Netflix will once again answer the burning question that none of us realized we had: can YOU go a couple of weeks without sex for $100,000? That’s the entire premise of Too Hot to Handle. I’m betting most of us could, but what if you were on an island with extremely attractive, sexually active people?
Well, I’m betting most of us still could, but it makes for great trash TV!
I have a weakness for these “reality” dating game shows that dates back to the likes of Joe Millionaire, the series that asked women if they could still love a man even after he lied to them about being a millionaire. The made for TV answer is yes, of course they could love him, and should, but in reality, um, don’t lie to me about your financial situation, that’s just a dick move.
Netflix really hit my guilty pleasure at the right time, releasing Too Hot to Handle during peak “stay your ass at home” season. I binged this series in one sitting, way too amused at the premise and how contestants actually struggled to not have sex when there was a cash prize involved. Can YOU survive being in a romantic suite with the person you’re vibing with WITHOUT touching them?
For $100K split ten ways, yeah, of course. Next question.
Seriously, that’s $10K per person, I’ll be in the oversized bathtub overlooking the scenic ocean view while reading smutty fanfic before I go to bed.
The series, like most of these kinds of series, had its fair share of melodrama, which the older I get the more hilarious it is to watch people struggle to get along with each other. In an all-expenses-paid paradise. When you’re about to be paid for simply existing in said paradise as long as you don’t make out with the hottie sitting next to you.
Sure, there are some workshops you gotta attend that attempt to teach a lesson in self-respect, but just treat them like a timeshare: just a few more lessons about protecting your Yoni and you’ll get that prize. And yes, it was head-scratchingly bizarre to have a show with an AI unit admonishing the beautiful people about their flirtatious behavior also try and have moments of brotherly bonding, female empowerment, and the harsh things the world has said about you at the tail-end of the series.
This “accepting who you are by facing the negatives you’ve been told about yourself in life” part is in the last episode (not counting the cast reunion episode).
According to Deadline, production is now underway for the next two seasons, which begs the question, just how horny is everyone gonna be now that we’re in the middle of COVID? Will the show address the pandemic (probably)? Will the contestants (again, probably)? Just how many touch-starved conversations are gonna happen in these new seasons? Will the contestants get vaccinated before participating in the show? There are no answers yet, hell, there’s not even a projected release date, but I’m sure we’ll find out whether or not it’s too hot to handle beach babes in a (hopefully) post-pandemic world soon enough.
The answer is that no, it’s not, in fact, who even wants to touch anybody you don’t know at a time like this? But hey, that’s what trash TV is for, am I right?
(Image: Netflix)
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