Tell Me You Love Me
Encyclopedia
Tell Me You Love Me is an American
cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network
on September 9, 2007.
The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema
and shot in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
. The series was picked up by HBO for a second season in October 2007, but was ultimately cancelled in July 2008 when Mort said she "couldn't find the right direction" to take the series".
. The episodes are also shot with handheld cameras, giving the show a somewhat documentary-like feel. No episode has a music score or soundtrack
, except for one song which generally starts in the last two to three scenes and carries over the closing credits
. The title card for the show is not shown until immediately before the closing credits.
, oral sex
, masturbation
and ejaculation
. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, and a notable lack of comment on the matter from either HBO or the production team, the sex scenes were finally confirmed as simulated by several individuals intimately connected with the show. Director Patricia Rozema was among those to have addressed this issue directly:
With regard to these controversial scenes actress Jane Alexander has said the following:
Michelle Borth, whose scenes were the most explicit, said, "We tried to do it as authentic as possible, but we were not having sex."
s James Poniewozik
named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at #3.
The first episode of the show only attracted a total of about 910,000 viewers—far fewer than what the network had been pulling in for previous series such as Rome
, Deadwood
, and even the ill-fated John from Cincinnati
. A month after its debut, HBO claimed the show had drawn a total of 3.1 million viewers across seven broadcasts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network
The Movie Network
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
on September 9, 2007.
The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Rozema was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Sarnia, Ontario. Her parents, Jacoba Berandina and Jan Rozema, were Dutch Calvinists. Television was severely restricted and she didn’t go to a movie theatre until she...
and shot in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. The series was picked up by HBO for a second season in October 2007, but was ultimately cancelled in July 2008 when Mort said she "couldn't find the right direction" to take the series".
Overview
Tell Me You Love Me revolves around three couples, Jamie and Hugo (Borth and Kirby), Katie and David (Walker and DeKay) and Carolyn and Palek (Walger and Scott), each with their own problems concerning intimacy in their relationships. They seek the help of therapist May Foster, who herself has relationship issues with her partner Arthur (Selby).Regular cast
- Jane AlexanderJane AlexanderJane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
as Dr. May Foster - Michelle BorthMichelle BorthMichelle Borth is a American actress who portrayed characters on The Forgotten and critically acclaimed HBO cable television series Tell Me You Love Me, a role for which film.com proclaimed her "the nakedest person in TV history."...
as Jamie - Tim DeKayTim DeKayTimothy Robert DeKay is an American character actor. His first on screen acting job was as corporate giant Larry Deon on seaQuest 2032. He was a cast member of the series Party of Five from 1997–1999, Carnivàle from 2003–2005 and Tell Me You Love Me in 2007...
as David - Aislinn PaulAislinn PaulAislinn Paul is a Canadian actress, best known for her role in Degrassi: The Next Generation as Clare Edwards, the younger sister of Darcy Edwards.-Career:...
as Isabella - Adam ScottAdam Scott (actor)Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
as Palek - Katharine TowneKatharine TowneKatharine Payne Towne is an American actress.Towne was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of actress Julie Payne and Robert Towne, an Oscar-winning screenwriter, director, and actor....
as Mason - Sonya WalgerSonya WalgerSonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
as Carolyn - Ally WalkerAlly WalkerAllene Damian "Ally" Walker is an American actress, producer, director and screenwriter.She is best known for her roles as Doctor Samantha Waters on the NBC crime drama series Profiler , as Agent June Stahl on the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy and as Gloria Shepherd in the Lifetime drama...
as Katie
Recurring guest stars
- David SelbyDavid SelbyDavid Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows , and as the evil and compassionate...
as Arthur Foster - Luke KirbyLuke Kirby (actor)-Early life:Luke was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to two American expatriates. His mother is from Brooklyn, New York, and his father grew up "along the eastern seaboard". His parents moved from New York City, New York, to Canada in 1974...
as Hugo - Ryan Wynott as Joshua
- Ian SomerhalderIan SomerhalderIan Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
as Nick - Sherry StringfieldSherry StringfieldSherry Lea Stringfield is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the medical television drama ER, a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member of ER's original cast, but she quit the show during its third season,...
as Rita - Ronny CoxRonny CoxDaniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox is an American character actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, the son of Lounette and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy. He grew up in Portales, New Mexico...
as John
Structure
Each episode screens without any introduction, no title cards, and no opening creditsOpening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
. The episodes are also shot with handheld cameras, giving the show a somewhat documentary-like feel. No episode has a music score or soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, except for one song which generally starts in the last two to three scenes and carries over the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
. The title card for the show is not shown until immediately before the closing credits.
Controversy
The series gained early publicity because of its extremely realistic depictions of sexual intercourseSexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
, masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
and ejaculation
Ejaculation
Ejaculation is the ejecting of semen from the male reproductory tract, and is usually accompanied by orgasm. It is usually the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. In rare cases ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease...
. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, and a notable lack of comment on the matter from either HBO or the production team, the sex scenes were finally confirmed as simulated by several individuals intimately connected with the show. Director Patricia Rozema was among those to have addressed this issue directly:
With regard to these controversial scenes actress Jane Alexander has said the following:
Michelle Borth, whose scenes were the most explicit, said, "We tried to do it as authentic as possible, but we were not having sex."
Reception
TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
s James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at #3.
The first episode of the show only attracted a total of about 910,000 viewers—far fewer than what the network had been pulling in for previous series such as Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
, Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
, and even the ill-fated John from Cincinnati
John from Cincinnati
John from Cincinnati is an American television drama, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California, that aired on HBO from June 10, 2007 to August 12, 2007. It is the result of a collaborative effort between writer/producer David Milch and author Kem Nunn, whose novels have been...
. A month after its debut, HBO claimed the show had drawn a total of 3.1 million viewers across seven broadcasts.
DVD release
| DVD name | Country | Release date | Ep # | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | United States | February 12, 2008 | 10 | Four audio commentaries |
| The Complete First Season | Australia | April 29, 2009 | 10 | |
| The Complete First Season (כל פרקי העונה הראשונה) | Israel | 2008 | 10 |