Billie Connelly (Sarah Shahi) as she struggles to decide between her husband Cooper (Mike Vogel) and her sexy-but-emotionally-unavailable ex Brad (Adam Demos). Sex/Life recently returned for its second season after over a year of waiting and wrapped up all of its storylines in a pretty final way. Still, some fans are curious about the possibility of Sex/Life season 3.

The second season picks up six months after the end of season 1. Billie and Cooper have decided to get divorced, and Billie moves to an apartment in New York, returning home a few days a week to spend time with her kids. Season 2 explores what Billie’s life is like without Cooper or Brad in the picture, as we quickly find out that Brad has already moved on with a new woman named Gigi who is pregnant with his child.

But Billie isn’t without any love in her life. She hits it off with a handsome restaurant owner named Majid (played by newcomer Darius Homayoun). Could Majid be her real true love? Or will Billie eventually find her way back to Brad or even Cooper? If you finished watching the second season already, then you know the answer. Season 2 doesn’t leave much room for a third season, but we’re going over the possibilities below anyway.

Is Sex/Life season 3 in the works at Netflix? Here’s what we know about the show’s future and more below.

UPDATE: Netflix has canceled Sex/Life and there will be no Sex/Life season 3 on the service.

How many seasons of Sex/Life are there?

There are only two seasons of Sex/Life available to stream on Netflix. Sex/Life season 1 consists of eight episodes, while season 2 received a shortened length and only has six. Episode lengths usually run from 45 to 55 minutes.

Will there be a Sex/Life season 3?

As of March 20, Netflix has not announced anything official regarding the future of this steamy adult drama. To be fair, it has only been a couple of weeks since the second season premiered, so it’s not weird that we haven’t heard anything from Netflix yet.

However, I would not anticipate seeing a third season of Sex/Life for a few reasons. The second season nabbed 43.89 million hours viewed in its first week, which is okay but not the best. Also working against the show is that it dropped out of the Top 10 completely within just two weeks of returning.

For comparison, even a show like the reality series Perfect Match has retained a position in the Top 10 for five weeks, going on six. And usually, returning shows stay in the Top 10 longer because fans are revisiting the first season before watching season 2. Sex/Life came and went without much buzz.

But beyond hours viewed and chart positions, the biggest reason Sex/Life season 3 is unlikely to happen is due to how it ends. The Sex/Life season 2 finale is one of the most series finale finales I’ve ever seen. It wraps up every single storyline with a neat Hallmark-y bow akin to something you’d see in a fairytale where everyone gets a happily ever after.

That’s normal for the romance genre, but usually, you don’t see the HEA until, well, the end. Sex/Life doesn’t really have anywhere to go from the season 2 finale. It certainly felt like the writers prepped it to be the end of the show.

Additionally, star Sarah Shahi recently booked a drama pilot for a new legal drama called Judgement on ABC. Pilots are notoriously fickle, and the show might never make it to air, but the fact she’s moved onto another potentially long-running project doesn’t look good for Sex/Life.

According to Deadline, Judgement would take priority over Sex/Life if it is picked up, which is interesting and, again, not a great sign for the Netflix show’s future. That said, if Sex/Life season 3 happens, it might be a shorter season once again, so Shahi could probably do both projects.

As for where show creator Stacy Rukeyser stands, she recently told The Hollywood Reporter she had intentionally planted (SPOILER!) the moment when Billie tells Brad she’s pregnant as a potential dangling carrot for a third season.

Rukeyser says, “Netflix has two calls. One is after 10 days and one is after 28 days. And that’s when your fate is decided.”

That means we won’t know Sex/Life‘s fate until April at the earliest. To fans hoping for more Billie/Brad, Rukeyser does think there is potential for the show to continue, telling the outlet they have had some early conversations and believes there are a “million” different ways they could go in a potential season 3.

What could Sex/Life season 3 be about?

