Bonding (TV series)

Bonding (stylized as BONDiNG) is an American dark comedy streaming television series that premiered on Netflix on April 24, 2019.[1] The series stars Zoe Levin, Brendan Scannell, Micah Stock, Theo Stockman, and D'Arcy Carden. On January 16, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which was released on Netflix on January 27, 2021.[2]

Bonding
Genre
Created byRightor Doyle
Starring
ComposerAdam Crystal
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes15 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Rightor Doyle
  • Dara Gordon
  • Jacob Perlin
  • Nina Soriano
  • Tom Schembri
  • David Sigurani
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time13–17 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkNetflix
Picture format4K (16:9 UHDTV)
Audio formatDolby Digital
Original releaseApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24) –
present (present)
External links
Website

Bonding is reported to be loosely based on the personal experience of creator Rightor Doyle.[3]

Synopsis

Tiffany "Tiff" Chester (Zoe Levin), is a psychology student moonlighting as a dominatrix. She enlists the help of Pete Devin (Brendan Scannell), her gay best friend from high school, to be her assistant.[4] The semi-estranged characters reconnect in Manhattan, where Pete works as a waiter and as an aspiring stand-up comedian with stage fright.[5] Tiff struggles as she balances her personal life with school and her job, as well as Pete's exposure to sadomasochism and BDSM and how it gradually helps him become liberated in his life.[6]

Cast and characters

Main
  • Zoe Levin as Tiffany "Tiff" Chester, a psychology grad student living in New York City. She works as dominatrix by night under the alias "Mistress May". She enlists the help of Pete to become her assistant.
  • Brendan Scannell as Peter "Pete" Devin, a young gay man who becomes an assistant to Tiff. He initially chooses the alias "Carter", but is later referred to as "Master Carter".

Supporting
  • Micah Stock as Doug, Tiff's psychology classmate
  • Kevin Kane as Professor Charles, Tiff's psychology professor
  • Stephanie Styles as Kate
  • D'Arcy Carden as Daphne
  • Theo Stockman as Josh
  • Alex Hurt as Frank, Pete's roommate
  • Gabrielle Ryan as Portia, Frank's girlfriend
  • Eric Berryman as Andy, Daphne's husband
  • Charles Gould as Fred, one of Tiff's clients
  • Matthew Wilkas as Rolph, Tiff's German man-servant and one of her clients
  • Jade Elysan as Cat Dom
  • Alysha Umphress as Murphy, a stand-up comedian and Pete's friend
  • Amy Bettina as Chelsea
  • Stephen Reich as Trevor

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
17April 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
28January 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)

Season 1 (2019)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Old Friends, New Names"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
In need of money to pay rent, Pete reluctantly decides to become an assistant to a dominatrix, his best friend from high school Tiffany Chester, who goes by the alias Mistress May. He chooses the alias Carter as her new assistant.
22"Pete Shy"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Pete struggles to find the confidence to perform onstage as a stand-up comedian. At work as a waiter, a customer named Josh leaves his number for Pete on a receipt. Meanwhile, Tiff meets with a potentially new client, Daphne, who is looking to hire Tiff for her husband.
33"The Past Is Not Always Behind"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Pete decides to tell Frank, his roommate, about his new job as a dominatrix's assistant, leading Frank to ask for an odd favor. Tiff begins to see one of her classmates, Doug, in a new light during a class presentation. Pete and Tiff run into Chelsea, an obnoxious former high school classmate, at a bar. It is later revealed that Pete lost his virginity to Tiff in high school.
44"Let's Get Physical"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Tiff enacts the sexual pleasure of tickling Daphne's husband, Andy, while Pete allows Daphne to punch him to let out her frustration. Pete goes on a date with Josh, which starts off bad but gets better after the two grab coffee. Tiff beats up her sleazy psychology professor after witnessing him being inappropriate with Kate, a fellow classmate.
55"Double Date"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Tiff gets into an argument with Pete, in which he states that she always feels the need to be in control. Pete goes on another date with Josh. Doug and Tiff go on a date/non-date. However, Tiff's client/German man-servant, Rolph, unexpectedly shows up and ruins the date. Meanwhile Pete and Josh end up back at Pete's apartment to have sex.
66"Penguins"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Pete is left entertaining a client while wearing a penguin costume after "Mistress May" fails to show up to work. Tiff reveals to Doug that she is a dominatrix. Pete finally goes on stage, as his "Master Carter" persona. Meanwhile, Tiff does her thesis presentation, in front of the class, dressed as her dominatrix persona.
77"Into The Woods"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleApril 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Tiff visits Daphne and Andy, again, without Pete. Tiff and Pete finally apologize to each other. A flashback shows Pete and Tiff on their prom night. Tiff and Pete visit the house of a new client, Trevor, who attacks Tiff after locking Pete in the bathroom. Tiff stabs Trevor in the leg after Pete gets out of the bathroom. The two flee together, after police sirens are heard.

