From leather and leg braces to FaceTime sexting: the joys of 'Erotic Stories'

This hot and thoughtful anthology show explores the sensual possibilities of all sorts of sexual positions.

Zahra Newman and Mark Coles Smith in 'Erotic Stories' episode: Imperfect Paw Paw

“Give it up, do as I say. Give it up and let me have my way. I’ll give you love, I’ll hit you like a truck. I’ll give you love, I’ll teach you how to…”

 

The missing word left hanging in the orgasmic moan of sensual Madonna banger ‘Erotica’ may as well be the catchcry of new SBS anthology series Erotic Stories. Spread across eight half-hour-long episodes – the perfect length, really – each chapter, tag team directed by Leticia Cáceres and Madeleine Gottlieb, opens up a world of intimate pleasure shared by the interlocking and equally horny communities of Australia.

All about physical connection, ‘Philia’, written by Christine Bartlett, proves that in this modern world of ours, that doesn't have to be in person. The Secret Life of Us alum Catherine McClements plays Sam, a single mum and writer for a failing masthead, who's relegated to writing advertorials to save her job. Which leaves her with a box of sex toys for couples to review. But without a lover on speed dial, she questionably turns to her bestie, George (Bert LaBonté, Five Bedrooms), despite him being settled with Amber McMahon’s Leish. “Look, if I had access to any other cock at all, I wouldn’t be asking, but I’m getting less skilled by the hour and I'm knee-deep in middle-aged oblivion,” Sam begs.

Catherine McClements in 'Erotic Stories' episode: Philia

When George bizarrely agrees, you know it’s going to get messy despite the fact they won’t touch or even be in the same room, thanks to the wonders of WiFi and an app that controls a digitally connected vibrator for her and a Flesh-jack-like masturbation aid for him. Whether this is cheating or not is for you to decide, but it makes for a fantastically saucy entry point for a show that's all about prodding the knotty complications of love and lust via a pleasingly wide variety of bodies from beautifully diverse backgrounds.

Phone sex also plays a role in ‘Powerful Owl’, penned by Sara Khan, in which the luminous Rarriwuy Hick (Wentworth) plays Kiarra, a lawyer and proud First Nations woman with a dodgy not so casually racist boss (Rachel Gordon, The Twelve) who has to face being separated from her partner Drew (Googoorewon Knox, Black Snow) when he takes a remote job. Just before he leaves, they spot a pair of mating owls in the trees of a Sydney park. He tells her a traditional story about how they stay strong together, which of course leads to them setting a weekly calendar reminder for “FaceTime Fucks”. But when the term “fat peach” puts her right off, will she be swayed to the real deal with buff and flirty colleague Trey (Callan Colley)?

Leather and bondage fetishists or curious and open minds will be treated to an equal-parts horny and thorny Melbourne-set contretemps in ‘Bound’, written by Alistair Baldwin, that pairs emerging actor with cerebral palsy Joel Lago with In Our Blood star Tim Draxl. The latter is Jet, a suited and booted DILF type by day who gets leathered up and off on people with disabilities at a fetish club after dark. Only CJ (Lago) isn't all that into his leg braces being fetishised. “They’re not part of my sex life. I don’t need them when I’m horizontal.”

Joel Lago and Tim Draxl in 'Erotic Stories' episode: Bound

What follows is a deft exploration of both body positivity and negativity and an examination of how the lens other people see us through can cause as much pain as pleasure. It’s also smokin’ hot and features a fabulous cameo from the mighty Pasifika RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under contender Kween Kong.

If you’re craving steamy lesbian action after the end of Deadloch, you can top up on Kate Box in ‘The Deluge’, in which she plays Cara, reluctantly re-entering the dating pool after the end of a 20-year relationship via a Tinder-like app and connects with Latecomers actor Emily Havea’s heavy cummer Lili. “Oh, you're a squirter? I’m down with that,” Cara says. Only the thing is, is there more tied up in Cara’s Shibari – Japanese rope bondage – sessions with her best mate Ginger (Wentworth star Danielle Cormack) than artistic curiosity?

Kate Box and Danielle Cormack 'Erotic Stories' episode: The Deluge

With the back half of the collection promising hook-ups in a park beat, lust in the surf, bridging the age gap and a gender binary-smashing absentee orgasm, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into consensually with Erotic Stories. Or as Madonna once sang, “Will you let yourself go wild? Let my mouth go where it wants to?”

Erotic Stories premieres on Thursday 26 October, with all episodes available to stream on SBS On Demand and double episodes to air at 9:30pm on SBS each Thursday.

Erotic Stories will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in five languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese and Korean and Vietnamese. The series will also be available with audio description for blind and low vision audiences.