When Molly decides she wants to have more sex, there are two problems: first, she's married. And second, she's dying.
The collision of outrageous sexual exploration with heartwrenching vulnerability and emotion is what makes Dying for Sex such a powerful TV series, earning three Emmy nominations.
Dying for Sex is shortlisted for outstanding limited or anthology series in the 2025 Emmy awards, with star Michelle Williams and the supporting cast also earning acting nominations.
You can watch the series on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK and Australia. And it's funny to see the series alongside Disney and Pixar cartoons, because it is, shall we say, extremely frank.
Williams plays Molly, who leaves her husband and sets out to find sexual fulfilment while she still can. Although her terminal diagnosis looms over the story, the series is also wickedly funny as it lays bare her sexual misadventures.
Despite the dark subject matter, it's easy to be swept up in Molly's lust for life as her sexual exploration takes her into increasingly ludicrous situations.
This unflinching and non-judgmental look at the absurd messiness of life stops the series from tipping into sentimentality or cliche, instead treating Molly and her desires with respect, curiosity and compassion.
The series is based on a podcast in which the real-life Molly Kochan discussed her sex life, and her experience of terminal cancer, with best friend Nikki Boyer. Kochan died in 2019, before the podcast was released the following year.
In the TV adaptation, Williams plays Molly and Jenny Slate plays Nikki. Slate and Rob Delaney are Emmy-nominated for their supporting roles, while Sissy Spacek delivers a nuanced performance as Molly's mother.
Molly and Nikki’s intimate and often chaotic friendship is the core of the series, full of laughter, disagreement, devotion and heartbreaking vulnerability.
It's a rare TV series that can have you laughing out loud one minute and proper snot-running-down-your-face weeping the next, but that's the spectrum of emotion these close friends experience together.
The inventive and irreverent approach to the painful subject is also mirrored in the visuals.
As Molly's mental and physical state changes, we understand her experience through surreal and sometimes delightfully rude (but never gratuitous) visual flourishes. By the end, Molly reclaims her life, and her death, in a devastatingly emotional finale.
Ultimately, the series is so compelling because it treats not one but two taboo subjects with humour and intelligence.
It's as much about friendship as it is about sex and death, and even in its inevitable conclusion finds joy.
Bold and honest, Dying for Sex tackles the biggest emotions with humour and humanity.
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