TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. "Dying For Sex" is a new FX on Hulu production, with all eight episodes now streaming. It stars Michelle Williams from "The Fabelmans" and "Blue Valentine" as a woman whose cancer returns after a period of dormancy. It leads her on a quest to explore her sexual drive and passions in a new way. "Dying For Sex" is based on a real story and inspired by a podcast of the same name. Our TV critic David Bianculli says the Hulu series ends up being much deeper and more emotionally resonant than he expected. Here's his review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: "Dying For Sex," the new FX on Hulu miniseries now streaming in its entirety, has a basic premise that reminded me a bit of "Breaking Bad." The main character gets a diagnosis of terminal cancer and reacts in ways that are both unexpected and uncharacteristic. With Walter White in "Breaking Bad," the high school science teacher played by Bryan Cranston, he opts to use his knowledge of chemistry to make and sell crystal meth in order to provide a nest egg for the family he'll soon leave behind. With Molly, the long-married woman played by Michelle Williams in "Dying For Sex," she decides to embark on a quest to find a level of sexual satisfaction she's not yet experienced. Walter is breaking bad. Molly, at first glance, is breaking sexy.
But though that skeletal outline makes dying for sex sound like a titillating black comedy, it's more than that. I can't stress enough how much this new series got to me. Yes, some of the sexual encounters and misadventures are very funny, but the emotions and characters running throughout this series are so real and often so raw that though I laughed a lot at what I was watching, I also choked up a lot and really became caught up in the emotional lives of the show's characters - all of them.
"Dying For Sex" is inspired by the story of a woman named Molly, who originally told her story in a 2020 podcast cohosted by her best friend Nikki. The relationship between Molly and Nikki is central to the miniseries from the very start. When Nikki sees Molly sitting outside a bodega looking sad and asks her, what's wrong? Molly is played by Michelle Williams. Nikki is played by Jenny Slate.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DYING FOR SEX")
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: (As Molly) You know how I had that pain in my hip that wouldn't go away?
JENNY SLATE: (As Nikki) Uh huh.
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) It's cancer. It's back.
SLATE: (As Nikki) But you - it's been two years.
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) I know.
SLATE: (As Nikki) You did everything that the doctor said, and you took of all their drugs and...
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) It's not fair.
SLATE: (As Nikki) ...This is still...
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) I don't want to die just when I'm getting used to my new boobs.
SLATE: (As Nikki) No, you're not going to die.
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) I am, actually. It metastasized to my bones. It's incurable.
BIANCULLI: Molly's husband Steve, played by Jay Duplass, has been afraid to be intimate with her since her initial breast cancer diagnosis. Their marriage counseling sessions leave her unsatisfied, but a session with a newly assigned palliative care counselor leaves her encouraged to recognize and explore her deeper sexual feelings, wherever they might lead.
After a very long and bad day, she returns to her apartment and sees an unfamiliar Neighbor Guy - that's the way he's credited, as Neighbor Guy - doing a sloppy job of putting his garbage down the hallway's garbage chute. She reacts forcefully, and we hear her inner thoughts, noting that she likes being dominant. And Neighbor Guy, played by Rob Delaney, seems to like her dominance, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "DYING FOR SEX")
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) Look. What, you think you can just make a mess and expect that other people will clean it up?
ROB DELANEY: (As Neighbor Guy) Yeah.
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) Pick it up.
(As Molly's thoughts) Oh, my God. You're doing what I say.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHUTE OPENING AND CLOSING)
WILLIAMS: (As Molly) Now say, I'm disgusting.
DELANEY: (As Neighbor Guy) I'm disgusting.
BIANCULLI: After that scene, you may think you have a good idea of where "Dying For Sex" is going. I thought I did, but I was really, really wrong. The reason for Molly's formerly closed-off attitudes towards sex have to do with a childhood trauma, which is revealed slowly and emotionally. And all of the characters surrounding Molly, even if they might appear easy to pigeonhole at first, will surprise you at some point. That goes for her friends and family, including her long-estranged mother, played perfectly by Sissy Spacek. But it also goes for the caregivers, including David Rasche as Molly's doctor, Esco Jouley as her care counselor and Paula Pell as an oddly cheerful hospice nurse.
Hulu's "Dying For Sex" is cocreated by Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether, both of whom come from the sitcom "New Girl." They make this miniseries a TV journey you're not likely to forget, but the actors are most responsible for both the laughs and the tears here. Jenny Slate as the best friend, Rob Delaney as the neighbor and Sissy Spacek as the guilt-ridden mom - all of them create fully dimensional, vulnerable characters and are outstanding.
And all of them revolve like planets around Michelle Williams as Molly, whose acting in "Dying For Sex" is so human and so touching it's hard to describe. I've been impressed and surprised by the depth of her acting several times before, including when she played Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn" and the mother in "The Fabelmans" and even Gwen Verdon in FX's "Fosse/Verdon" series. But in "Dying For Sex," Michelle Williams floored me. Her portrayal, like the series, is at times broadly and brilliantly comic, but also is so vivid and so involving it may bring you to tears also.
GROSS: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed "Dying For Sex." It's streaming on Hulu.
Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, some answers to the questions many Democrats and Republicans are still asking - "How Trump Beat Biden, Harris And The Odds In The Wildest Campaign In History." That's the subtitle of the new book "Uncharted" by tomorrow's guest Chris Whipple. One of his previous books is about White House chiefs of staff, so we'll also talk about President Trump's. I hope you'll join us. To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram - @nprfreshair.
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIAN LAGE'S "PERSIAN RUG")
GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our cohost is Tonya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF DEEP BLUE ORGAN TRIO'S "TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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