Art Imitates Life On Top

Penthouse Pets inspired Clara Darling’s hot erotic novel Life on Top, so who better to play the erotic models and their kinky friends when it’s turned into a Cinemax series?
By Jennifer Peters

Life on Top, based on Darling’s book from St. Martin’s Griffin and airing on Cinemax through the end of the year, stars 2007 Pet of the Year Heather Vandeven and Runner-Up Krista Ayne, along with Mia Presley and Mary LeGault. Mary plays a recent college graduate, Sophie, who moves to New York to stay with her sister, Bella, played by Heather. Bella’s been hiding her life as an erotic model for the Penthouse-like magazine Life on Top from her uptight little sis. The sibs and their best friends (Krista and Mia) take viewers on a tantalizing tour of sex in the city, getting it on in a slew of sexy locales, with 2008 Pet of the Year Runner-Up Justine Joli making a special guest appearance. Along the way, Sophie comes into her own as a sexually charged woman, despite her misgivings about her sister’s uninhibited lifestyle. As Mary says, “Sophie isn’t as erotic as the other girls. You see Sophie become more sexual and more erotic in the bedroom, but I don’t see her posing for Life on Top anytime soon—even though I would be down. That would be fun!”

Despite Heather’s numerous nude photo shoots, even she expanded her repertoire while working on the show: “The scenes with Gunner Wright, my boyfriend in the series—or at least the main one—are really sexually charged, and they’re also the first sex scenes I’ve ever done with a man.”

Heather also gave us a quick recap of just why you might want to check out the show, saying, “The girls are just so beautiful and sexy, but it’s also a really great script and book. If you want to get into the characters, you’re going to be able to. They’re more than eye candy. It’s nice to have sexuality, but even better to have intelligence with sexuality.”

And trust us, you won’t get into trouble for your viewing habits. Your girlfriend will get sucked in by the intriguing and ultimately romantic storyline, leaving you free to fantasize.