A Definitive List Of 2022's Best TV & Movie Sex Scenes

If you’re going to make a series about the world’s most famous sex tape, you’re going to have to start with some sex. Pam & Tommy, Hulu’s series about the explicit honeymoon video stolen from Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s mansion and uploaded to the internet in the mid-1990s, devotes a whole episode to their four-day sex-romp courtship.

There’s full-frontal on both sides and a talking animatronic penis the episode’s director compared to Baby Yoda. But the hottest scene by far is the two in the bathtub, slowly discovering each other. It’s everything you want from a story about two hot celebrities who couldn’t take their hands off each other.

Pam & Tommy is streaming on Hulu.

American TV series tend to lean toward the chaste and covered-up, but that’s not true of shows made just about anywhere else. Fans got an eyeful of that when Dark Desire premiered on Netflix in August 2020. The Mexican thriller starring Maite Perroni and Alejandro Speitzer practically dripped lust from the first episode.

Season 2 arrived just before Valentine’s Day 2022. It’s probably a good thing this is the show’s final season, because the exponential raising of the temperature would get dangerous otherwise. The best scene comes in Season 2, Episode 4, in which Alma and Darío take their very sweet time with each other before getting down.

Dark Desire is streaming on Netflix.

One wouldn’t think there would be a lot of tenderness in Yellowjackets, a trauma-fueled nightmare of teen girls turning to cannibalism in the wilderness. But its most extraordinary love scene comes during the most horrific moment. As the majority of the girls turn to a violence-fueled rage against the only available male in the group, Tai and Van are off in their own little world in the woods, exploring their sexuality together.

The scene is soft and sweet, and a great reminder to Hollywood that not all first times have to be traumatic.

Yellowjackets is streaming on Showtime Anytime.

A show poking fun at fellow streaming series, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window was bound to have an homage to the dirty, hot, do-it-all-over-the-house episode of Bridgerton. It even came in the same place in the narrative: at the end of Episode 5 going into Episode 6.

But even though the scene was kind of a joke, it was actually really hot. So hot, in fact, viewers got on Twitter and complained that they accidentally found themselves watching it in front of their family members. At least Kristen Bell stayed on brand and brightly apologized.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is streaming on Netflix.

Outlander has always been good for sex scenes, ever since the show’s very first season. It’s known for some rather unusual love scenes as well, and Season 6 takes the cake with what might be the most daring one yet, where Fergus and Marsali have sex while she’s in labor.

The scene is taken directly from the sixth Outlander novel, A Breath Of Snow And Ashes, in which Marsali goes into labor and Claire and Jamie head over to help with the midwifing. But apparently, the sight of his wife giving birth to yet another child is too much for Fergus, and Claire finally excuses herself and leaves the two of them to get it on one last time before the baby comes. I suppose that’s one way to solve labor pains.

Outlander Seasons 1 through 6 are available via Starz. Season 7 is expected out in 2023.

Grey’s Anatomy is the OG Shondaland sex show, but because it’s on broadcast and not streaming, it often feels like the show is pulling back on the steaminess. But not for this one. Both Amelia and Meredith have love interests in the city, but it’s Amelia who gets it on after Kai plays guitar for her.

Not only is this the kind of sex scene in which two people come home after a really hot date and proceed to go to town on each other, but also, the show takes its time with the sex, not cutting away or fading to black until the last possible moment. And then it comes back as the two eat PB&J and snuggle. As you do after a great sex sesh.

Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 1 through 18 are available on Netflix. Season 19 is expected to return in 2023.

In Season 1, Bridgerton had so many sex scenes that fans couldn’t pick a favorite. Season 2 made it easy, as there’s only one serious love scene, and it’s Anthony and Kate finally consummating their relationship in his mother’s garden gazebo.

There is stripping down to period-appropriate underwear before collapsing naked on extremely convenient blankets. There is also very obvious oral sex, which is then emphasized when Kate wakes up and replays it in her memory. And there’s a great soundtrack, with P!nk’s “What About Us” played on period-appropriate instruments.

Bridgerton Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix. Season 3 is expected out in late 2023/early 2024.

The second installment in the so-bad-it’s-funny-good adaptation of Blanka Lipińska’s novels, 365 Days: This Day is not quite wall-to-wall sex, but it’s close. The film opens with a bride and groom going at it before the ceremony, and then after the wholesome nuptials, things really get down and dirty.

This honeymoon montage, which occurs in the film’s first 15 minutes, puts it all out there, from Laura tying her new husband up with stockings and forcing him to watch as she pleasures herself to the animalistic sex that follows. And then there’s the golfing scene, in which Laura pole dances on the flag before sitting down and spreading wide so Massimo can give all new meaning to the phrase “sink a putt.”