Rukeyser laid out a potential third season during her chat with THR, so I’ll let her put it in her own words:

"I put in the fact that Billie was pregnant at the end for two reasons. One is that it’s a satisfying story point that this was something that was so important to them as a couple and, if you’re going to give them a fairytale ending well, let’s give them everything. But it was also because it was a little bit of a dangling carrot for what the third season could be about.Now she’ll be back in that situation again of being a new mom and, even if you’re with impossibly sexy Brad, is there a way to be all parts of yourself at once? And to get everything from one person? It’s that whole Sex/Life dilemma that I think is really interesting. I’m very proud of the coparenting story and the place that we got Billie and Cooper [Mike Vogel], but who knows what happens there. Coparenting is not always a smooth straight line, so there are definitely a million directions we could go."

Would season 3 be a potential retread of the first season, except this time with Billie growing tired of Brad and being a mother? Or will having a new life partner to face the challenges of motherhood stabilize her and give her a renewed sense of purpose she never seemed to find with Cooper?

It’s interesting that the showrunner mentioned “co-parenting” because I did think Sex/Life season 2 glossed over everything related to the kids. Poor Hudson got the short end of the stick more often than not, and it was never really addressed. Cooper came out of season 2 looking like a horrible dad, and Billie didn’t seem much better.

Not only would season 3 contend with co-parenting with Cooper, but Brad also has a young kid now, and with another baby on the way, that’s a lot of children running around to keep tabs on.

Does Sex/Life season 3 have a release date?

Sex/Life season 3 has not been renewed so there is no release date. If Netflix renews it soon, we still wouldn’t find out the release date for a long time. Thankfully, Sex/Life has shorter episodes than most shows and doesn’t require heavy CGI, so the post-production time isn’t as long as other Netflix series. Still, I would not anticipate a hypothetical third season to be released until 2025 at the earliest due to Sarah Shahi’s busy schedule.

When could Sex/Life season 3 start filming?

It’s hard to say when the third season would start filming if it got renewed. Season 2 was filmed less than one year after it aired, so season 3 could film in spring 2024 if it gets renewed, but it all depends on Shahi’s schedule. Filming could be delayed by several months if her ABC series gets picked up to series.

Sex/Life season 2 ending explained

Sex/Life season 2 ended with Billie and Brad finally getting married after Gigi leaves him. Cooper went back to his ex, Emily, and they get engaged. Kam and Sasha also get married after Kam decides to stay in New York to be with her instead of making her relocate to Singapore. Trina leaves Devon, Devon gets a newly reconstructed penis, and in the final seconds of the episode, Billie tells Brad she’s pregnant. Everything gets wrapped up with a neat little bow.

Sex/Life season 3 cast: Who could be in the third season?

If the show is renewed, then we would probably see the main actors return, meaning Sarah Shahi as Billie, Adam Demos as Brad, Mike Vogel as Cooper, and Margaret Odette as Sasha. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cleo Anthony, who plays Sasha’s beau Kam, also got upped to a series regular.

We would probably see more of Hannah Galway as Cooper’s fiancée Emily, too. Other recurring actors who might return are Jonathan Sadowski as Devon, Meghan Heffern as Caroline, Dylan Bruce as Spencer, and Amber Goldfarb as Trina.

Actors who probably would not return based on how their character arcs ended include Wallis Day as Gigi, Craig Bierko as Mick, and Li Jun Li as Francesca.

How many episodes could Sex/Life season 3 be?

Even though season 1 was eight episodes, season 2 was cut down to just six. If the show continues, I imagine it would stay at six episodes to cut costs.

Could Sex/Life season 3 be rated TV-MA?

Yes, the first two seasons are rated TV-MA because they contain nudity and multiple sex scenes. It’s ingrained in the show’s DNA. It is called Sex/Life after all. I can’t imagine they would change that if it returned for another season, especially now that Billie and Brad are back together.

Could Sex/Life season 3 arrive on Netflix in 2023?

No. Sex/Life season 3 isn’t even officially in the cards yet, and even if it does get renewed, there’s no way it would be filmed and released by the end of the year. Keep in mind that it took almost two years for season 2 to be released.