xHamster wants to get in on the action… the Netflix action. The pornography heavyweight has extended an offer to the popular streaming service to produce the third season of its original sci-fi drama series Sense8.
The proposal comes a few weeks after Netflix – somewhat out of the blue – revealed its intention not to renew the show for a third season, despite critical acclaim and solid cult following. But xHamster wants to keep it going: “We know it’s unconventional, but we want to bring [Sense8] back.”
And no, they’re not talking about doing an X-themed parody of the show, but the real thing.
Facing a fierce backlash, Netflix eventually buckled to fan complaints and commissioned a two-hour finale to wrap up the series in a proper way. But the porn titan wants to a more satisfying ending.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
“Ever since we read about the cancellation, we’ve been wondering if there was something we could do.” said xHamster spokesperson Alex Hawkins. “While we’re happy that Netflix is picking up the series for a conclusion, before you wrap up the story, we wanted you to consider another option – letting xHamster produce the series.”
According to the smut portal, Sense8’s “polymorphous perversity is a hard sell” for mainstream audiences. So the company is willing to hand in hard cash for the right to head the future production of the show.
It is not uncommon for adult entertainment companies to business-flirt with their SFW counterparts. Pornhub, for instance, offered to lend a hand to now-deceased Vine with a buyout offer last year: “6 seconds is more than enough,” comically said Pornhub VP Corey Price.
xHamster is not completely new to producing original content. The porn site released its own reality show last year, called The Sex Factor; though the show admittedly struggled to live up to the expectations of viewers.
But given that the porn industry traditionally prefers to dabble in primarily parody, my guess is xHamster will swiftly pull out if Netflix is ballsy enough to take the bait. But hey, who knows…
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.