The Steamiest Movies And Shows On Max Right Now
Even if it's freezing outside, you can always heat things up a bit inside by watching some truly steamy entertainment. There are countless streaming services out there with abundant romantic content, but only one has a catalog deep enough to satisfy even the coldest of souls: Max, known once upon a time as HBO Max. Join us as we dive headfirst into all the saucy sights to be seen in both movies and television that will melt the snow and your heart.
Despite lots of content being subsequently canceled or outright erased after Max's parent company was bought out by Discovery, there's still endless options for those looking to watch some excitingly enticing stories at a moment's notice. Unlike competing streaming options, Max brings high-quality original entertainment to the table alongside a collection of incredible mainstream productions going back decades.
Max has everything from thrilling romances and erotic thrillers to satirical sex comedies and hilariously blunt reality shows that'll get your bedroom steamier than a sauna in no time. After all, HBO itself remains the network of "Sex and the City" and "Game of Thrones" — it's always had a reputation for being a sex-positive network with lots of late-night adult programming, which Max continues to offer to this day.
Euphoria
By far one of the most talked-about original series on HBO in recent years is "Euphoria," centered around the raw, complicated, and dramatic lives of high schoolers at East Highland High School. The brainchild of Sam Levinson, the show has become known for showing the dark side of youth by being unafraid to show the realities of mental illness, drug abuse, hookup culture, social media, and other more taboo elements of being a teenager in modern America.
While the show has been criticized for being exploitative in many ways, it has also been praised for its frank portrayal of real-life teen issues. The show stars Zendaya as Rue Bennett, a recovering addict with frequent relapses, but also boasts an ensemble cast that has quickly become well-known and beloved, including Maude Apatow, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, and Hunter Schafer as students all dealing with their own emotional issues. "Euphoria" doesn't shy away from showing the intimacy of these characters as they navigate their own sexualities, which may be relatable for audiences who are going through the same thing themselves.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
From the mind of "The Office" alum Mindy Kaling (also known for "The Mindy Project" and the film "Late Night") comes the absolutely hilarious comedy series called "The Sex Lives of College Girls." As the straightforward name suggests, this series is all about incoming freshmen at Essex College who must juggle their academics, social lives, and complicated sexual experiences as they progress into adulthood.
"The Sex Lives of College Girls" stars Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, and Alyah Chanelle Scott as four roommates from different backgrounds who get themselves into amusing situations (usually revolving around their sex lives). Serving as an alternative perspective to the usual male-focused college comedies of the past such as "Animal House," Kaling's series instead empowers these female characters to be front and center in their own romantic experiences as young adults.
As a result, "The Sex Lives of College Girls" — which was renewed for a third season in late 2022 — has proven to be a success with critics and audiences, who love the unique balance between raunchy humor and genuine sentimentality.
The White Lotus
One of HBO's biggest recent shows is "The White Lotus," the biting black comedy created by Mike White that focuses on the lives of both detached wealthy patrons and put-upon staff of the White Lotus chain of exotic resorts. More importantly, its first two seasons focus on the promiscuous (and complicated) sex lives of the characters while on vacation.
Season 1 of "The White Lotus" takes place in Hawaii with many beautiful, selfish, and troubled individuals all interacting on the gorgeous island of Maui. One main plotline of that season is newlywed Rachel Patton (Alexandra Daddario) coming to terms with the fraudulence of her marriage to Shane (Jake Lacy), which seems entirely based on sex.
The steaminess kicks into high gear for the second season, when guests of the luxurious Sicilian incarnation of White Lotus are constantly hooking up with one another. Whether it be sex-addicted Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli) bringing a local sex worker (Simona Tabasco) to his family vacation or bored assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) going on romantic countryside adventures while juggling two potential lovers (Leo Woodall and Adam DiMarco), this show constantly has its eccentric casts getting busy in beautiful locations.
The Piano Teacher
One of the more seriously erotic titles on this list is Michael Haneke's 2001 psychological drama "The Piano Teacher," starring Isabelle Huppert as a lonely piano teacher who delves into an illicit sexual affair with one of her students (Benoît Magimel). Based on a novel from 1983 by Elfriede Jelinek, the story explores the complexities of an immoral but sensual sadomasochistic relationship between these two characters that is undeniably taboo.
"The Piano Teacher" has its steamy moments no doubt, but it is equally as disturbing and vile in how truly sexually repressed Huppert's character proves to be. Throughout the film, she insists upon extremes of masochistic depravity in her developing relationship with her student as well as going beyond the pale in manipulating the situation to her benefit (including maiming another student by putting broken glass in her pocket). Culminating in several truly disturbing sequences, the film develops into an intense psychological drama.
Overall, this film is a complex piece of cinema that swings wildly from erotic to horrifying at a moment's notice. That is likely why it gained such significant critical acclaim upon release, with multiple awards at that year's Cannes Film Festival such as best actress, best actor, and the Grand Prix.
Hung
Yet another work that touches on the world of male sexual exploitation is HBO's "Hung," starring actor Thomas Jane as a high school sports coach who is pushed into sex work thanks to his financial struggles. What makes this show so steamy for fans is that it is entirely premised on the fact that Jane's character, Ray Drecker, has been gifted in such a way that he is ... um, uniquely qualified to pursue a career as a male sex worker. This is partly played for laughs, but the show is undeniably saucy in its presentation of Drecker's downward spiral into a career of being used for his body.
"Hung” features an amazing cast of actors who are centered around Drecker's regular life as a father and coach, as well as his secret double life as a male sex worker. Some main cast members include Jane Adams and Rebecca Creskoff as his partners (and pimps) in the budding sex business that they start together as a means to make quick cash. Others include the late Anne Heche, Charlie Saxton, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Gregg Henry, and Stephen Amell as family members and rivals who constantly push against Decker's suspicious behavior. While the show only had three seasons, ending in 2011, it remains an excellent addition to Max's steamy original series lineup.
There Is No I In Threesome
It's hard to explain the docudrama "There Is No 'I' In Threesome” without spoiling some genuine surprises, but it's important to know how multilayered and meta this entry on our list really is. This project by New Zealand filmmaker Jan Oliver Lucks chronicles the story of his real-life relationship with his fiancée as they take the massive step to opening up their relationship and, eventually, becoming polyamorous. This Max endeavor shows the complexities of modern sexuality, the limits of monogamy, and the inherent risks of bringing new people into an established romantic dynamic.
Then there's the central twist of this so-called documentary, so here's a spoiler warning for those who want to avoid knowing what happens. What is revealed by the end of the story is that the woman portrayed as Lucks' fiancée has actually been a hired actress all along — in real life, his actual fiancé left him for another man she fell in love with during their non-monogamous experiment. After losing both his relationship and her half of their actual footage, he recreated those interactions with an actress (Natalie Medlock). "There Is No 'I' In Threesome" is a sensual, strange, and wholly unique piece that defies classification thanks to its unusual production.
Sex and the City
Before all these other series showcasing the entertaining romances of modern life, there was "Sex and the City." As a forerunner of many shows to come, it pioneered how media portrays the sexuality, relationships, and personal lives of women in a much more progressive way. The show is centered around four women in their 30s and 40s who live in New York City and, as deeply close friends, help each other navigate their complicated personal and professional lives.
"Sex and the City" stars Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, who serves as the main character of the foursome as well as the omniscient narrator. Bradshaw works as a column writer who publishes a weekly piece — titled "Sex and the City" — that usually touches on her tenuous romance with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). There's also the overachieving romantic Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), the sexually outgoing PR agent Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), and the rational and cynical lawyer Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon).
All the women have steamy sex lives of their own throughout the series, from one-night stands to unexpected pregnancies to touching weddings ... and an episode where Samatha consults with a wrestling coach (Peter Onorati) to try new sex positions. "Sex and the City" was a massive success for HBO that helped put the network on the map for adult programming, and the show has continued with two films and a sequel series, "And Just Like That...," that brought back all the original characters (sans Cattrall).
Adult Material
If you want shows about sex, how about one set in the adult entertainment business? That's why the four-part British drama series "Adult Material" is on our list — it shows the underground environment of pornography through the eyes of a single mother (Hayley Squires) who makes a living as pornstar Jolene Dollar. While the plot ebbs and flows as Hayley Burrows comes to terms with her career in pornography and eventually leaves the business altogether, the series remains an erotic portrayal of an industry built on sex.
"Adult Material" doesn't shy away from showing the grungy nature of pornography, while still showcasing why people can't keep themselves away from its allure. Yet the series doesn't become a parade of seedy figures like "Boogie Nights" — there's pathos and even some workplace comedy elements to its well-realized take on the porn industry. The show features some of the frankest dialogue on TV about sex, given that its main characters are pros — far from the flirty repartee of Carrie Bradshaw and friends. Additionally, this series featured consultation from real-life pornographic performers such as "Danny D" and "Rebecca Moore," who brought their firsthand experiences to the show.
And God Created Woman
It may be hard for some to imagine that a film from the 1950s could ever be truly steamy for modern audiences, but nobody could think that after watching 1956's "And God Created Woman." This sensual French drama was directed by Roger Vadim and starred Brigitte Bardot as a seductive woman who toys with various suitors (Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Christian Marquand) in the gorgeous town of Saint-Tropez. While it may be an older movie, this liberated piece of post-war French filmmaking holds nothing back in its portrayal of human sexuality and is the film that made Bardot a star.
"And God Created Woman" shows Bardot's character, Juliette, as a totally sexually open being who is unafraid to engage in relations with anyone of her choosing. The film features significant nudity, which was unusual for this era (especially in the United States, which put films through the rigorous Hays Code of censorship) and was even officially condemned by the luckily now-extinct National Legion of Decency Catholic organization. "And God Created Woman" remains an important and genuinely saucy piece of foreign filmmaking that even got a 1988 English-speaking remake by the same director. But the original is immortal, thanks to sex symbol Brigitte Bardot.
Love in the Time of Cholera
Based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece novel of the same name — long considered one of the greatest romance stories ever told — "Love in the Time of Cholera" follows the life of a 19th-century Colombian man named Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem) across the many decades of his adult life. Ariza falls in love at first sight with a young woman named Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). While Fermina returns Florentino's interest, her father (John Leguizamo), who belongs to a higher echelon of society than Ariza (a mere clerk), sends her away and eventually arranges an advantageous (but loveless) marriage with a rich man named Dr. Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt).
Ariza initially vows to remain a virgin until he can court and marry Fermina again (fully aware that it could take decades if it ever becomes possible at all), but after a short time living with his longing and disappointment while relying on opium for his release, he enters into an affair with a beautiful widow and finds that sex is the best way to distract himself from his misery. Ariza then spends the majority of his life seeking out different sexual encounters and recording them in a journal that is eventually composed of more than 600 entries.
Critics were not impressed, but "Love in the Time of Cholera" manages to capitalize on the tension of passionate longing as well as a string of explicit sex scenes.
Looking
"Looking" is an HBO original TV show about three gay best friends, Dom (Murray Bartlett), Patrick (Jonathan Groff), and Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez), who are trying to navigate love and life in San Francisco. Most HBO original shows have at least a few sex scenes throughout their runs, but because "Looking" is meant to center on love, sex, and relationships, it is especially high in steaminess. Murray Bartlett features heavily in the sex of Season 1 of "White Lotus" as well, and he's just as passionate and mesmerizing a performer in this earlier work.
Across its two seasons and finale movie, there are 11 sex scenes in "Looking" that range from awkward to incredibly steamy, and the circumstances of each passionate tryst depicted on screen are enriched by the characters' circumstances, hold-ups, attractions, and feelings. From Patrick's journey to becoming comfortable with being both a "top" and a "bottom" to several outdoor hook-ups in the woods, plus multiple shots of Russell Tovey's (who plays Patrick's love interest, Kevin) naked backside, "Looking" is not only steamy, but also one of the most uninhibited and honest depictions of what complex, sexual and romantic relationships between gay men can look like.
Belle de Jour
"Belle de Jour" is another film based on a novel of the same name, this one published in 1928 and written by Joseph Kessel. The film "Belle de Jour" was made in 1967 by director Luis Buñuel and is considered both a classic piece of French cinema as well as a particularly strong piece of work from both Buñuel and its star, Catherine Deneuve, who was only 23 at the time of filming. The film follows a young woman named Séverine Serizy who is upper-class and married to a handsome doctor named Pierre (Jean Sorel).
Séverine and Pierre love each other, but Séverine is incapable of summoning sexual desire for him despite their feelings. In her mind, Séverine manifests highly detailed sexual fantasies surrounding taboo kinks like debasement and BDSM. Séverine fantasizes frequently and seemingly not always at will, but her husband knows nothing of her inner desires. After being informed that an acquaintance of hers works at a high-class brothel, Séverine soon begins to work there, taking on the alias of "Belle de Jour" and servicing clients while her husband is at work.
Buñuel is known as a pioneer of surrealist cinema, and while much of this film centers around explicit sexual scenes and fantasies, it also refrains from clarifying the cause of Séverine's seemingly incongruous desires and indeed, from clarifying a dividing line between fantasy and reality.
True Blood
Imagine if someone made "Vampire Diaries," but they made it about adults, for adults (and only adults — this isn't a show directed at teens), set it in a humid climate, and put it on HBO. The thing is, this show already exists and it's called "True Blood." All seven seasons of the HBO original show are still streaming on Max. Not only did "True Blood" launch the careers of well-known heartthrobs like Alexander Skarsgård and Joe Manganiello, but it also heavily contributed to the sexy vampire craze of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Anna Paquin's Sookie spends seven seasons of the show navigating the paranormal hub that is her home town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, as well as her steamy relationships with vampires Eric Northman (Skarsgård) and Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and a particulary ripped werewolf named Alcide (Manganiello). Aside from Sookie and her suitors, "True Blood" plays host to a main cast of beautiful people and a revolving door of visiting and menacing hotties, all of whom have many primal desires, not all of which involve bloodsucking.
Magic Mike's Last Dance
Subscribers may not be able to watch "Magic Mike" on Max's streaming service anymore, but they can enjoy the most recent installment in the "Magic Mike" movie franchise, called "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Channing Tatum resumes his role as the titular dancer-turned-entrepreneur Mike and acts opposite Salma Hayek, who plays a powerful, recently divorced woman named Maxandra. With two of the most coveted and desired physiques in all of Hollywood, Tatum and Hayek proceed to act their way through a passionate film about the power of sexuality, independence, and of course, dance.
There are a lot of naked abs in "Magic Mike's Last Dance," just as there are in every installment of "Magic Mike," but this one also includes a more nuanced narrative surrounding female agency and what it means when a woman holds a position of authority over others. Hayek and Tatum have chemistry (Salma Hayek could probably generate chemistry with a head of iceberg lettuce) and the film is stuffed with sexy dance routines and even several sensual lap dances. It's not the first "Magic Mike" film, but "Magic Mike's Last Dance" certainly matches its predecessor in steam and sex-appeal.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
"Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" is probably the strangest movie on this list. For one thing, it defies genre categorization. It could be described as both a dark romantic comedy and a disturbing horror film. Also, while the 1989 film had a surprisingly successful release in Spain, it was met with a lot of pushback by what was then known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the organization responsible for setting the ratings of films before they come to theaters.
Honestly, it's not a ridiculously explicit film, especially not compared to some of the director's (Pedro Almodóvar) other work. The film was originally released in the U.S. with an X rating (this was before the NC-17 rating was created) and features a scene of Marina (Victoria Abril) pleasuring herself in a bathtub, which is most likely the reason the MPAA objected so adamantly.
The movie follows Marina, a young Spanish actress trying to reclaim her career from a tailspin into drugs and adult films. Ricky (Antonio Banderas), a recently-released psychiatric patient, decides to kidnap Marina after becoming obsessed with her following a chance one-night stand between them years prior. Ricky keeps Marina bound for most of the movie and continually claims that she'll fall in love with him. Unfortunately for survivors of kidnapping and gender-based violence everywhere, Marina actually does end up falling in love with him, and the rest of the movie is a love story.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:
- Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
- Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).