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When The Hunting Wives<\/em> star Jaime Ray Newman was on a small ferry outside of Vancouver Island last week, she learned firsthand just how much buzz the sexy drama has created.<\/p>\n Newman, who plays fiery, red-haired Texan Callie, overheard a group of friends debating what to binge-watch next. When one of them mentioned The Hunting Wives<\/em>, two women on the boat who weren’t part of the group interjected: “Oh my God, we just finished that. Have you seen it yet?”<\/p>\n “All of a sudden, the whole boat started talking about the damn Hunting Wives<\/em>,” Newman tells Yahoo. She had changed her hair since the show came out, so she wasn\u2019t immediately recognizable. But when a producer she was with pointed her out to the group, they started to freak out. “All of a sudden, I was Julia Roberts on the boat. Everyone wanted selfies.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s a clear sign of how The Hunting Wives<\/em> is the show of the moment. Last week, it pulled in over 2 billion minutes viewed on Netflix, according to data analytics platform Luminate<\/a>. That was more than double its debut week numbers, an impressive accomplishment for a show licensed for only U.S. streaming. It remains in Netflix\u2019s Top 10.<\/p>\n Based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel, the series follows Sophie (Brittany Snow), who moves with her family from Boston to Texas. As she settles into the small town, Sophie becomes dangerously entangled with a socialite named Margo (Malin Akerman), spiraling into obsession, seduction and murder. Politics, guns and a touch of campy dialogue are thrown in too. Beyond the premise, what\u2019s so resonant about this raunchy series?<\/p>\n From steamy scenes to unexpected plot twists, The Hunting Wives<\/em> pushes the envelope. That’s especially true with how the series explores sex.<\/p>\n There\u2019s the unconventional marital arrangement between Margo and her husband, Jed Banks \u2014 a debauched oil tycoon played by Dermot Mulroney \u2014 which allows them both to sleep with other women. And they both do \u2026 a lot. Akerman\u2019s character ultimately shares intimate moments with both Snow’s and Newman’s. There\u2019s also a storyline of her sleeping with the son of her best friend, a barely legal teen.<\/p>\n Aside from 2021\u2019s Sex\/Life<\/em>, this might be the most risqu\u00e9 original series Netflix has ever released. Up until just two months ago, The Hunting Wives <\/em>was actually slated to premiere on Starz. As Snow told Glamour<\/a>, the cast filmed the series believing it would land with a smaller audience and potentially become a \u201ccult classic.\u201d But Netflix changed the equation \u2014 and with a much bigger streaming audience comes a lot more opinions.<\/p>\n As for the nudity, yes, it\u2019s meant to be provocative. \u201cNobody who puts this many naked people on TV does it entirely for educational or creative purposes,\u201d Linda Holmes wrote for NPR<\/a>, while also pointing out how \u201ceverybody seems to be having a transparently great time.\u201d<\/p>\n Snow told Glamour she didn\u2019t find that nude scenes were \u201cgratuitously done, where we\u2019re showing this shot of a woman\u2019s body for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the story that needs to be told, specifically because of Margo\u2019s coercion and power and making these moves on Sophie, the sex scenes need to happen because Margo uses her sexuality and prowess to make sure that Sophie feels like she\u2019s finally being seen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n This show isn\u2019t just buzzy because of the sex, although Episode 7\u2019s pegging scene might be the most jaw-dropping moment of them all. “Respectfully, the entire meat of the series is its indescribable, inescapable, horniness,\u201d Rolling Stone<\/a> says. There are plenty of wild antics that make The Hunting Wives<\/em> an unhinged binge.<\/p>\n In one episode, the hunting wives load up for a boar hunt, and after Callie calmly finishes one off, the women celebrate with a boozy brunch of mimosas, gossip and a game of never-have-I-ever that ends with a manslaughter confession. That abruptly ends the party \u2026 until two characters embark on an alcohol-and-Xanax rager and invite younger men over for a game of spin the bottle.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also enough political satire to ruffle both sides of the aisle. Akerman has said her character was inspired<\/a> by Melania Trump, and an abortion storyline comes with a side of anti-abortion posturing. Critics have called it<\/a> a \u201cbonkers, bisexual culture-war soap,\u201d with each episode going further than expected.<\/p>\n While all that chaos keeps the entertainment dialed all the way up, it\u2019s part of the show\u2019s charm. This isn\u2019t a prestige drama like Succession<\/em> or The Crown<\/em> \u2014 it\u2019s your new guilty pleasure, dripping in scandal and served with a cold glass of whiskey. Beneath the sex, power plays and whodunit murder mystery, The Hunting Wives<\/em> knows exactly what it is: a glossy, high-octane escape that doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously.<\/p>\n With its biting one-liners \u2014 “she’s a coastal elite with a body count” or “open marriages are for liberals” \u2014 chaotic Southern style, The Hunting Wives<\/em> is about having a good time.<\/p>\n “There are serious things that we\u2019re dealing with, but we come off the [storylines] quickly. We want to entertain,” Newman says, crediting showrunner Rebecca Cutter for this no-holds-barred approach.<\/p>\n “Oftentimes shows pussyfoot a little bit. They’re a little too scared to upset this group, a little scared to upset that demographic. So they end up just playing it so down the middle, and Rebecca has no fear,” Newman continues. “She threads that very delicate needle. Every now and then, you get a writer who comes along who just speaks to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hunting Wives <\/em>certainly speaks to a female audience. The show offers complex, unapologetic characters who break the mold, telling stories that entertain an often-overlooked demographic.<\/p>\n Although Sex and the City<\/em> paved the way in 1998, it’s rare to find TV shows centered on female desire and ambition, especially when it comes to portraying women over the age of 40. SATC<\/em> spin-off And Just Like That… <\/em>was recently canceled after three seasons<\/a>, highlighting the challenge of sustaining these narratives.<\/p>\n The Hunting Wives<\/em> rises to the occasion, offering a bold exploration of women navigating power, intimacy and self-discovery without hesitation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy can’t women talk about wanting to have sex and be pleased?” Newman asks. \u201cMost stories are centered around men’s pleasure, but finally, we get to be the forefront of these stories. So I think it’s about time.”<\/p>\nThe shock factor<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Escapism at its finest<\/strong><\/h2>\n