If your holiday viewing fare feels a little…wholesome, we have the solution for that. Behold: 15 hot movies and TV shows for the smut-lovers among us. Happy holidays!
1. Challengers (2024)
Why you’ll watch it: Horny tennis, MMF sexual tension, homoerotic realness
The Zendaya movie that made us all Google the threesome scene. Worth it! But even more worth it when you watch the whole thing. The tennis is beautiful, the abs sweaty, the leads hot. Also yay straight-coded men making out.
2. The Idea of You (2024)
Why you’ll watch it: Age gap sex with a younger man and older woman. (“Older” as in 40)
She’s a single mom, he’s 24 years old in a boy band, he falls for her because she doesn’t know who he is. Shoutout to every woman ever who grew up crushing on Backstreet Boys and N’Sync! This is your movie, you deserve it.
3. Fellow Travelers (2023)
Why you’ll watch it: Jawlines, Mad Men atmospherics, queer sex scenes galore
Just as Joseph McCarthy declares war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” here come two of his government employees getting freaky in hotel rooms. This show has explicit male sex scenes between two very different characters, one charismatic and George Clooney-esque, the other idealistic and innocent.
4. Lady Voyeur (2023)
Why you’ll watch it: Voyeur kink, sexy/scary combo, hot Brazilians
Miranda’s a hot hacker who likes watching her neighbor (a sex worker) take clients. Except, some of those clients take a shine to Miranda, and that’s when things get sexy… slash, murdery.
5. Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)
Why you’ll watch it: Period drama meets raw sex scenes
D.H. Lawrence’s post-WWI novel tells the story of an aristocratic newlywed, Connie, trapped in a loveless marriage. Good thing she lives on a giant estate with a hot gamekeeper. In this very lusty film rendition, please enjoy Connie’s clandestine sex visits to the gamekeeper’s shack.
6. The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021-present)
Why you’ll watch it: Laughs, dorm room hookups, femme lesbian realness
If you like horny but smart comedies, you’ll love this show. Amid the (abundant!) sex, the show tackles some great themes: education affordability, coming out, and situationships vs. relationships. It’s also hilarious – we can thank co-creator Mindy Kaling for that.
7. Bridgerton S1 (2020)
Why you’ll watch it: Sexed up Jane Austen vibes
The general consensus is that Bridgerton’s first season is the best; we do not dispute. Watch for the slow-build tension between Daphne Bridgerton and her frenemy, the Duke of Hastings (real name Simon). When you’re not enjoying them, enjoy the maximalist escapism of this colorful show: balls! Feasts! Fluffy pastel dresses!
8. Normal People (2020)
Why you’ll watch it: If you read the book or watched the 22-minute sex scene edit
Irish high schoolers Marianne and Connell come from different worlds, hers rich and lonely, his poor and full of lovestruck girls. After an unlikely entanglement, they head off to college – but never forget their chemistry. Neither will you, after watching this.
9. P-Valley (2020–present)
Why you’ll watch it: Behind-the-scenes look at strip clubs and the people who work there
Short for “Pussy Valley,” Katori Hall’s show about a southern strip club is refreshingly frank about sex work, racism, and life in Mississippi. It also features tons of amazing pole dance.
10. Sex Education (2019–2023)
Why you’ll watch it: Gillian Anderson, endearing teenagers figuring out sex
More heartfelt than HAWT, but still – given the subject matter, Sex Education features lots of hookups. Otis is a Welsh high schooler who lives with his mom, a sex therapist, and starts an unofficial “sex clinic” at school with his buddy Maeve. This is such a sweet show, and honestly? It’s the kind of programming we wish we had as teens.
11. Elite (2018–present)
Why you’ll watch it: You miss Gossip Girl. Also throuples!
This is a sleeper hit on Netflix in its seventh season! Perfect for holiday binging. Spanish teenagers Samuel, Nadia, and Christian are enrolled at Las Encinas, surrounded by wealthier classmates. While a murder mystery drives a lot of the action, so does the sex. If you want to skip to the good stuff go right to season 4, the most sex-filled.
12. Professor Marston and The Wonder Women (2017)
Why you’ll watch it: Polyamory, BDSM, the side of Wonder Woman comics you didn’t know
Based on a true story, this movie tells the story of The Wonder Woman comics creator: a feminist academic who loved and lived with two women. More humanizing than crazy sexual, but we appreciate the (fascinating) storytelling around BDSM, and the loving approach to non-monogamy.
13. Easy (2016–19)
Why you’ll watch it: Huge fun ensemble cast, sex that feels real
This show is like hanging out with your best buds, talking sex, open relationships, dating, raising kids, work – all with a side of Chicago. Super funny and down-to-earth, with sex scenes that are hot because they’re human.
14. Carol (2015)
Why you’ll watch it: Hush-hush lesbians in the 1950s
Driving gloves, red lips, stolen glances between ladies: the Pinterest board of Carol, a romance melodrama starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. A study of quiet desire, watch it for the New York environs, the two leads’ road trip of sexual freedom, and the gentle reminder that queer people have always existed.
15. Secretary (2002)
Why you’ll watch it: Waaaay better kink portrayal than 50 Shades
Based on a short story by Mary Gaitskill, Secretary feels almost fable-like. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a young woman trying to impress her fastidious, harsh boss (James Spader), an attorney who loves to boss her around. Soon, they both realize she likes the way he bosses her around. While scenes of actual, penetrative sex are slim, this is an excellent movie about sub/Dom dynamics and a must-watch for anyone into BDSM.
There you have it: you’re not confined to the Hallmark Channel! Watch these instead, and report back to us…after you’ve ~enjoyed~ thoroughly. We’re on Instagram @sexwithemily.
Want more bingable, sexy TV + movie recs? Ask me anytime inside my membership platform, SmartSX, submit your Qs to Ask Emily, or sign up for my newsletter and get sex secrets on the regular.
