There’s no shortage of prestige TV tackling grief, illness, and sexuality. But Dying for Sex, FX’s unflinchingly bold and surprisingly hilarious limited series, doesn’t tiptoe around those themes—it charges in stilettos first. Nominated for multiple Emmys in 2025, the show turns one woman’s terminal cancer diagnosis into a full-blown exploration of pleasure, friendship, and what it really means to live when you’re dying.
The series is based on the real-life story of Molly Kochan, who, after being diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, made the unconventional—and wildly liberating—decision to leave her husband and dive headfirst into a journey of sexual discovery. Played with astonishing depth and wit by Michelle Williams, Molly doesn’t spend her final months crossing off boring bucket list items. Instead, she explores kink, confronts her trauma, and reclaims a sense of self that had long been buried under pain, fear, and silence.
Adapted from the Wondery podcast Dying for Sex, co-created by Kochan and her best friend Nikki Boyer, the series blends gallows humor with gut-punching honesty. It’s raunchy, yes—but beneath the dog costumes, the bondage ropes, and the post-chemo sexting sessions lies a fierce, tender story about autonomy and joy in the face of certain death.
A real woman, a wild story—with a side of creative chaos in Dying for Sex

If the plot sounds too outrageous to be real—Molly meeting submissive men on dating apps, commanding one to act like her pet dog, even contemplating sex in a hospital bed—it’s because the line between truth and creative liberty is intentionally blurred. But make no mistake: the heart of it is entirely true. Kochan, a former actor and writer, did leave her marriage, did rediscover her libido on hormone therapy, and did have a deeply complicated relationship with sex following a history of childhood abuse.
FX’s version, set in New York (the real events unfolded in Los Angeles), amps up the absurdity for effect, but it never loses sight of the emotional stakes. Molly’s desire to dominate men wasn’t just about kink—it was about regaining control over her body at a time when cancer had taken nearly everything else. Michelle Williams handles the tonal whiplash with grace: she’s hilarious in one scene and utterly heartbreaking the next, a balance that keeps the series grounded even when things get surreal.
Sex is the hook—but the friendship is the heart

At the heart of this odyssey driven by sexual encounters is a story of love—but not of romance. It is rather the fierce, ‘ride-or-die’ friendship between Molly and Nikki, who is portrayed chaotically yet warmly by Jenny Slate, that gives the show its emotional heft. Nikki stands by as Molly undergoes her hospital visits, the humiliations, the triumphs, and the impossible choices, serving as caregiver and confidante. Their bond is noisy and hilarious, a vivid mishmash of deep intimacy and raw complexity that surpasses most of the romantic arcs seen on television.
The real Nikki Boyer was by Molly’s side until the very end and helped carry her legacy forward through the Dying for Sex podcast, which has since been downloaded millions of times. The show may take a few narrative detours, but it never strays from the core truth: that Molly Kochan chose joy, autonomy, and adventure when she could’ve chosen resignation. And in doing so, she rewrote what it means to live out loud—even as you’re dying.