Season 2 (2021)
No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [7]Directed byWritten by [7]Original release date [8]
81"The Kinks"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
92"Dog Days"Rightor DoyleRightor Doyle & Olivia TroyJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
103"Personal"Rightor DoyleRightor Doyle & Nana MensahJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
114"Threesomes"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
125"Nanci"Rightor DoyleRightor Doyle & Nana MensahJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
136"The Lost Egg"Rightor DoyleRightor Doyle & Olivia TroyJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
147"Stand Me Up, Stand Me Down"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
158"Permission"Rightor DoyleRightor DoyleJanuary 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)

Production

Development

On December 14, 2018, Netflix announced it had picked up the series for a seven-episode first season.[1] The series is created by Rightor Doyle, who is credited as an executive producer, alongside Dara Gordon, Jacob Perlin, Nina Soriano, Tom Schembri and David Sigurani.[1] Production companies involved with the series include Blackpills and Anonymous Content.[9] On January 16, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season consisting of eight-episodes.[10]

Casting

After Netflix acquired the series, it was confirmed that Zoe Levin and Brendan Scannell would star in the series.[1]

Release

On April 22, 2019, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.[11]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 71% with an average rating of 6.95/10 based on 14 reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Though Bonding's juicy spin on friendship and sexuality boldly treads into uncharted territory, the show's writing too often teeters uncomfortably between bewitchingly funny and bewilderingly underwhelming to make it a truly satisfying experience."[12]

Controversy

After the release of the first season, the series suffered several criticisms by the BDSM community for containing a high level of inaccuracy. According to BDSM workers, the series' humor revolves around mistaken stereotypes and does not accurately portray the reality of BDSM.[13]

BDSM experts characterize Tiff as cold and aggressive, not knowing how to separate the dominatrix personality from the everyday personality. In addition, the series attempts to use a history of sexual trauma to justify Tiff's preference for domination fetishes, a view that is considered cliché and misguided about sex workers. The lack of negotiation and consent in several scenes in the first season and the collar with "Ring of O", a symbol of BDSM submission, being used by the protagonist are also other problems pointed out by BDSM professionals.[13][14]

Shortly after the first season's release, one of the series' creators, Rightor Doyle, responded to negative criticism by stating that he would listen to the BDSM community to fix the inaccuracies shown in the series so far.[15] With that, they hire as consultant Olivia Troy, a writer who has worked with BDSM for 15 years, to assist them in the script for the second season. This caused most of the negative points pointed out in the first season to be corrected, making the series closer to the reality of BDSM.[16][17]

According to Troy, the lack of consent, communication and connection between dominatrix and submissive is one of the main mistakes made by the media when BDSM is addressed. But despite the evolution of the second season, Troy also states that there are still some moments that are not necessarily realistic because the theme must fit into the style and script of the show.[17]

References
  1. Andreeva, Nellie (December 14, 2018). "Rightor Doyle's 'Bonding' Short-Form Dark Comedy Series Picked Up By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  2. "'Bonding' Season 2 Coming to Netflix in January 2021". What's on Netflix. December 31, 2020.
  3. "'Bonding': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. April 24, 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  4. Sarner, Lauren (April 18, 2019). "'Bonding' creator dishes on life of sex and dungeons". New York Post. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  5. Mangan, Lucy (2019-04-24). "Bonding review – learn how to be a dominatrix (in under three hours)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  6. Debnath, Neela (2019-04-24). "Bonding on Netflix release date: How many episodes are in Bonding?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  7. "Bonding". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  8. "Bonding – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  9. Keslassy, Elsa (November 28, 2017). "Blackpills, Anonymous Content Team on 'Bonding' From Rightor Doyle". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. Petski, Denise (January 16, 2020). "Rightor Doyle's 'Bonding' Renewed For Season 2 By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  11. "New Trailer for "Bonding" – Netflix's Hilarious and Heartfelt New Comedy Series". New on Netflix. April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  12. "Bonding: Season 1 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  13. Dickson, EJ (April 25, 2019). "Sex Workers Aren't Happy With the New Netflix Show About Dominatrixes". Rolling Stone.
  14. Dry, Jude (April 25, 2019). "Dominatrix community condemns Netflix show 'Bonding' as 'Inauthentic' and 'Problematic'". IndieWire.
  15. Dry, Jude (May 7, 2019). "'Bonding' Creator Responds to Dominatrix Criticism of His BDSM-Centric Netflix Show". IndieWire.
  16. Sorren, Martha (January 27, 2021). "How Criticism From The BDSM Community Changed Bonding In Season 2". Bustle.
  17. Turchiano, Danielle (January 27, 2021). "How the BDSM Community's Criticism of 'Bonding' Inspired Change in Season 2". Variety.
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