If I want to see sex, I'll just watch porn where I can actually see it and not just the implication of sex. I can not think of a single sex scene in a TV show or movie that was memorable and hot. And the one that was memorable? The one from Team America. Because it was funny.

The problem I see with sex on the screen is that almost always it isn't well integrated in the story. It looks like someone said "we need a sex scene at 47 minutes in the movie".

I actually dig a slightly coy lead up and I’m good with the implication of sex, or just the very beginning. But then you can just cut to the next scene; I know how it works.

I really hate sex scenes that are complete with fake as pounding and moaning; get that outta here. I don’t mind nudity in the least though.

Typically I prefer if sex scenes tell us something about the narrative, themes, or characters. It feels dated to just have a scene that only serves to titillate the audience. Like from a generation that was averse to porn consumption or access.

I absolutely don't mind if a couple of actors can tell us something about their characters though sex and nudity. It's part of being human, it's part of storytelling. But the show should be about something or I'm just gonna get bored.

That being said, some older movies were spectacle first, light on plot, heavy on nudity and sex, and were meant as light entertainment. They often crossed lines of taste, so not for everyone. Kind of a dead genre, exploitation. I'm an age where I can still appreciate it but often hit a wall of ick and discomfort over badly aged tropes.

I prefer no sex-scenes tbh as they extremely rarely add something to the story. The implication or the first few seconds are more than enough. They only time I've felt that a longish sex-scene have added to the story is in Bridgerton when Penelope finally finds her love match.

I'm fine with plenty of sex on TV. Game of Thrones seems to have broken the barrier in people's mind for gratuitous sex and nudity in the mainstream and streaming services have capitalised on not having the same restrictions as terrestrial TV. Sex is an important part of human existence and it's fine to have it feature heavily in our media. The same rules apply as for anything else in story writing.... It must make a point, fit into a narrative and be done well.

A few media review sources have had good video essays and articles about the fact that:

1. The most recent generations are really objecting to sex in their media. So tastes are changing. Objectively there is less and less sex in our movies and TV shows.
2. It is very important to show normal sex as part of a normal story. If this is not maintained, then the only way to see any depiction of sex will be porn, and porn is so warped and far from reality that it really should not be our main depiction of sex.

If stories are going to be written, then there will inevitably be bad stories and poor implementation too, and we just have to put up with that. I haven't seen the media you mention.... Maybe it was bad, or maybe it wasn't for you. Either one is fine. If you want to find good shows, you risk watching some bad ones.

the spartacus series was only fighting and fucking. zero complaints here.

FWIW, a friend thought the calves and feet only scene in Wet Hot American Summer was the finest sex scene he had ever seen. It's a product of its time, but it proves your point.

If it's at home, I don't mind something that is proportional and does the work of furthering the plot and conveying emotions. Film is an art form, so if it makes sense and doesn't last long enough for me to turn to my partner and say "uh....did we switch movies?" then it's fine IMO. 50-75% of GOT nudity was not necessary, for example. And we all know what was and what wasn't.

On a plane, I always freak out, like I'm some pervert that chose that movie to show the whole plane some boobs. I didn't know! I swear!

Just for context I'm asexual and that probably colors my answer in some interesting ways, but I say ... just a little?

Less is more when it comes to sex and violence. That might be my most old person opinion yet, but it doesn't come from a place of prudishness or judgment. I just think once the taboo on that stuff was largely broken it became overwhelming. It's a flashy hook to draw you in with no substance and they just hammer that dopamine switch so hard that it loses any impact after awhile.

Additionally, especially when it comes to sex, I feel like a lot of times it's hard to appeal to everyone in satisfying ways. Sex and our relationship with it is deeply personal, the things that appeal to one person might not appeal to another. We're often left disappointed when the net is cast too wide and feels impersonal, or it tries to appeal in ways we're not interested, or (IMHO worst of all) comes off as a flimsily disguised exposure to the creator's unique fetishes. Fine if you're into that, but very offputting if you're not.

I was just reminiscing the other day on the experience of growing up as a teen in the 90's finding some fan translated PC-98 visual novels. You'd play for hours just on the hopes of glancing a single, pixelated boob and end up enraptured in some cyber punk story.