365 Days: This Day is streaming on Netflix.

Despite Harald Sigurdsson and Freydis Eriksdotter being based on real-life people, they probably never actually met IRL. But that didn’t stop Vikings: Valhalla from giving them the show’s central love affair for the first season.

The two have a couple of sex scenes throughout the season (the reunion scene is super hot), but nothing quite beats that first time. In the show’s opening episode, the two have immediate sparks upon meeting and they flirt their way from the docks to the bedroom, where the fur blankets fly. What’s especially sexy is how in the moment they are, taking what they need until they realize they can’t get enough.

Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 is streaming on Netflix. Season 2 is out in January 2023.

Elite is famous for its multiple sex scenes, and Season 5 is no exception. Maybe for some, the big orgy at Patrick’s rager is what does it for you, or maybe it’s Prince Phillipe royally getting it on in a limo. But for my money, the hottest scene by far is in Episode 4, when Ari gets her Ira persona on.

Frustrated by Samuel’s inability to focus on doing it at the drive-in, Ari downs a couple of gins and gets her groove on with Iván. It’s a gorgeous scene; the sun is shining, the water is lovely, and so is the couple, stark naked al fresco, riding the waves.

Elite Seasons 1 through 6 are streaming on Netflix.

I once heard someone call The Northman “big-budget Vikings,” and they weren’t wrong. After his parents were slaughtered, Amleth comes to Iceland, where he meets Olga, a sorceress for whom he falls head over heels. When Amleth earns a measure of freedom after proving himself as a fighter, he’s permitted to “take a woman,” (ugh) and he goes straight for Olga (yay). While everyone else falls into an orgy of drinking and lust, Amleth storms into the woods to find Olga, where they consummate their passion in a puddle of moonlight before settling down to plot revenge murders.

The Northman is streaming on Prime Video.

Conversations with Friends is Hulu’s horny follow-up to Normal People. There are nine sex scenes all told, most of which are focused on Frances and Nick’s affair. But the hottest scene isn’t between Frances and her married affair partner, but with Bobbi, with whom she shares a deep connection. When they finally reunited in the finale, it was an intensely emotional moment, one that felt more real than anything that came before.

Conversations with Friends is streaming on Hulu.

Technically, The Summer I Turned Pretty is about the love triangle between teenager Belly and the two sons of her mother’s BFF. But in beefing up the ensemble to give the older generation more to do, it winds up being the adults who end up doing it in a parked car — namely, Belly’s mom, Laurel. Laurel is not much more than a new divorcée in the books, but in the show, she’s also given a writing career and some competition in fellow author, Cleveland. Their rivalry soon gives way to attraction, and the two wind up doing it in the passenger side of the car after a night out.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1 is streaming on Prime Video. Season 2 is expected in 2023.

Game of Thrones was famous for its sex scenes, and House of the Dragon Season 1 had made sure to keep the nudity count up with plenty of brothel visits. It’s even had a few primary leads get it on in various brothels, including an aborted makeout between Daemon and Rhaenrya in Episode 4. But the really sexy stuff happens when Rhaenyra goes home, itching for someone to bed her after Daemon’s abandonment.

So, she grabs the first handsome man available, Ser Criston, her main bodyguard. Their scene (which is contrasted against Alicent’s misery in Viserys' bed) is one of the most wholesome love scenes in Westerosi history, with romantic sheets flying and big dopey grins, as well as some rated-for-HBO, gettin’ it on. It may be a short-lived love affair, but at least it had this shining moment.

House of the Dragon Season 1 is streaming on HBO Max. Season 2 is expected out in 2023.

In A League of Their Own, Carson Shaw and Greta Gill dance around a relationship from the jump. Season 1’s first episode featured a hot and heavy kiss between the two, and Episode 3 featured Carson fantasizing about a threesome with her husband and Greta.

But in Episode 4, Carson manages to get the two of them bunked up together at a hotel during the team’s road trip, and then it is on. As Carson comes on to Greta, Greta admits she likes the confidence Carson has, and that’s about all it takes for the two to dissolve into a pile of limbs and gasps.

A League of Their Own is streaming on Prime Video.

Based on the Dolly Alderton memoir of the same name, this millennial-era touchstone about growing up in the early 2010s is a no-holds-barred look at life for four 20-something women as they figure out this growing up business after college. Drugs, parties, drained bank accounts, and relationship mishaps all ensue.

Though there are sex scenes in the early going, the most memorable is the montage of hookups in Episode 4, in which two of the four roommates – Maggie and Amara – get rockin’ with various partners, swiping and shagging across the city. Some aren’t great, some are OK, and one or two are good. But Amara 100% takes the cake when she pulls out a vibrator and ensures she gets hers while he gets his. Even the guy she’s with appreciates it, as he says what we’re all thinking: “That’s hot.”

Everything I Know About Love is streaming on Peacock.

