Netflix & Whoa

PSA: Netflix’s The Hunting Wives Is *Extra* Spicy — Consider Yourself Warned

Looking for small-town secrets, steamy sapphic tension, and NSFW debauchery? You came to the right place.

by Julie Sprankles
Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow in 'The Hunting Wives' on Netflix
Netflix

As someone who is always game for a little late-night brainmelting via binge-watching, I love to check out new shows on Netflix. A lot of times, I’ll have them on in the evening while I update my work calendar or just get ready for the next day — idly listening as my house settles down for the night. When I stumbled upon The Hunting Wives, it felt like a no-brainer watch. A juicy small-town mystery drama starring Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow? Sign me up.

So, now I’m here to give you the “in full disclosure” warning I didn’t get: Don’t cue this one up until the kids are completely conked out. It is EXTRA spicy.

Listen, I assumed from watching the trailer that the show would be steamy. I just didn’t realize *how* steamy it would be. I don’t even think I got through the first episode without having to pause multiple times or lower the volume because I was paranoid I heard my kids stirring.

Having said that, I’m not complaining. I appreciate a good spicy show as much as the next gal. But it’s nice to know what you’re getting yourself into, so consider this your non-spoiler-y primer on The Hunting Wives in case you, too, want to steam up your screen later tonight.

What The Hunting Wives Is About

The series follows a woman named Sophie O’Neil (Snow), who has just moved from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Maple Brook, Texas, partly due to some personal life fallout. When she attends a party at the home of her husband’s new boss, she meets Margot Banks (Akerman), the enigmatic leader of an elite group of wealthy housewives.

Sophie and Margot seem to hit it off, drawing Sophie further into a complicated world of late-night debauchery, dangerous games, and potentially deadly secrets. Then, a murder rocks Maple Brook… and Sophie finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the investigation.

The series is based on the bestselling book of the same name by May Cobb, and admittedly, reading it beforehand probably would have clued me into the show’s spice-factor. It’s part Big Little Lies, part Cruel Intentions, part Dynasty. Desperate Housewives with more twang and way more nudity.

Why It’s So Spicy

If you watch the trailer, you’ll see a few hints as to what makes this series so provocative, but suffice it to say things get very adult very fast.

Bisexual tension? Check. Hot and steamy May-December affairs? You betcha. Akerman’s boobs making enough cameos to get their own acting credits? Yep (good for her). There are classic pool makeout scenes, the kind of prolonged eye contact that’ll make you blush, and plenty of heavy petting (and then some).

All of which add up to put this one firmly in the “after bedtime” viewing category.

If I had to classify it, I would rank it as “hornier than anticipated.” Akerman, in particular, plays the hell out of her seductive and unhinged Southern mom who is clearly in her “f*ck it 40s” era — in every sense of the expression.

And don’t worry; Akerman feels good about the way the series dove into the very sexy material. “I’ve done it in the past, and I just think that when it moves the plot forward, I’m all for it,” she told the New York Post of her steamy scenes, noting that they had a “wonderful intimacy coordinator.”

The Bottom Line

So, yeah, The Hunting Wives does have murder and mystery, if that’s what you’re looking for. But it also has Akerman in a cowboy hat being bisexual and unbothered, and honestly, it makes for a highly entertaining and spicy-good binge-watch.

I recommend fixing your nightcap of choice and streaming the show after your kids go to bed. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when things get… hot.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take a cold shower.