Sex Addicton Show Attracts Many Viewers

If you love freak shows tricked out in fetish gear and other sexual finery, Logo’s new sex-addiction group-therapy reality TV show—got that?—could fill up those empty Friday nights at 9 pm for the next eight weeks. Cutely called Bad Sex, the 10-member therapy group makes up for what it lacks in celebrity value with a full menu of erotic craziness. The first session, which airs tonight, offers up a taste of Joel, a compulsive cheater; Erin, who requires roughing up for arousal; and Stella, a 37-year-old virgin—surely more exotic in today’s carnival than the Bearded Lady. But the main dish is Ryan, the handsome gay owner of a restaurant in West Hollywood, whose sex-addiction bona fides are burnished by his record of 1,500 lifetime conquests and who self-medicates against panic attacks with quickies every few hours. According to Ryan, however, his more serious problem is his near-exclusive attraction for straight men—a predilection that only further complicates his (alleged) desire for a committed relationship. Fortunately for the viewer—if not for themselves—this cast suffers most acutely from the lack of a committed relationship to reality. For help with this, and with their erotic ailments, Logo has supplied the mixed-up group with therapist Chris Donaghue, a clinical social worker specializing in sex addiction, who runs groups at The Hills Treatment Center. Despite these professional credentials, the Hollywood Reporter reviewer was more impressed with Donaghue’s “chiseled good looks and numerous arm tattoos” than his therapeutic insights and interventions. Dr. Drew maybe she ain’t, but Bad Sex sounds like it features more reality than his shows—and what’s not to like about eye candy and dirty talk?