‘Easy’ Is The Most Sex Positive Show On Television

There have been a lot of steamy on-screen scenes this year from Season 2 of Insecure to the high stakes, sex worker drama of The Deuce. However, even though this has been a wonderful year for sex on TV, one show takes the steamy cake. With its second season, Joe Swanberg‘s Easy cements itself as the most sex positive show on television.

Structured as a series of vignettes as is Swanberg’s style, Easy tells the stories of several couples living in Chicago. The stakes are never too high, and the show perpetually has a day-in-the-life sort of tone running through it. In Season 2, the series explores a woman (Kate Micucci) going through a break-up who realizes how much she wants kids, a lesbian couple (Kiersey Clemons and Jacqueline Toboni) who get into an argument about the role of feminism, a couple (Michael Chernus and Elizabeth Reaser) who decides to explore an open marriage, and a sex positive writer (Karley Sciortino) who is a sex worker on the side. Almost every story and character in Easy ties back to sex in some way. However, the show never feels as scandalous as that sentence may make it seem. By being upfront with its sexual themes, Easy is able to move past the novelty of being steamy on television and actually dive into the complicated ways sex relates to intimacy, understanding, conflict, and power.

This is especially apparent in Season 2. Though Easy‘s first season maintained the same themes, the stories were a bit more inconsistent. There were certainly shining stars, like Aislinn Derbez‘s spectacular “Controlada” and Kiersey Clemons’ “Vegan Cinderella,” but there was a meandering energy to some of last seasons episodes, particularly those that involved the brewery brothers, that this season has avoided. Perhaps this is because the show has already established its characters. However, in Season 2 Swanberg has been able to better unveil the complexities of sex, and the result is as interesting to watch as it is gentle and thoughtful.

“Open Marriage,” “Side Hustle,” and “Lady Cha Cha” certainly explore this side of the show the best. Focusing again on Michael Chernus (Kyle) and Elizabeth Reaser (Andi) and their struggling marriage, “Open Marriage” shows what happens when the couple takes up the titular marital system. Easy isn’t afraid to show just how awkward the entire experience is, both for Andi, who is dating again for the first time in years, and Kyle who breaks the news to his co-workers. However, rather than end in a somewhat expected fight, the episode ends in happiness and compromise. “Side Hustle” and “Lady Cha Cha” are the same way. Though they explore two women embracing their sexuality on a more public front, one as a self-employed sex worker and one as a burlesque dancer, both stories end on a happy note. Throughout the entire season, the same message remains clear. Some people express themselves sexually in different ways and as long as no one is getting hurt, that’s OK.

These certainly aren’t topics that only Easy is willing to explore. The Deuce is all about the confusing roles that go into working as a prostitute, and both Insecure and Girls have taken time to question sexual roles and preferences over the years. However, no show embraces the sexual lives of its character more fully or completely than Easy. In Easy, these characters aren’t case studies or stand-in subjects so the series can talk about threesomes. They’re just people figuring things out. There’s something deeply sweet and empowering to that take as it relates to sex. As steamy scenes become more of the TV norm rather than the exception, other shows could stand to learn from this sexually accepting point of view.

Stream Easy on Netflix