Shannon Murphy handles illness and dark comedy with a welcome lack of solemnity. We rate her work with actors, particularly in Dying for Sex, though the series sometimes seems too pleased with its own frankness.
Fi1m perspective
In Dying for Sex (2025), Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate make Molly and Nikki’s friendship feel comfortable within a story about terminal illness. Shannon Murphy is strongest when she lets that relationship hold our attention without insisting on the significance of every exchange. We were moved by their friendship because Williams and Slate make these women enjoyable company, even when the subject is painful. The series is a good place to start with a director who handles difficult subjects without requiring her actors to be solemn.
Murphy directed On the Ropes (2018) before making her feature debut with Babyteeth (2019). That film’s mixture of illness and dark comedy established an interest she would return to in Dying for Sex. Further television work included episodes of Killing Eve (2020), and she directed six of the eight episodes of Dying for Sex. Across that move between film and television, her approach remains rooted in performance. Her theatre background helps explain her interest in physically expressive acting that still feels believable, giving performers room to do something large without losing sight of the person doing it.
On Dying for Sex, cinematographer Daniel Vecchione supports that attention to the actors, keeping the emphasis on the intimacy of their performances. Production designer Michael Bricker gives them surroundings that do not compete for notice. Neither contribution demands much admiration on its own, but both help the scenes between Williams and Slate feel comfortable without underlining their importance. Murphy shares directing duties with Chris Teague, so the series should not be treated as hers alone. What we admire is their willingness to let the relationship carry a scene without much assistance.
The reservation is about the writing, which sometimes seems too pleased with its frankness. Murphy’s skill with performers cannot make every such passage less self-conscious. There is a risk in choosing material that keeps moving between comedy and distress: we can become more aware of the difficult change of tone than of the people speaking. The friendship is strong enough to keep that from becoming the chief impression here. Start with Dying for Sex for Williams and Slate, with a little patience for a script that occasionally seems impressed by its own nerve.
Biography
Shannon Murphy is an Australian film and television director. She trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), graduating in directing in 2007, and began her career in theatre before moving into screen work.
Her feature debut Babyteeth (2019) premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Director as well as an AACTA Award for Best Direction. She has directed episodes of Killing Eve (2020), DAVE (2023), The Power (2023), Dope Girls (2025) and Dying for Sex (2025), on which she also served as executive producer. Murphy is a graduate of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
