Episode 145: Dying For Sex with Kim Rosenstock

Today on Script Apart, the next in our run of conversations with nominees for this year’s Emmy Awards. Dying For Sex, created by Liz Meriwether and my guest today, Kim Rosenstock, is an adaptation of the popular Wondry podcast series of the same name about one Molly Kochan – a writer diagnosed with terminal cancer, who documents her sexual reawakening in the aftermath of that diagnosis. Played in the show by Michelle Williams, Molly leaves her husband and embarks on an odyssey of eroticism that forces her to confront a childhood trauma that has stalked her her entire adult life. Did I mention this is, at least in part, a comedy? At least, I laughed constantly throughout this series, which is tender and terrifically funny in equal measure, and well deserving of its Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, to name a few.

In the spoiler conversation you’re about to hear, Kim breaks down all the key scenes and characters from the show, getting into how, ironically, this is deep down a story about healing. We contemplate what it is about death that as a society we can’t help but turn away from – and why we stand to benefit from staring it straight in the eye with our pop culture, rather than flinching away from the abyss it can resemble. You’ll hear about why the show invented the neighbour character played by Rob Delaney in the series, as an act almost of wish fulfilment, giving Molly the chance to fall in love that she was denied in real life – and how working on this series affected Kim herself.

Script Apart is hosted by Al Horner and produced by Kamil Dymek. Follow us on Instagram, or email us on thescriptapartpodcast@gmail.com.

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