The adult entertainment giant wants to take on the cult TV show cancelled by Netflix
The Sense8 fandom was able to change the course of their fave TV show’s future after a passionate outcry following its unexpected cancellation by Netflix. One relentless campaign and half a million petition signatures later, it was announced the series would get a two-hour special to wrap things up. We also heard recently that co-creator Lana Wachowski had actually begun writing a follow-up season. Now, it turns out that the superfans over at adult entertainment site xHamster want to step things up and help get this on our screens.
Alex Hawkins, the vice president of xHamster, released a statement to Screencrush that offers Lana and Lilly Wachowski the budget and means to produce an entire third season.
“We’re huge admirers of the show, as are many of our fans. Obviously, for both us and the Wachowskis this would be a big move, and the logistics would need to be worked out. This isn’t just about switching a network, this is about switching the way a show is delivered, and thus how the show is produced and what is produced.”
Sense8 was cancelled earlier in 2017, with Netflix citing high production costs. “The audience was very passionate, but not large enough to support the economics of something that big, even on our platform,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. Each episode is said to have cost around £7million to make, and for a time, its cancellation came with a terribly unsatisfying, cliffhanger end.
The statement continued: “Does it open up possibilities for the storyline if the show is moved away from a mainstream corporation and onto a platform that’s not sex-phobic? Does a mainstream audience feel comfortable moving to a platform known for adult? What we admire about the Wachowskis, and about the show itself is that it takes risks. I think that we’re a nascent network, and I’d love to hear what they would do with us.”
The letter also details how xHamster’s values align with that of the show, outlining why a show that champions diversity, sexual freedom and recognition of gender, sexual and social identities and expression are important in this time. “We also have the disposition. We know that a series about polymorphous perversity is a hard sell for a mainstream network like Netflix. We have no such limitations, and also understand implicitly the interconnectedness of sexualities across boundaries…
“xHamster has a long history of fighting for the rights of sexual speech, and non-normative sexuality… in addition to allowing billions of users to to connect with individual articulations of gender and sexuality, we continue to use our audience to speak up against repressive anti-LGBTQ laws in the US and abroad, and for sex ed in public schools Planned Parenthood and the rights of sex workers.”
Sense8 traces the lives of eight men and women from Korea, America, Kenya and elsewhere, who suddenly find they are connected through their minds and can visit each other. They rapidly become embroiled in a dangerous game of love, emotion and terror.
While Lana Wachowski has said previously she had fully intended to do a third season, she’s already agreed on the two-hour closing special with Netflix. It’s also quite unlikely that the steaming service would hand over the rights easily. Nevertheless, we’ve seen other porn sites step up creatively to explore different visual mediums: check Mykki Blanco’s music video with PornHub for example.
