Inside ‘Bonding’: Netflix’s Sexy and Sweet New BDSM Show
There’s a scene in the second episode of Bonding where dominatrix Tiff (Zoe Levin) shows her best friend Pete (Brendan Scannell) the ropes. “Everyone thinks dom work is just about sex work. It’s really just liberation from shame,” Tiff says, tying the nylon rope tightly around his wrists. She promptly exits the apartment for night school, leaving Pete to free himself physically—and for the rest of the season, sexually and professionally too.
Bonding, Netflix’s latest foray into short-form content (each episode runs under 20 minutes), is one of its most impressive shows in years. Initially, it doesn’t seem so radical. Orange is the New Black and even The Crown show more skin than this BDSM tale. It’s also not as raucously funny as Grace and Frankie or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
But Bonding excels at doing something different. Once the modern-day arbiter of originality, Netflix largely lost its their groove in favor of revivals and superheroes. Fortunately, Bonding (alongside fellow new short-form comedy Special) are a welcome return to form.