An intimacy coordinator's work isn't just about sex. We spoke to one behind 6 top shows

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Set us as preferred “Widow’s Bay.” “Your Friends & Neighbors.” “Bridgerton.” “Love Story: John F.Kennedy Jr.

and Carolyn Bessette.” “The Beast in Me.” “The Diplomat.” These six series have more in common than their 2026 Emmy nominations.They also share the same intimacy coordinator — Lizzy Talbot.

The British former stunt coordinator has been at the forefront of intimacy coordinators becoming an industry norm for more than a decade now.According to Talbot, intimacy coordinators have three jobs: to advocate, to coordinate and to choreograph.Advocacy includes crafting nudity riders, establishing boundaries and ensuring closed sets when necessary.

Coordinating sees Talbot working with any department involved in an intimacy scene to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes time to film.Choreographing nails down the exact places actors will touch and what the camera will see during nude and vulnerable moments.“A lot of times we are characterized as the sex police, but we love doing intimate work,” Talbot said.

“Part of this job is reading the room and being a people person.It’s an interpersonal job.

This is what’s really fun for us.”The three aspects of the job mean every time Talbot is on set looks different.Choreographing a sea witch straddling a man’s face until he suffocates (“Widow’s Bay”) is different from dramatizing the intimate moments of the 1990s’ most recognized celebrity couple (“Love Story”), and both of those differ from creating the physical storytelling for almost every lead character across multiple sex scenes (“Your Friends & Neighbors”).“Love Story” required Talbot’s presence throughout the whole season, primarily working with leads Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly to create the physical language that made them the most ...