While Netflix usually finds success with shows involving steamy sex scenes like Sex/Life, the streaming platform canceled one that just didn’t find a wide audience. Bonding, which was written, directed and created by Rightor Doyle, was canceled late Friday after two seasons. The series starred Zoe Levin (Red Band Society) as a psychology student who moonlights as a dominatrix.
Bonding also stars Brendan Scannell as Tiffany “Tiff” Chester’s gay best friend Peter Devin, whom she recruits as her assistant. At the start of the series, they reconnect in Manhattan, where Tiff struggles to balance school with her nightlife. The series is mostly told through Peter’s point of view, as his exposure to BDSM helps him embrace life.
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When the show’s seven-episode first season was released in April 2019, it instantly courted controversy for its depiction of BDSM and fetishes. Doyle, who loosely based on the show on personal experience, sought to be more authentic than movies like 50 Shades of Grey. However, real sex workers were not happy with the show, Rolling Stone reported in 2019. Critics blasted the show for ignoring the negotiations between dominatrixes and subs over boundaries and consent, while others called out specific production design flaws.
Other critics believed Bonding leaned heavily on stereotypes about sexual fetishes and sex workers instead of trying to remove stigmas about them. Kitty Striker, a writer, consent educator, and sex worker, told Rolling Stone that Tiff’s characterization as a victim of sexual trauma was actually “pretty sex-negative.” She called this a “tired troupe” that “encourages people to see us as trauma victims.” There is a long-standing myth that most adult film performers were sexually assaulted as children, but there is no evidence this is true. The show also claims Tiff is a popular domme in New York City, but she often isn’t great at the job and misunderstands safety and consent.
When crafting Season 2, Doyle admitted he was trying to respect the critiques of Season 1. “The people who didn’t like [Season 1] the most were the people that I was trying to show respect to,” he told Bustle. He hired intimacy coordinator Olivia Troy for Season 2. “The relationship is often quite caring and quite devoted,” Troy told Bustle of the Dominant/submissive relationship. “There’s mutual respect, mutual affection, and mutual appreciation for what each person is bringing into the experience.” Troy also co-wrote two Season 2 episodes.
In an AV Club interview, Levin said she learned to “shut up and listen” during production and called Troy a “calming force” on the set. “Instead of reacting to the criticism from the sex work community, I think [Doyle] really took the opportunity to shut up and listen,” Levin said. “And Brendan and I really followed suit because we really trust Rightor, and because it was such a collaborative experience to begin with. And I think that was such a big theme of this whole year—just like, ‘If you don’t know, maybe just shut up and listen.’ So there was a lot to learn.”
Unfortunately for fans, there will be no further adventures of Tiff and Pete. However, Doyle does have a development deal with Netflix, notes Deadline, so he could have another provocative project in the works. Netflix also canceled Country Comfort, The Crew and Mr. Iglesias Friday night.
