Too Hot To Handle

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Part of a series on Netflix. [View Related Entries]

About

Too Hot To Handle is a Netflix original reality television series in which attractive singles are placed on an island with a potential prize of $100,000. The catch was that if they engaged in any sexual contact such as kissing, sex, or masturbation, the amount of prize money would decrease. The fundamental goal of the show was to encourage the singles to build relationships based on an emotional connection rather than a physical one, and they were rewarded if it was deemed they were building an emotional connection or experiencing growth on the island and eliminated if they were not.

History

Too Hot To Handle was created by Laura Gibson and developed by Charlie Bennet. The concept was inspired by the Seinfeld episode "The Contest."^[1] Netflix released the trailer for the series on April 10th, 2020, and the show debuted a week later on the 17th (shown below).

Reception

The series was met with mostly negative critical reception, scoring a 43 on Metacritic.^[2] In a fairly positive review, Vulture^[3] critic Kathryn VanArendonk wrote, "Right now, with so many people starved for human contact, it’s hard to imagine something more primed for mass consumption than a daffy reality show about sexually frustrated hotties who all hope this weird experience will somehow make them better people." On the negative end, Slate's^[4] Rachelle Hampton wrote, "the show never manages to be as scintillating or as meaningful as it claims to be."

Online Presence

Online, the show proved addicting to viewers who were simultaneously appalled by the show yet found themselves bingeing it. On April 23rd, Twitter user @wanjezz^[5] wrote, "Too hot to handle is by far the dumbest show i have watched but i can't stop," gaining over 120 retweets (shown below, left). User @shelbyhawtin^[6] tweeted, "This Too Hot to Handle show is sooo fucking dumb anyways I’m on Episode 6," gaining over 100 retweets and 500 likes (shown below, right).

Others joked that they could easily succeed at overcoming the show's premise. User @itsleviOsa^[7] wrote, "The people on too hot to handle are struggling to go one month without any sexual interactions for 100k. A MONTH??? Id have 1.5 million dollars by now," gaining over 130 retweets and 1,300 likes (shown below, right). User @lauraeweymouth^[8] wrote, "Me, a demisexual, watching Netflix advertise the premise of Too Hot to Handle: I'm sorry, this is supposed to be difficult?????," gaining over 80 retweets and 1,100 likes (shown below, right).