Sex, Love & Secrets

Described as a "Generation Y soap opera" by critic John Kenneth Muir, Sex, Love & Secrets revolves around affluent young adults living in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and their secrets regarding love and sex.[1] The Advocate's Richard Andreoli identified the group as "close friends",[2] though the official website states that they act more like a family.[3] One of the show's taglines was "the only thing that can come between them...is the truth".[1] According to The Futon Critic's Brian Ford Sullivan, the show uses "National Geographic-esque footage" to pivot the characters and their storylines as "a study of human behavior" on lying and secrets.[4]

The series has voice-over narrations, and its lines include: "Be it Santa Claus, Twinkies, infidelity or murder, all humans keep secrets."[5][6] The narrator, voiced by Virginia Hamilton,[7] talks about the characters and their storylines through "clinical terms".[8] McFarland wrote that she speaks in "ominous tones",[9] while other commentators found the voiceover similar to that of a Discovery Channel program.[4][5] Some critics compared the narrator to Mary Alice Young from Desperate Housewives,[9][10] while Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer likened her to Marty Stouffer's role on Wild America.[9]

Publicist Jolene (Denise Richards) has a tense relationship with rock musician Hank (James Stevenson), who is planning to marry journalist Rose (Lauren German).[1][5] As the lead singer of the band Modern Apes, Hank performs "mocking [and] self-congratulatory" versions of Barry Manilow's music.[6][11] According to Tatiana Morales of CBS News, people compared Jolene to Amanda Woodward from Melrose Place.[12] Muir characterized Jolene as a maneater,[1] and Phil Gallo of Variety viewed her as "a devilish character with a dark soul".[13] On the other hand, Shandy Casteel of PopMatters described Rose as the girl next door.[5] David Bianculli of the New York Daily News cited her as the show's lead character.[14] In the pilot episode, Rose receives the ashes of her ex-boyfriend Billy (Dylan Bruno), but it is revealed he is alive when he re-enters the characters' lives. Jolene believes that Rose had ruined her relationship with Billy, and responds by plotting to take Hank as "a means to nasty retaliation".[5] As part of the show's comedy, Rose imagines people singing pop music to her.[8]

Hair stylist Charlie (Eric Balfour) has sex with Gabrielle (Katie Cassidy), his close friend Coop's (Omar Miller) girlfriend.[1][5] Charlie looks to Warren Beatty's character from the 1975 film Shampoo as an inspiration for his life.[8] He is portrayed as a "sexual dynamo",[5] though he chooses to maintain a platonic relationship with Meg (Nadia Bjorlin).[13] Meg was a recurring character on the series.[15] The group frequently seeks advice from gynaecologist Nina (Tamara Taylor), characterized as a workaholic without a sex or social life.[5][13] The hipster Milo (Lucas Bryant) becomes Nina's new roommate[5] after she meets him through an online advertisement.[11] Shandy Casteel wrote that Nina was a "vixen-waiting-to-flower" and felt Milo fulfilled the "creepy-geek-as-potential-killer cliché". The group is typically shown at a bar.[5] Executive producers Michael Gans and Richard Register said that storylines involving LGBT characters were planned.[2]

Sex, Love & Secrets was created as a vehicle for Denise Richards' television debut.

Sex, Love & Secrets was first announced as part of a September 7, 2004 press report,[16] and developed under the working titles Wildlife and Sex, Lies, and Secrets.[4][17][18] Brian Ford Sullivan wrote that the Wildlife title matched the documentary-style of the series,[4] and Amy Amatangelo of The Gazette felt the Sex, Lies, and Secrets title was changed to avoid confusion with the 1989 film Sex, Lies, and Videotape.[18] When talking about the second title change, executive producer Jonathan Axelrod said: "I've always felt we had more love than lies in the show."[19]

Axelrod/Edwards Company and Paramount Network Television handled production. Jonathan Axelrod, Kelly Edwards, and Daniel Cerone worked as the show's executive producers, while its co-executive producers were Michael Gans and Richard Register.[13] Along with being the series' creators, Gans and Register served as its primary writers.[11][13] David Schwartz handled the music, and Caty Maxey and Brandy Alexander worked as the production designers. The casting process was overseen by Robin Lippin.[13]

Jolene was Richard's first role in a television series,[12] and Richard Andreoli referred to Sex, Love & Secrets as her star vehicle.[2] Richards was drawn to the character and script, explaining: "It was something I thought was so different and the character was different. It was definitely appealing to be shooting something at home." Richards was pregnant during the filming of the pilot episode.[12] When discussing balancing the filming schedule and motherhood, she said: "My children are my first priority, but it’s nice to have a balance between work and home. This is an ensemble show, so I’m not working every day." Richards considered creating a nursery on the set.[20] Brian Ford Sullivan wrote that Richards plays a smaller role than expected in the show despite her listing as the main actor.[4]

