Tell Me You Love Me

Gone are the days of fun and laughter-inducing depictions of sex, as evidenced by HBO's new series, Tell Me You Love Me.  The show, created by Cynthia Mort, takes a less erotic and more serious approach to the highest form of intimacy between couples, all for the sake of realism and uncovering a truth.

"Being erotic was certainly never a consideration," Mort told the Los Angeles Times.  "In all those scenes, the primary motivation was to tell the story and advance the characters and reveal something about them.  They're not in a place to turn the lights down low and put on some music, light some candles…  That's not who they are right now. I think there are some very intense moments between these couples.  They may not be erotic, but they're certainly compelling."

Tell Me You Love Me revolves around three couples, each dealing with their own intimacy issues.  The sexuality depicted on the show has, so far, been anything but steamy, as Mort comes from a viewpoint where “the role of sex in our lives is changing.”

"There's really no need for it. And when you lose the need, the truth comes out,” Mort said.

The show, thus, focuses more on the emotional aspect of sex than on the physical pleasures it provides, giving the viewers the chance to appreciate intimate scenes not just for the sex.

"I think if you cut away during those intimate, kind of raw, exposing moments, you don't get to reveal another layer of who we are," Mort told the Los Angeles Times.  "Sex is part of the language of intimacy.  It would be the same if I cut out in the middle of an emotional speech by one of my characters.  You wouldn't have the whole experience."

That all said, Mort revealed that viewers will see the more “fun” side of sex in the coming episodes of Tell Me You Love Me.

“Sex is fun, and it will be fun on our show. I had a very specific aesthetic and story to tell those first 10 episodes,” she explained.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Los Angeles Times
(Image Courtesy of HBO)