I'm not saying there's a right or wrong here, I don't expect everyone to cater to my toned-down sensibilities, but I do think there has to be a happier medium where the sex and violence have real meaning and impact again and aren't just manipulative marketing. I think that's a lot of what worked well for (at least early seasons of) Game of Thrones. The possibility lurked around every corner, tension in every scene, and when it hit it landed with titillating impact instead of just drowning you in it.

I'm a horny guy and even enjoy cheesy male power fantasy erotica shlock or eroge game now and then but:

I can't say I've ever thought to myself "you know what this movie/show needed? More implied genitals* slapping together."

I usually read a little bit about any piece of media before commiting time to watching it, so something like Heated Rivalry I wouldn't watch for the same reasons you've listed. Bland softcore. Zzz.

However, I can't say I've ever felt like generic throwaway sex scenes ruined any tv show or movie for me, so that's why I don't personally have a strong opinion on it. Not even Game of Thrones bothered me. Didn't turn me on either, so it's just kinda there. Fluff. Let's say in an alternate universe Heated Rivalry was very well written and compelling while still having the same amount of softcore scenes. Is it still bad?

What if it's extremely negative like tw:

I think it helps for impact to show for that kind of horror, so there's exceptions.

I quite enjoy movie and show sex scenes / nudity - they're more special than porn and can easily be more artistic than pornography.

There is actually a very high upper limit on how much sex can fit into a show, IF it is a "meaningful" sex scene and adds to the plot... you could theoretically have 50% sex scenes if it was a show about sex or a very sex centred episode. But that would be a bit like watching porn, which is just one reason why movies tend to cut away or interrupt the nsfw action. (Anothee reaskn is that they can't be bothered to film it all, because it's not actual sex.)

Case study: I actually tried to watch a show largrly about sex. "The Girlfriend Experience." All of the storytelling and excitement of this series goes into the sex scenes, which they honestly should have had more of, given that it is a show about sex.

The rest of the show was incredibly flst and boring - LITERALLY just people conversing with one another in a sterile corporate high rise.

old-ish movies: If you watch movies from the 70s and 80s you'll notice a ridiculous adherence to having as many female stars or background characters showing their breasts as possible. It reminds me of how people (e.g asmongold) get about video game character design - they think the lack of smutty stuff is a personal attack.

I'm not sure what to think of this gratuitous nudity, because i do of course like it, but it's very tacky and obvious. Doesn't waste as much time as unnecessary sex scenes, i suppose.

Depends on the movie. Two hot movie stars boning is often appreciated by me.

I don't mind sex scenes if they fit the characters and plot (and won't complain about seeing naked beautiful people anyway, as long as it's fine by them), but the awkwardly placed and just long enough to be creepy feet shots on Tarantino's films and the anime adaptation of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (of course the first episode of season two had to have one; seriously, Madhouse, what the actual fuck) start to get tiresome after a while...

The minimum necessary to advance the plot. I'm also with the "if I want sex I'll watch porn" crowd, and I'm not much of a porn consumer to begin with.

Personally, I like it being there. I don't dislike it any more than I dislike romance in media. When it makes sense, it's great! It can add a lot to a story. When it doesn't make sense? It can completely take me out.

Some of the best stories I've interacted with have been heavy on the sex, but they're also heavy on a lot of other things, including using the sex as part of the symbolism for the rest of the narrative. Hell I played a game where the overall theme (at least, that I got from it) was "Consent makes things better," shown via repeated mutual noncon.

I've also read some stories where it was all porn, no plot, and got bored about 7 pages in. If I just want porn, video is what I end up going to, I'm reading because I want a story with it. I'm not about to sit down to watch a 1:30 porno either; I'd need a little more justification than "I'm stuck in a dryer, help!" to stay invested for 90 minutes.

I tend to feel like there are wider forces at play with how sex in media happens, though. Especially when you look at some of the stuff coming out of other countries, and how differently they treat sex? A lot of US movies treat the sex as disposable. You can remove the sex, and get the same story, and I think that's my actual problem with it. I remember accidentally playing the censored version of one game, and then I replayed it uncensored, and it was a vastly different experience. Censored, one of the characters was just an absolute monster with 0 motivation beyond being a horrible person. Uncensored, though? I felt kinda bad for her. The sex scenes humanized her a lot in ways that the rest of the game just... Didn't.