The latest modernist period piece from Starz, The Serpent Queen, is loosely based on the life of Catherine De Medici, who ran France as the default queen for decades. The early going recounts her experience being married off to the second son of the French king, the 14-year-old Henri. He turns out to be in a toxic relationship with Diane de Poitiers, 30 years his senior.

Whenever Catherine thinks she’s convinced Henri to come to her bed so she can get pregnant — a necessity so the marriage won’t be annulled — Diane is there, convincing him to take her instead. The most memorable comes in Episode 2, where she suggests “Bible study,” reminding him she promised his late mother to teach him religion. The scene Catherine spies when Henri doesn’t show up is a skillful use of religious and sexual ecstasy, as Diane turns Bible study into one of the weirdly wickedest sex scenes of the year.

The Serpent Queen Season 1 is available via Starz. Season 2 is expected out in late 2023 or early 2024.

When fans are looking for shows with seriously hot sex between loving couples, the last series on their radar is The Handmaid’s Tale. The show is famous for sex, but the kind that shows assaults so brutal, even the author of the book the show is based on, Margaret Atwood, couldn’t watch. But that just makes the scene where Luke and June finally reconnect on a deep level all the more beautiful in Season 5.

Since escaping Gilead in Season 4, June and Luke have struggled to rebuild their marriage, and their one sex scene after her return played with questions of consent on his end. But at the end of Season 5, Episode 4, after Luke proved he’s all in with June in her fight to take down Gilead by effectively evicting Serena Joy from her shelter in Toronto, the two were back in business. Set to Kerala Dust and Brooke Bentham’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” the two feverishly showed that they were still devoted to each other, interpolated with images of the payoff of their triumph, as Serena was forced to take shelter with the Wheelers.

The Handmaid’s Tale Seasons 1 through 5 are streaming on Hulu. Season 6, the show’s final season, is expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

Vampire stories have always had sexual undertones, and Anne Rice’s novels were always popular partly because of the LGBTQ+ subtext. And finally, the new AMC+ series took Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire brought this to life by giving Lestat and Louis a highly charged lovemaking scene that floated everyone’s boat.

This sex scene was so hot it rose, with Lestat and Louis’s connection so intense they were a good foot off the floor. That might sound like unsexy computer-animated graphics, but really it added to the supernatural element of the two men’s connection while making one of fan fiction’s hotly debated couples officially canon.

Interview With The Vampire is streaming on AMC+.

Tell Me Lies is all about the kind of relationship in which the sex is so hot you’ll do anything to keep it going, no matter how toxic. Lucy and Stephen are those classic partners who are totally emotionally terrible for each other, and things just get worse the longer it goes on — while they have the hottest sex of their lives.

Of course, in order for that story to work, the sex has to be fire straight out of the gate, which the show absolutely nails. The first scene, when Stephen and Lucy hook up after meeting at a frat party, is off-the-charts scorching.

Tell Me Lies is streaming on Hulu.

American Horror Story has always mixed sex and violence, but for Season 11, dubbed AHS: NYC, it took the metaphor super literally, with its hottest sex scene involving leather and pain.

Although technically an AIDS parable set in 1981, the season flashed back to the waning days before the disease hit, with Patrick and Sam’s first threesome together in 1979. The scene ended badly, with the third partner asphyxiated, but leading up to that, the bondage-and-leather sequence was the hottest thing on Fire Island.

American Horror Story Seasons 1 through 11 are streaming on Hulu. Season 12 is expected in 2023.

Gossip Girl Season 1 danced around the possible throupling of Aki, Audry, and Max, but Season 2 confirmed things were proceeding as planned. The season opened with a montage of just how much sex the three were having — so much so that they kept getting interrupted. Still, the sexy times while they were on were hot enough to make this list.

Gossip Girl Season 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO Max.

The original novel by DH Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, was so sexually graphic that it was banned across America, and the publisher was sued for indecency. But the publishers won, making way for every romance novel sex scene today. Netflix’s adaptation pays tribute to that with some of the hottest sex on screen this year.

One of the sexiest scenes between Lady Chatterley and her titular lover takes place in the outdoors, with the two completely naked, not only making love but joyfully dancing in the rain. It’s the stuff fantasies are made of, and even better, it’s clear the actors enjoyed it too. (Emma Corrin called the filming experience “the most exhilarating experience of my life”), bringing authenticity to the scene that is hard to match.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is streaming on Netflix.

The second season of The White Lotus was obsessed with sex — who was getting it, who wasn’t, and how good it might be. But of all the bed-hopping in the hotel, the steamiest scene went to Ethan and his wife Harper as they finally reconnected in the finale.

It helped that this was a slow-build love story, with the two burning with jealousy over each other’s possible infidelities even as they showed no interest in each other in bed. When the dam finally broke, the two attacked each other with such ferocity that pottery was shattered in the process.

The White Lotus Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO Max. Season 3 is expected in 2023.