HBO Hires On-Set 'Intimacy Coordinator' to Overlook All Sex Scenes in Their Shows

HBO wants to make sex scenes safe and more comfortable for its actors. After all, the cable network has been known to push the boundaries when it comes to graphic nudity on-screen. I don't need to name the shows, you know the culprits. However, we do need to mention "Game of Thrones" due to the last few seasons having, err, expanded on the show's graphic sex scenes and brought it to damn-near pornographic-levels. Of course, a backlash happened for the way 'Thrones' depicted the gratuitous sex and nudity, most of which involved women.

The excellentDavid Simon-HBO show "The Deuce," which has had plenty of sex and nudity, especially since it deals with the beginning of the hardcore porn industry in 70s and 80s NYC, went through a bit of controversy this past year when its actress, the lovely Emily Meade, told Rolling Stone that she felt rather uncomfortable doing some of the sex scenes on the show:

"Despite the fact that Meade had been doing sex scenes since she was 16 years old, they still had the power to make her feel uneasy. Part of the problem was that she sometimes felt so alone. When she had misgivings about a scene, was uncomfortable or cold, or felt too naked — physically or emotionally — in between takes, it was always up to her to say so, right there in front of everyone. Like many actors, she didn’t want to disappoint the people she worked with or to seem like she was complaining. Over the years, she’d often resigned herself to taking the path of least resistance, even if it took a toll on her. For some jobs, she even packed her own safety supplies, like a flesh-colored thong that she hoped would protect her during nude scenes. All too often, no one else considered those details."

Meade then decided to ask for what’s called an on-set “intimacy coordinator” for Season 2, and this proved to be such a huge success that HBO now wants this. Let's frankly call it what it is, "sex watchdog" on-set for all of their programs. Yes, HBO has hired an 'intimacy coordinator' for all HBO shows involving sex scenes.

The intimacy coordinator on "The Deuce" was someone by the name of Alicia Rodis whom, according to Rolling Stone, was like a mediator for the cast and crew by reviewing scripts, facilitating group discussions, about the sex scenes they were going to shoot and met with the actors individually. She also checked in to clarify the personal boundaries the actresses may have had for any given scene.