A partner-swap party game, where you draw someone else’s key and spend the night with them, sends a circle of close-knit millennial friends into emotional upheaval. That’s the essence of the series “Friends Sex and Games” on Amazon Prime Video (streaming debut October 16), which centers on love, friendship, relationship, and desire.
The brisk eight-part series (each episode 30 minutes) is a German remake, an adaptation of the Mexican Prime Video series “El Juego de las Llaves” (The Game of the Keys) from 2019.
Around 80 intimate scenes across eight 30-minute episodes
In the “relationship dramedy,” the show is packed with sex scenes, with intimacy coordinator Emilia Bähr kept busy: “This series has, so far, been the project with the most intimate scenes of my career — about 80 in total.”
One of the lead actresses, Paula Kalenberg, gushes in the Prime press booklet about the “trusting ensemble,” noting that physical closeness was carefully rehearsed with the intimacy coordinator. She adds that they could openly talk about uncertainties with the two directors as well.
Each sex scene is “precisely choreographed — almost like a stunt”
Actor Fridolin Sandmeyer says every sex scene was discussed down to the last detail, “precisely choreographed — almost like a stunt”: “What touches occur? What should the camera show? How high is the nudity level for each moment?” His co-star Eric Cordes adds: “Even if a touch was originally planned, it could always be discussed openly if it didn’t feel right that day.”
Ultimately, viewers don’t see as much naked skin as they might expect from this material. “Friends Sex and Games” isn’t about being a titillating erotic series — not a “Euphoria” or “Heated Rivalry.” The dialogue, however, is sometimes quite explicit, with lines such as wanting to “randomly climb onto a cock.”
The show challenges classic straight, monogamous relationship models; it tackles the now commonly discussed question of an open relationship, especially among younger people who feel freer to talk about such things.
“For me, there isn’t a universal answer to whether open or closed relationships work,” says actor Cordes. “What matters more is that couples talk about how they want to shape their relationship. It’s a process that can change throughout life.”
Lilja van der Zwaag, who plays the series’ most sexually liberated character, says: “I think we publicly talk too little about sex. Our society today is, compared to other times, more prudish and uptight.” If the series can spark a conversation and revive that topic, that’s a win for it.
And this is what happens in the series
At the center are Anna and Paul, a couple since their school days. They share a 15-year-old daughter and lead a modest life with a house, a garden, a pool, and a predictably steady sex life. Their friends Julie and Valentin, and Bella and Leo, have also been in long relationships for a long time.
One day Samu returns — with his girlfriend Siena. He’s Anna’s crush from their teenage years. The stylish couple has just arrived back from Ibiza and pitches a “cheating game” to the old group.
The men place their keys in a bowl; the women draw. The newly formed pairs spend the night together. No feelings, no commitments. Just the game.
Direct link | Trailer for the series
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What begins as a thrilling sex experiment naturally takes dramatic turns. Old desires resurface. It touches on topics like an unfulfilled desire for a child and repressed homosexuality.
Conclusion
The series is written with warmth and humor and performed with affection. In the end, it isn’t a problem that the characters live in stylish, often slightly-too-perfect settings, that some elements feel contrived, and perhaps that it stays a bit twee.
Anna, played by Paula Kalenberg: She appears very proper and the “good girl,” a dedicated wedding planner. With Paul, they function well as a team, but she wonders: “Are we boring?”
Paul, played by Fridolin Sandmeyer: He seems easygoing, nerdy, and a teddy-bear dad. That Paula and he hardly have sex anymore, he sees as normal; but the key game awakens something in him.
Julie, played by Salka Weber: The artist is a wonderful aunt to Anna and Paul’s daughter and shares a mostly asexual relationship with Valentin, even though she harbors a strong desire for children.
Valentin, played by Martin Bruchmann: He comes from a very conservative family, maintains a long relationship with Julie, and discovers inclinations he had long suppressed.
Bella, played by Mona Pirzad: She runs a wedding business with Anna, has a family with two kids, and is assertive, often up for varied sex.
Leo, played by Pascal Houdus: The illustrator maintains a very sexual relationship with Bella; their children are raised with relatively non-authoritarian discipline, and his political views come off as somewhat anti-capitalist.
Samu, played by Eric Cordes: He once left town in a hurry and now returns as a successful DJ. With Siena, he seems to lead an open and carefree relationship.
Siena, played by Lilja van der Zwaag: She works as a successful promoter, communicates very openly, and treats life as one big party. She is the instigator of the life-changing “key game.”
