A reformed sex addict, suffering intimacy problems with a woman who offers him stability, returns to his former psychiatrist, a twisted and manipulative woman for whom he might still be madly in love with.

Hey DPG,

Hmm. That is a point. He only really becomes reformed once we reach Act 2 of the pilot. Perhaps for the pilot logline: "A sex addict, unable to be intimate with a woman who offers stability..." (He does malfunction at one point, but before that he subconsciously pushes her away. )

He's not really a schmuck. Or at least I never saw Fassbender in ?Shame? as a shmuck. It's as much about his relationship with women and inability to be vulnerable. It's about the story beneath his sex addiction - the big why. The cause of it. The fact he's attracted to some weird brutal things. The way he treats women and compartmentalises them - and how he steadily learns to respect them and treat them equally (that's gotta be relevant in this post-Weinstein era). As people.

Throughout the pilot, he's emotionally detached, emotionally self serving and emotionally numb. He wants to live authentically. A real life. Real love. Real relationships. What he has with Celine is still fantasy - he's attached himself to a woman who will never reject him, who he has nothing in common with, etc.?

Not necessarily. What they have is constantly shifting. They both continuously switch between predator and prey, and get off on this constantly shifting power play. And again, it is dangerous, unethical and illegal for doctor and patient to be doing stuff together. Though she gets off on being in control, playing with his mind - he's still dominant and controlling.

I was inspired by ?Dangerous Liaisons? - these two cruel aristocrats playing games with each other and other people. The protagonist seduces an innocent woman, falls in love with her in the process, etc.

Throughout the series, he's made to confront his issues with power, dominance and control; why he is aroused by savagely cruel behaviour and what made him that way.?

I'll keep in mind your 2.5 cents though. Last producer/manager who was interested in my stuff - asked if I had anything with strong female protagonists.?

As for the hook - that's what I'm trying to get to the bottom of. Is sex and psychology (or the psychology of sex) not a hook? I mean it dissects the mother whore complex.?

>>>A reformed sex addict
Say what? A logline should describe the state of the character at the start of the story. According to your synopsis, he is anything but "reformed" at the start of the story.

>>>Matilda then tells him that to cure himself he must return to being her patient ? and become dependent upon her and submissive. With great difficulty, Sean agrees and surrenders to her control.

So Matilda seems to takes over the driver's seat of the plot. Since she is dominating/manipulating him, why isn't she the protagonist?

Frankly, I think a series centered around the manipulative female sex therapist with a rich, glamorous and kinky clientele would be more marketable than one about a sleazy schmuck, addicted to sex and the fantasy world of porn, who can be manipulated by other women.

Again (and ad nauseum,)I ask what for me is the fundamental question:? what is your story hook?? More specifically for this story, who is the story hook?? Who is the more interesting character for the long haul of a series??

But if you're already locked into the script you've written., well...

My 2.5 cents worth.

>>>A reformed sex addict
Say what? A logline should describe the state of the character at the start of the story. According to your synopsis, he is anything but "reformed" at the start of the story.

>>>Matilda then tells him that to cure himself he must return to being her patient ? and become dependent upon her and submissive. With great difficulty, Sean agrees and surrenders to her control.

So Matilda seems to takes over the driver's seat of the plot. Since she is dominating/manipulating him, why isn't she the protagonist?

Frankly, I think a series centered around the manipulative female sex therapist with a rich, glamorous and kinky clientele would be more marketable than one about a sleazy schmuck, addicted to sex and the fantasy world of porn, who can be manipulated by other women.

Again (and ad nauseum,)I ask what for me is the fundamental question:? what is your story hook?? More specifically for this story, who is the story hook?? Who is the more interesting character for the long haul of a series??

But if you're already locked into the script you've written., well...

My 2.5 cents worth.