Brazenly British
4 boundary-pushing shows from the UK
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
The 1993 adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s book, in which the aristocratic Lady has an affair with a lowly groundskeeper, caused an uproar thanks to its explicit sex scenes and nudity. Starring Joely Richardson and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), the film took advantage of the actors’ obvious chemistry, filming many erotic scenes that broke new ground for television. In fact, the 1993 production set such a high erotic bar that British viewers were left unimpressed by a comparatively tamer remake that debuted last fall.
Queer as Folk
Gay male sex had never been depicted this graphically and unapologetically. The drama (which spawned an American offshoot) about a group of gay twentysomething men living in Manchester, England, didn’t shy away from delving into the bedhopping and romance-seeking exploits of its protagonists, including a scene in which a 15-year-old (played by Sons of Anarchy‘s Charlie Hunnam) gets an eye-popping introduction to the act of rimming.
Skins
Not only did this 2007 British series about high-school teens impress viewers with its frank depiction of sex, drug use and mental illness, it also became a launching pad for young actors—like Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) and Nicholas Hoult (most recently in Mad Max: Fury Road)—who would go on to become full-fledged Hollywood stars.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
“Some people hate me for doing this show and are disgusted that I would even consider it, and these are my friends,” said actress Billie Piper of her role as titular high-class prostitute in the British series, which ran from 2007–11. The show—which was based on the real-life experiences of a pseudonymous British blogger—didn’t shy away from showing ample nudity and depicting all sorts of kink, including group sex, voyeurism and S&M.
