Sarah Shahi didn’t like Sex/Life season 2 either (or the lack of scenes with Adam Demos)

It seems like there’s not really much love lost between Sex/Life star Sarah Shahi and the recently released second season of the romantic drama. The star, who’s already booked the ABC pilot Judgement, spoke to the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast about her experience making Sex/Life season 2.

The series first premiered in the summer of 2021 and became a hit thanks to an instance of full-frontal male nudity from Adam Demos going viral online like wildfire. Looking to recapture a bit of the viral magic with its follow-up season, Sex/Life featured more full-frontal nudity, and Shahi admitted to the podcast that she wasn’t super on board with a lot of season 2.

Shahi said during the podcast, “I definitely did not have the support that I did in 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.” She went on to call the second season “gimmicky.”

Sarah Shahi calls Sex/Life season 2 “gimmicky”

As the lead star of the series, Shahi’s comments about Sex/Life season 2 aren’t coming out of thin air. Viewers know what to expect from the show, but perhaps the second season veered in a direction that was a bit less grounded than the first.

Shahi explained how she “struggled with the material” she was reading in scripts and performing, but concedes that it’s part of her job as an actor to make it work:

"“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. 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.”"

What Shahi refers to — what “the boys did” — is the various prosthetic penises that were featured across season 2’s six episodes. While those ridiculous moments might have worked for some viewers, others could have seen them as a quick grab for online chatter or just racy content for racy sake. It’s up to the eye of the beholder, but it sounds like they didn’t completely work for Shahi.

Sarah Shahi wanted more scenes with Adam Demos in Sex/Life season 2

Another aspect of the “challenging” Sex/Life season 2 Sarah Shahi discussed was having limited screen time with her real-life boyfriend Adam Demos. As the actress explains, she was working on set more than Demos and their characters had few scenes together.

Here’s what Shahi had to say about wanting to work more with Demos:

"“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. 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.”"

Even though they are together in real life, watching Billie and Brad together wouldn’t have taken away from anything. Considering Billie and Brad end up together in Sex/Life season 2, you would think the characters would have spent more time together in what could possibly be the final season of the series.

With declined interested and Shahi already having a new series waiting in the wings, Sex/Life season 3 doesn’t appear to be in great standing for a renewal.

UPDATE: On April 7, Netflix canceled Sex/Life after two seasons.

What do you think about Sarah Shahi’s comments about Sex/Life season 2? Do you agree or do you hope to see season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments!