There are a lot of TV shows right now, whether they're already out or part of the 2024 TV premiere schedule. A lot of the excellent television series tend to lean more towards an adult audience. Usually, that means intimate scenes are involved in some way -- and that means an intimacy coordinator is used.
But intimacy coordinators aren’t only for television shows. They’re for films as well, and what really makes intimate scenes in movies and TV shows great nowadays is because of them. But what exactly is an intimacy coordinator? And how did they even start popping up? Here's everything we know about the profession.
How Did Intimacy Coordinators Come To Be?
The first question I'm sure you have is this: How did intimacy coordinators start and what are they? Well, the answer is actually pretty simple — intimacy coordinators guide, assist, and help actors in performing intimate scenes in movies and TV shows, and it really took off during the #MeToo Movement.
While it was a huge time in Hollywood, for those who don't remember, it was when many women came forward to expose how Hollywood executives had mistreated them due to sexual harassment. Of course, the movement spread further than the small and big screens to industries outside of entertainment, but there's no denying the impact Hollywood had, thanks to big names coming forward with their stories of sexual abuse.
Eventually, TV networks really began to start making changes. According to Rolling Stone, in October 2018, HBO was really one of the first networks to begin the process and began adding "intimacy coordinators" to help with every explicit scene – i.e., someone to guide the process and make it comfortable for both participants within the scene. One of the first shows they were used on was The Deuce, and then many of the network's other shows began to hire them.
This was a change that really began to evolve. HBO is probably one of the most explicit networks out there. Some of their biggest shows, like House of the Dragon, Euphoria and more, have several intimate scenes, and now intimacy coordinators would be hired in the future.
Due to the critical acclaim that many of these shows received regarding their intimate scenes and the steps taken to improve the process, more shows and networks began to include intimacy coordinators.
Sex Education Was The First Netflix Show To Hire One
Netflix is one of those streaming platforms that feels like it has a show for everyone, and one of those is Sex Education. While it's undoubtedly one of the best shows to binge-watch on Netflix for older audiences, there's another reason why you should love it so much – and that's because it was the first Netflix show to start including an intimacy coordinator.
During the second season of the show, the dramedy started using intimacy coordinators to help the cast. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in October 2020, Sex Education cast member Asa Butterfield said that the coordinators – specifically theirs, Ita O'Brian – helped the cast "find their boundaries" when it came to explicit scenes:
It was helpful to have someone to talk to if you don't feel comfortable or if you don't necessarily want to bring something up or you're embarrassed. A lot of my scenes were me, by myself. For my five-minute masturbating scene, I didn't actually feel like I needed to work with her because I had a good idea of how that might play out. (Laughs.) But for scenes with Patricia — we met at the end of Season 1, but we didn't know each other before then — Ita helped us find our boundaries.
The show itself is known for its positive take on sexuality and the exploration of what you want to feel, and honestly, having an intimacy coordinator is a huge step up to making these scenes feel authentic and real, but not as intimidating (or possibly abusive) as they used to be.
Bridgerton's Intimacy Coordinator Says That With Guidance It Has A "Different Feel"
Another Netflix show that I want to point out regarding intimacy coordinators is Bridgerton. The show just finished its third season, and there's already a Bridgerton Season 4 on the way. But since the show's beginning, there have always been intimate scenes, and an intimacy coordinator has been there to help them along.
The intimacy in Bridgerton has always felt different from other shows. In an interview with Today in April 2022, the coordinator, Lizzy Talbot, also shared the same idea, saying that the intimacy in Bridgerton has a "different feel" in comparison to many other shows, mainly because it often takes place from the women's perspective:
Day one, it was so clear that this wasn't going to be your typical show in regards to sex and nudity, it was going to have a very different feel. And what we were going to do was position everything from what mainly women wanted to see and perhaps hadn't seen before.
These different looks can often change the way that we view explicit scenes, and intimacy coordinators are there to help the actors and guide them in the right direction.
Some Actors Encourage It – Others Do Not
While the idea of an intimacy coordinator sounds great, some actors have opposed it. For example, former Game of Thrones cast member Sean Bean said in an interview with Variety in August 2022 that intimacy coordinators "spoil the spontaneity" of filming a sex scene.
However, other actors have said that it's lovely to have them on set as their guide. In fact, Rachel Zegler, in response to Sean Bean's comments on intimacy coordinators in a tweet on X in August 2022 stands by them and says she was "grateful" to have one on set when she was the star of the West Side Story cast:
intimacy coordinators establish an environment of safety for actors. i was extremely grateful for the one we had on WSS— they showed grace to a newcomer like myself + educated those around me who’ve had years of experience.spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe. wake up. https://t.co/bpxT2DVU1RAugust 8, 2022
It really depends on who you ask within the industry.
The Hope Is That Intimacy Coordinators Become "The Standard"
While intimacy coordinators have been steadily gaining steam and becoming a necessity within modern Hollywood, they aren’t yet at the point where they’re hired for every single production that requires intimate scenes.
In an interview with The New York Times in March 2023, intimacy coordinator Jessica Steinrock shared how she makes actors feel comfortable on set. Karyn Kusama, a director for a show she works on – Yellowjackets – praised the coordinator and says that she hopes one day, these types of practices will become the "standard" for all of Hollywood:
Ultimately, the hope is that intimacy coordination becomes standard across the entertainment industry, and that it helps us see each other and the role of sex in our lives differently, as something richer and more filled with possibility.
With how much television and film have evolved over the last several decades, intimacy coordinators are just one of the many steps taken to better improve the filmmaking process. And honestly, I am here for this change – and for all actors to be much more comfortable when filming such vulnerable scenes. That's the kind of respect they deserve.