All to say, it's a tool in a box. You can do a lot with it, but a lot of people don't do much with it, and it bums me out.

I like enough to move the characters forward in their story. If it's gratuitous, it makes me go "meh!"

Just watched Pillion a few days ago and it was fairly steamy and funnier than hell in some points.. it was odd, as a dom/sub story it somewhat fell flat at the end for me. The guy I was watching it with was likewise disappointed as he's gay and said that most gay-centered stories rarely have a happy ending.

The sex scenes were okay and both of us ooohed and ahhed over seeing Alexander Skarsgard's ass.. which was quite delightful, but the sex scenes were... meh! Honestly the sex scenes in the John Cameron Mitchell film, Shortbus, did more for me.

Sex scenes in TV/Movies are lame. What do they really provide to the story? Like the stuff in Thrones. It was beyond gratuitous. I could definitely do without scenes of SA as well. (I know it was in the books). It seems pretty clear who these scenes with topless women are for. Clearly I am not in the target audience lol.

Perhaps I am just a bit uncultured when it comes to film as art, and the metaphors that are drawn by these scenes.

As much as necessary to make the story move forward. If something specific that happened in bed is necessary to further the story, show it. I'd much rather see nudity than someone's brains getting blown out. Nudity and sex can be added in a way that makes movies or TV series worth less without it - they can actually add value to the movie/series.

There's porn out there just jumps right into the fucking and there's porn that tries to build a story yet the acting is downright awful. A good thing in the middle could be amazing, but most of the time, the needle isn't threaded or threaded badly.

This is a gross mischaracterization of the show. Yes, it has several sex scenes in most episodes, and for TV (and it being gay men) they are relatively explicit. But they are essential for the plot and characters; the relationship starts as purely hookups and develops from there. A lot of the early unspoken dialog between the main characters is exchanged in these scenes. And the vast majority of the runtime is filled with quite a bit of plot showcasing some very fine acting. I can understand if someone dislikes sex scenes, I'd often rather would do without them myself when they don't add much to the story or are badly done. But for this show they are essential and painting it as just softcore porn makes me believe, OP fast-forwarded through everything but the sex scenes.

almost none. my only complaint about shameless (US) was the amount of unnecessary cringe sex scenes

I would like a warning if an exotic scene surpases 15 seconds. But that's just me. I would be fine with it during situations and knowing, other times it just feels awkward.

As much as needed for the story to exist? I mean, We're not talking watching porn here, we're talking watching a movie or a series, aka a story. Sex is a legit part of many stories but outside of porn I don't think it's that often required.

So, if there is no story or if the main selling point of the series is to show sex scenes or play with sex allusions, I will quit watching it very fast, no matter how soft/hard gay/straight/fluid/whatever the sex scenes in it can be. I don't give a, you guessed it, fuck ;)

Here are some shows that, imho, did it right.

"Black Sails" is about pirates. There's a lot of graphic sex, but it's always plot driven. Similarly, "The Americans," the Soviet agents are using whatever means they can to accomplish their mission, and if that includes a middle aged man seducing a high school girl, so be it. Another is "Penny Dreadful." Witches, vampires, werewolves, and the reanimated dead.

There's a scene in "Killing Eve' where the assassinatrix is going at it so hard that she's scaring the innocent guy she's with.

But yeah, most of the time it feels like they are trying to spice things up, and usually failing.

Depends on what it's about and whether the cast can pull it off without being alienated. Also whether or not I'm watching it with my parents.

I don't care about the quantity, but arbitrary sex scenes for the sake of sex sells are one of the most annoying elements in modern film and television - especially in Netflix TV shows. While sex sells is not new, it used to be at least within the flow of the movie/TV show. Now it's Witcher 1 level of random sex, as if a specific amount of sex per season was part of a contract.

Heated rivalry IS mass appeal soft porn. Judge it for what it is, not for what it isn't.