# The Principles of Pleasure (2022)

> A three-part Netflix docuseries that uses modern science and candid personal stories to explore women's sexual pleasure and dismantle stubborn myths.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/120671

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Michelle Buteau, Supriya Ganesh, Annie Pisapia, Gina Nicole Brown, Julia Zou
- TMDB rating: 6.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18299058/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: frank, joyful, empowering, candid, wry

## Synopsis

The Principles of Pleasure (2022) is a United States docuseries created for Netflix, presented as a three-episode limited series of roughly fifty minutes each. Narrated with a warm, wry voice by Michelle Buteau, it follows a group of women including Supriya Ganesh, Annie Pisapia, Gina Nicole Brown and Julia Zou, who appear as themselves sharing their own experiences of desire, arousal and fantasy. Rather than a single protagonist chasing a goal, the engine of the series is curiosity: each episode takes a question about women's sexual pleasure, pairs it with research from modern science and health, and tests it against lived experience. The structure is a case-by-case inquiry in which familiar myths are set against evidence and candid conversation. The tone is frank, joyful and unembarrassed, with an intimate and empowering register that treats sexual wellbeing as ordinary knowledge rather than scandal. Its setting is contemporary America, and it sits within the sex-positive health documentary tradition, with fans of Sex Education, Explained and Unnatural Selection finding a similar mix of candor, accessible science and human stories. Viewers looking for frank, educational television about desire will find it engaging and direct.

## Shows like The Principles of Pleasure

- [Explained (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/68544)
- [(Un)Well (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/89004)
- [Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62328)
- [Limitless: Live Better Now (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/201204)
- [Lorena (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/72807)
- [Let's Talk About CHU (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/131023)
- [Inside Amy Schumer (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/42862)
- [The Predator of Seville (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1104984)
- [The Mind, Explained (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/79099)
- [Dying for Sex (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/157746)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt