‘The Hunting Wives’ Is A Perfectly Twisted, Sex-Fueled Netflix Binge

The Hunting Wives is one of the sexiest shows of the year, and it’s premiering on Netflix! It’s a twisted, seductive, and hedonistic romp on the dark side that supports the old saying about good girls going to heaven and bad girls going everywhere.

The story centers around a group of gun-toting socialites in a small Texas town, and one thing is certain: These wives aren’t at home baking pies. They’re out preying on anyone who gets in their way, even if it’s someone in their frenemy group known as The Hunting Wives. These ladies who lunch have a lot of sex, get into a lot of trouble, and even get entangled in murder.

The highly anticipated, seductive drama from Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment was originally set to air on Starz. Luckily, for Netflix subscribers in the U.S., all eight episodes will premiere exclusively on Monday, July 21.

The story, based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel of the same name, is set in the small town of Maple Brook in East Texas. Showrunner, writer, and executive producer Rebecca Cutter (Hightown) took Cobb’s book and adapted it for television.

“When I first read the novel, I was in awe of its flagrant horniness and glorification of bad behavior,” said Cutter in a letter to the press of her initial reaction to the world Cobb created. “There was something so free about it!”

The result is a very fun binge-watch, but this is not one of those shows the whole family can watch together. This is a binge best enjoyed solo or with a significant other.

Malin Akerman (Billions) and Brittany Snow (she’s in the upcoming Netflix series The Beast in Me) are phenomenal as two affluent wives who live life on the edge in a world where the rules don’t seem to apply to the rich and powerful.

In a Zoom interview, Akerman and Snow both told me that they read Cobb’s sex-fueled novel after reading a few of Cutter’s gripping scripts. They also disclosed that the televised version is even more salacious than the book.

“We took some liberties that will surprise the fans. No one who has read the book will feel like they already know the ending,” teased Akerman, who also described the importance of working with an intimacy coordinator for the raunchy sex scenes and what it took to get into her character’s skin.

“She’s fabulous, and I think some of the fun that we get to have as actresses is living vicariously through our characters. As much as audience members get to live vicariously through them while watching, we get that added element of reading the scripts and going, ‘Oh, my God, this is such a page-turner!’ This is such a binge-worthy show, and I get to play one of these characters who are so dynamic.”

Akerman’s Margo Banks escaped an unsavory past and will do anything to avoid going back where she came from. She has a real penchant for getting into trouble, which might be her downfall alone, but she seems to take those around her down too. Snow’s Sophie O’Neil, an East Coast liberal who recently moved to the red state of Texas with her husband and son, also has some dark secrets of her own.

With a wide grin, Akerman spoke with admiration about Margo’s zest for life and cunning ways. “I love the fact that she’s a free bird; she does what she wants. I’m more of a people pleaser in real life. I wish I could be a little bit more like Margo, not totally,” she added, laughing.

At first, Sophie is equal parts shocked and horrified by the wealthy MAGA MILFs she’s suddenly surrounded by, but she cannot resist the group’s Queen Bee, Margo, with whom she’s quickly enamored and seduced. Margo’s hedonistic lifestyle and carefree attitude appeal to her because, in many ways, she’s a prisoner of her own making, living a routine, morally acceptable, and dull existence.

Snow discussed portraying the repressed Sophie and how much fun it was to play this woman who cannot resist the temptations of Margo’s provocative ways. Their friendship sparks something within her that she cannot escape, and soon her safe, structured life devolves into chaos as the two become obsessed with each other, sparking jealousy within the group.

“To feel like a good wife and mother, she feels that she needs to live within this box. Meeting Margo challenges those beliefs. I think she’s enticed not only by that feeling of freedom, but also by a calling back to who she once was. That was the thing that enticed me the most about the character. I definitely relate to that exploration of getting into your thirties and becoming this woman, owning your power, and taking up space in a room,” said Snow, adding, “I loved the transition that Sophie goes through to get there.”

Akerman and Snow are dynamic in their roles, as is the entire cast, including Chrissy Metz, Katie Lowes, and Dermot Mulroney. These deliciously written characters are drawn like moths to a flame to anything and everything naughty and dangerous. I don’t think there’s been a book-to-screen adaptation this salacious since E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Akerman’s bodacious performance includes several salacious sex scenes, which she explained required a lot of trust on set. “It was a real team effort from the top down, from the show creator to the intimacy coordinator, to the cast and crew,” she explained, referencing the comfort, respect, and trust she felt while shooting these scenes.

“When there’s that base, then I’m ready to play and make this character authentic, but if you don’t feel comfortable with the people around you, then that becomes a bit trickier. Luckily, that was not the case for this. It was just magnificent. Brittany and I could really trust one another and play.”

Akerman described Margo as fun and wild. She also says that she’s dangerous and manipulative. “I think she’s a survivor. It’s hard to say if she’s good or bad. It all exists within.”

“Sophie is also a survivor,” added Snow. “She’s gone through hardships as well, which molded her into a much different person. Like Margo, she’s making decisions to survive. I think that’s what attracts Sophie to Margo. She’s living in a much different way, and taking it inward, whereas Margo is living very outward.”

As for Sophie’s undoing, Snow attributes it to Margo’s influence while acknowledging that these characteristics were already inside of her. “I feel like this happens to a lot of women when they start shedding the confines they’re in and come into their own.”

Cutter’s message detailed her intentions in adapting Cobb’s novel; she wanted to keep the show juicy, but grounded in a recognizable portrayal of Texas today, without shying away from the topic of divisive politics in this country.

“The Hunting Wives is a show that is not afraid to get its hands dirty…unflinching in its exploration of sexuality, social dynamics, marriage, and political realities. But while it portrays characters on opposite sides of the culture war, there is no good guy or bad guy because I love each of these flawed characters equally.”