Sarah Shahi Vents Her Strong Feelings About 'Sex/Life' Season 2
Sarah Shahi shared some surprisingly candid thoughts about the making of Sex/Life Season 2 for Netflix during a new podcast interview. The former Person of Interest star felt she didn't have the same support system behind the scenes as she did for the first season, and was "bummed" about her lack of work with real-life boyfriend Adam Demos. Sex/Life has not been officially canceled yet, but Shahi already booked a job in a potential ABC series.
In the latest episode of Not Skinny But Not Fat, Shahi said filming Sex/Life Season 2 was "definitely a challenge," reports TVLine. "I definitely did not have the support that I did in the first season from the people involved in the show," Shahi told podcast host Amanda Hirsch. "It became a much different thing for me – and I'm not afraid to say that."
Shahi "struggled with the material" and was disappointed that she didn't get much screen time with Demos. In Sex/Life, Shahi plays Billie Mann Connelly, a former Columbia University psychology Ph.D. candidate who is disappointed with her life as a housewife. Demos played Brad Simon, her ex-boyfriend who tries to win her back, even though she is married with two children. Mike Vogel played Billie's husband, Cooper Connelly. Season 2 introduced Darius Homayoun as Majid, a new love interest for Billie. The show is based on BB Easton's novel 44 Chapters About 4 Men.
"I really liked our stories and I like working with him," Shahi said of Demos. "He was a brilliant scene partner. [In Season 2,] 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." The actress also found some scenes in Season 2 to be "very gimmicky," but she was thankful she "didn't have to do them... the boys did."
Although Shahi wasn't happy with the direction of Sex/Life, she said it wasn't her job to question the scripts. "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," she said. She later joked that she will "never" work with Netflix again, but she "can't lie" about how she felt.
Sex/Life Season 2 was released on March 2, and it didn't quite attract as much attention as the first did during the summer of 2021. Netflix has not announced what the show's future looks like yet, but Shahi appears more than ready to move on. Days after Season 2 was released, she signed on to star in an ABC drama pilot called Judgement. She reportedly put the show at the top position of her schedule, so she could probably only return to Sex/Life in a limited capacity. (She would only have to worry about that if Judgement is ordered to series and Sex/Life is renewed.)
In Judgement, Shahi will play Mia Bahari, and the story plays out in two timelines. In one, she is a young, awkward D.C. attorney in a romantic triangle with two mothers. Fifteen years in the future, she is a star Appeals Court judge being considered for a seat on the Supreme Court. Her past and darkest secrets could come back to haunt her future. Joey Falco (Charmed) created the series, which will be produced by 20th Television. Paul McGuigan signed to direct the pilot.