The episodes were shot in Los Angeles; David Straiton, Allison Liddi-Brown, and Rachel Talalay were a few of the primary directors.[1][13] Shandy Casteel wrote that the series made frequent use of "rapid camera zooms, faded-out flashbacks, and quick cuts" and other types of "production flourishes".[5] Phil Gallo described the direction as having "an intimate and racy feel" focused on colorful settings.[13]

Sex, Love & Secrets was broadcast initially on Tuesday nights at 9 pm EST on United Paramount Network (UPN). The episodes aired between September 27, 2005, and October 18, 2005.[11] It was one of three new shows the network ordered for the 2005–06 season.[24] The show's official website hosted preview videos and an interactive map of the Silver Lake community.[25][26] Muir wrote that UPN intended to market the series to fans of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.[1] Melanie McFarland considered Sex, Love & Secrets part of the network's plans to add more prime-time soap operas to its scheduling.[27] The pilot received "mixed reviews and weak viewership",[28] having been watched by an average of 1.4 million people.[22][29][30]

Due to its poor reception and ratings,[1][28] UPN canceled Sex, Love & Secrets after one episode aired.[28][22] It had the lowest rating of any network television show that aired in the 2005–06 season.[31] The network clarified that it would broadcast the remaining episodes that had been filmed,[28] and might renew the show if ratings improved.[22][29] UPN did not air six of the eight episodes.[11] It has never been released on DVD or Blu-ray, or on any online-streaming service.[1][32] The series was the second-lowest rated network television of the season, above only Get This Party Started.[33] According to Muir, it fared poorly in every demographic.[1] When talking about the cancellation, Balfour joked: "I LIKE doing shows that fail."[34] Gary Susman and Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the removal of Sex, Love & Secrets cut short Richards' television career.[35]

In 2008, Universal HD acquired the series, airing it alongside fellow UPN series South Beach in a "Sexy Summer Sundays" block. The run included premieres of the six episodes that had not been aired by UPN.[21][36]

Based on 16 reviews, Sex, Love & Secrets received a score from Metacritic of 41/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[37] Phil Gallo praised the show as having "the potential to be a real guilty pleasure", and cited Jolene as its highlight. Gallo described Richards as conveying "the most dramatic presence" in the scenes, and wrote: "without her, the show would wither".[13] Rob Owen also commended the series as "a little sleazy and a heck of a lot of guilty pleasure fun".[8] A contributor for Zimbio responded positively to Lauren German's performance, saying she "hit her stride by landing the lead role" in shows such as Sex, Love & Secrets.[38] Brian Ford Sullivan praised Richard's performance as the only positive aspect of the series as she brings out its campy qualities.[4] Reviewing the series, Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "It's skank-errific, if flawed." Despite being critical of Sex, Love & Secrets, Aaron Barnhart of The Kansas City Star felt that it was not the worst example of a prime-time soap opera.[39]

Sex, Love & Secrets also garnered negative reactions from television critics. Shandy Casteel panned the series, writing that it relied on "stock characters in stock situations".[5] Anita Gates criticized the narration as "vapid commentary [that] sets the tone for this vapid soap about vapid young single heterosexual friends".[10] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe wrote that the characters acted out "every negative stereotype about LA".[40] USA Today's Robert Bianco did not believe that Richards and Balfour's performances could carry the series.[6] Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle summarized the pilot episode saying: "It's awful. Vote no."[41] A reviewer from Out criticized the show's tone, and wrote it was "too much mellow and not enough drama".[42]

Critics had mixed reviews for Sex, Love & Secrets, when compared to other television programs. Rob Owen identified it as a good replacement for Melrose Place fans,[8] while Casteel described the series as an unsuccessful attempt to recreate it.[5] Matthew Gilbert felt that its serious tone clashed with its intentions to become a guilty pleasure in the same vein as Melrose Place.[40] Instead, The Wall Street Journal's Nancy DeWolf Smith likened the show's storylines and tone to Desperate Housewives.[39] Robert Bianco interpreted Sex, Love & Secrets as a shallow version of The O.C..[6] Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times wrote that the show lacked "the self-aware wit" of The O.C. and the "over-the-top fun" of Melrose Place.[43]

• Official website (archive)
• Sex, Love & Secrets at IMDb