Satisfaction
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Prostitution, marital infidelity are at core of drama.
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What's the Story?
After 18 years of marriage, though Grace Truman (Stephanie Szostak) is still in love with her investment banker husband Neil (Matt Passmore), she's not feeling a great deal of SATISFACTION. When a handsome man at a club passes her his card, she goes for it and winds up paying a gorgeous escort for clandestine encounters. Unfortunately Neil walks in on one of them; shattered, he confronts Grace's paid pal, and through a series of coincidences winds up impersonating the escort and going on calls himself. Have Neil and Grace somehow stumbled upon the secret to a happy marriage? Or are the extracurricular activities of both creating a ticking time bomb that will destroy their marriage, their lives, and the family that includes teenage daughter Anika (Michelle DeShon)?
Is It Any Good?
Satisfaction has a big knock against it right from the start, given that the plot echoes that of popular cable series Hung. Why would somebody want to watch a Hung bootstrapped by basic cable rules? Here's why: because Satisfaction is sensitively written and acted, with characters that seem like real people going through conflicts that echo those of many adult viewers. So many long-term couples lose the passion they once had, feel like they've lost sight of the person they used to be, wondered if there were more to life than what they were experiencing. Of course, most couples won't then choose to patronize or become a sex worker, so Satisfaction becomes both wish fulfillment and cautionary tale for the viewer.
Nonetheless, this is very mature drama. It's not for kids, who won't be attracted to scenes of adults slowly working out emotional issues and who likely will be made uncomfortable by scenes of middle-aged folks meeting and mating. Mature teens might be able to appreciate the realistic dialogue and conflicts, but it's really adults, particularly long-married adults, who will be most caught by Grace and Neil's dilemmas and eager to see what happens next in this slow-burning, smart show.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
How realistic is the central conflict of Satisfaction? Do you believe that these are choices realistic couples would make? Do you feel sorry for Grace and Neil? Do you judge them? Relate to them?
How would Satisfaction change if the genders of the characters were switched, and Neil was the original one to cheat while Grace began working as a prostitute? Can you think of any stories that have this setup? How do they compare to Satisfaction?
Satisfaction deals with a mature subject, yet appears on basic cable. How would Satisfaction be different if nudity, more intense language, and other premium cable staples were allowed?
TV Details
- Premiere date: July 17, 2014
- Cast: Matt Passmore , Stephanie Szostak
- Network: USA
- Genre: Drama
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: October 14, 2022
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