There is something ineffable about cheesy reality TV. From “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” to “Love Island,” reality TV shows have struck the hearts of many Americans. Netflix decided to hop on the trend of this genre and released multiple dating reality TV shows such as the hit show “Love is Blind” and “The Circle.”  Following those releases, Netflix released a show that was very different compared to the rest; “Too Hot too Handle.”

Similar to another reality show, “Love Island,” a group of attractive people are sent to a vacation home on a beach where they are able to try out different couplings before the end of the show. However, this show has a couple of twists. The contestants are not allowed to have sex, or even kiss, and must try to form deeper connections with each other. The contestants who make it to the end will be able to split the $100,000 prize, but until then, the prize money shrinks every time someone kisses without approval. An Alexa-like cone shaped device named Lana monitors them and makes sure no one breaks the rules and gives them a green light on their watches which allows a couple to kiss. 

I decided to watch this show on one random night during the midst of this quarantine. I finished all nine episodes, each averaged around 40 minutes, in one night. The show was so cheesy to the point that it became addicting and I could not put my phone down. From the beautiful scenery to the even more beautiful people, the show was irresistible. The guys, AKA Harry, were over the top gorgeous. It is completely understandable to me why the show as of now on May 3, 2020 is rated number eight out of all the shows on Netflix. 

However, once you get past what is on the outside, it is pretty bad. Other than functioning as eye candy, the show was kind of a mess. Not to anyone’s surprise, many of the rules do get broken by the sex-crazed contestants and not many of them were success stories in developing meaning relationships. Not only are some of the contestants absolutely annoying (AKA Kori), but the technology they use to monitor them is even more terrifying. Lana takes the concept of  “What if your Alexa was listening to you at all times” to the extreme measures. Given that they genderized the device, the contestants anthropomorphize and flirt with her which is creepy and weird on a whole other level. 

Overall, the show is quite strange but compelling to most due to the boredom that follows in our time in quarantine. You’re unlikely to walk away having learned anything about forming anything meaningful from the messy show-even though almost every contestant claims they did- but it will have you laughing, drooling and desperately texting your binging buddies about what a terrible yet great show it is. If you have not hopped on Netflix’s original reality TV shows, “Too Hot to Handle” is the perfect beginner for you.