Too Hot to Handle (TV series)


Too Hot to Handle is a reality television dating game show produced by Fremantle production company Talkback. It was created by Laura Gibson and Charlie Bennett. The show consisted of eight episodes, all of which were released on 17 April 2020 on Netflix. The host of the series is a virtual assistant, named "Lana," who will give the cast the rules they must follow for the season; Desiree Burch provided voice-over narration. The premise of the show is to teach young, single people to create genuine connections instead of their usual flings. If contestants engage in any sexual contact during the retreat, then the prize money would decrease, starting at. A reunion episode aired on 8 May 2020.
On finale night Chloe Veitch, David Birtwistle, Francesca Farago, Harry Jowsey, Kelz Dyke, Lydia Clyma, Nicole O'Brien, Rhonda Paul, Bryce Hirschberg, and Sharron Townsend were all deemed the winners of Too Hot to Handle and split the remaining prize.

Format

The series follows a group of ten singles as they are taken to a beachside resort for four weeks to find love and. Twelve hours into the retreat, the contestants are informed by a virtual assistant, Lana, that they cannot do anything sexual, such as kissing, sex, or masturbating. If they do, then the prize money will decrease by a set amount. Kissing can deduct up to from the total prize fund, oral sex can deduct up to and sex can dock up to. Midway through the game, four new contestants joined as part of the retreat and followed the same rules as everyone else, making a total of fourteen contestants. At several points during the retreat, Lana set up workshops for the contestants to play in order to stay entertained. These games can consist of many things, such as Shibari.
Midway through the season, the contestants were given watches, which would emit a light when the contestants make a genuine connection, as judged by production. Once the light turned on, the rules of the retreat were void for the contestant and they were able to explore their connection further. If their connection was strong enough, they were able to have a night at the private suite, but if their lights would not turn on during the night, meaning they would still need to continue following the rules. If a contestant was not showing growth in making a strong connection, they would be eliminated.
As part of the final night, the two contestants that cost the most money from sexual contact would have to spend the night together in the special suite without any physical contact at all. If they were to spend the entire night with no contact, the amount of money they cost from the prize fund was added back. Before the prize fund was allocated, several contestants were eliminated since they failed to seek personal growth. At the allocation ceremony, the remaining contestants all split the prize money since they all experienced personal growth in their dating life.
Several publications have compared the format of Too Hot to Handle to that of Love Island.

Season summary

Cast

The cast was revealed on Entertainment Tonight on 10 April 2020.
NationalityContestantAgeResidenceEnteredExitedStatus
Bryce Hirschberg30Venice, CaliforniaEpisode 3Episode 8
Chloe Veitch21EssexEpisode 1Episode 8
David Birtwistle28LondonEpisode 1Episode 8
Francesca Farago26Vancouver, British ColumbiaEpisode 1Episode 8
Harry Jowsey22Brisbane, Queensland Episode 1Episode 8
Kelechi "Kelz" Dyke27LondonEpisode 1Episode 8
Lydia Clyma22Portsmouth, HampshireEpisode 6Episode 8
Nicole O'Brien23County CorkEpisode 1Episode 8
Rhonda Paul27Atlanta, GeorgiaEpisode 1Episode 8
Sharron Townsend25Camden, New JerseyEpisode 1Episode 8
Kori Sampson22PlymouthEpisode 6Episode 8
Madison Wyborny20Los Angeles, California'''Episode 6Episode 8
Matthew Smith29Highlands Ranch, ColoradoEpisode 1Episode 6
Haley Cureton20Jacksonville, FloridaEpisode 1Episode 6

Other appearances

Matthew Smith was a contestant on the twenty-first season of America's Next Top Model. Harry Jowsey was a contestant on the first season of Heartbreak Island in New Zealand. Lydia Clyma was featured on Magaluf Weekender and Sex Clinic. Sharron Townsend appeared on MTV's Undressed in 2017, and he has had minor appearances in Love & Hip Hop and Creed II.

Episodes

Production

Background

The show was created by Laura Gibson and developed by Charlie Bennett, citing Seinfeld episode, "The Contest" as their inspiration for the premise of Too Hot to Handle. Laura Gibson, creative director of Fremantle-owned production company Talkback, which produced the eight-part series, told Deadline Hollywood that she had been working to produce a dating show since 2016.
Viki Kolar and Jonno Richards, executive producers for Too Hot to Handle, said they found inspiration for the virtual character from artificial intelligence and virtual assistants, especially in video surveillance. Viki Kolar stated, " is literally everywhere around us. It's kind of governing us, it's taking over," in an interview with Glamour.

Development

On 5 May 2019, Netflix Studios, LLC applied to trademark the phrase "Too Hot to Handle" for all educational, training, entertainment, sporting, and cultural purposes. The application was approved on 24 June 2019, and was extended on 5 March 2020. This has been done with other Netflix original programs such as Stranger Things, The OA, and Big Mouth. Too Hot to Handle was produced by Fremantle production company Talkback.
The show, instead of using a human as their host, used a virtual assistant named Lana. Desiree Burch provided voice-over narration, making snarky and comedic remarks towards the contestants.

Casting

In 2018, Talkback announced that casting for an untitled reality television show was open. In total, over 3,000 people auditioned for the show; however, producer Louise Peet stated that the people who ultimately ended up being on the show stood out to the casting team and were chosen quickly.

Filming

A luxury resort called in Punta Mita, Mexico opened to guests in December 2018. Soon after, Too Hot to Handle started filming at Casa Tau in late-March 2019 and ended filming in April. After filming had ended, all fourteen contestants were able to spend several days at the resort with no cameras before going home.

Release

On 10 April 2020, Netflix released the trailer for the first season of Too Hot to Handle. The first season of Too Hot to Handle consisted of eight episodes, all of which were released on 17 April 2020 on Netflix. A reunion episode aired on 8 May 2020, where Desiree Burch interviewed the fourteen contestants.

Prize

At the allocation ceremony, the ten remaining contestants became the winners. Bryce Hirschberg, Chloe Veitch, David Birtwistle, Francesca Farago, Harry Jowsey, Kelz Dyke, Lydia Clyma, Nicole O'Brien, Rhonda Paul, and Sharron Townsend all split the prize fund, resulting in for each person.

Reception

Too Hot to Handle became the #1 television program on Netflix during the week of April 20. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of Too Hot to Handle 35%, holding an average rating of 4.41 out of 10 from 23 reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gives the series a metascore of 43 based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Critic John Serba of Decider panned the show, describing it as "a mashup of Temptation Island, Love Island, "The Contest" episode of Seinfeld and The Peter Griffin Sideboob Hour", stating that "to call it tawdry is to engage in nuclear understatement", calling it "some of the dreckiest dreck ever drecked", and advising viewers to skip it.
Rachelle Hampton of Slate also wrote a negative review, stating: "Despite an irresistibly juicy premise, Too Hot to Handle doesn’t know what kind of show it wants to be, and it suffers for lack of direction. Its will-they-or-won’t-they concept is ruined as soon as it becomes clear that, yes, they obviously will, even if it means losing tens of thousands of dollars."