After five seasons of Too hot to handle In an attempt to trick its horny contestants into taking part in a competition where they are rewarded for their abstinence, season six turns the tables and chooses ten willing contestants to enter the contest to see who can go the longest without sex. The contestants are unabashedly sex-crazed and proud of it, and while they are fully aware of what is expected of them this season, they have no idea that a whole bunch of new surprises are in store for them. Even though the formula has changed, is the show still engaging enough or is it too cold to sustain?
TOO HOT TO HANDLE (SEASON 6): WATCH IT ON STREAM OR SKIP IT?
Opening shot: Beautiful beach scenery and big, voluptuous butts are the first things our eyes are tempted to gaze upon in the opening montage of Too hot to handleseason six.
Once we get past all the T&A shots (tropics and butts), we learn that the contestants actually know the premise of the show, unlike in past seasons where they didn’t realize they would be forced to abstain from sex.
The essence: Normally on Too hot to handleA group of horny contestants think they’re going on a dating show where they’ll get to hook up with people and maybe meet someone special, and then they’re shocked when it’s revealed that they’re on a show where the competition actually involves abstaining from sex in order to win a cash prize. However, by the show’s sixth season, everyone who’s been cast knows they’re on this show, and honestly, none of them seem to care.
In most of their introductory interviews, this season’s contestants explain that they love sex and are pretty sure that the show’s penis-blocking robot, Lana, can’t tame them or their naughty ways. What they don’t know is that the show’s formula has changed a bit. Lana is still around, but she’s joined by her sinister alter ego Bad Lana, also a disembodied robot voice, but made of black metal, so you know she’s evil, but Bad Lana doesn’t care if these kids hang out and actually encourages them to flirt.
What the contestants don’t know is that regular Lana (good Lana?) is watching their every move, and while there will be no financial penalties for all that slutty behavior, she plans to evict the contestants who prove to be the biggest rule breakers and can’t keep their hands or tongues to themselves. When she shows up to the bondage party that bad Lana encouraged them all to have, contestant Jordan declares, “Look who showed up, bitch cone.” It is, no doubt, a hilarious line, but the way he says it denotes some genuine anger and, dare I say, robotic misogynyLana gathers the contestants together to announce that the show’s original rules (no kissing, heavy petting, sex, or masturbation) are back in effect and that the show’s two biggest offenders will be immediately kicked off (!). Those two contestants are Charlie, who kissed three girls that afternoon, and Bri, who kissed two guys.
It’s a seemingly cruel and unexpected twist, and the banished contestants are pretty upset about being kicked out, but also… like I said, they knew what show they were signing up for, and Lana is known for being very strict about the rules. But as they come out of retirement, Lana stops them to let them know that banishment doesn’t actually equate to elimination, and—spinner twist—they’re not actually leaving the show after all — they’re holing up (yuck) together in Lana’s special “banishment room.”
Our opinion: At a certain point in a program like Too hot to handleSince its existence, it becomes so popular that the surprises and twists that make it special need an overhaul to keep it fresh. Thankfully, the new aspects of the show, like Bad Lana and the lack of a fake show within the show, aren’t bad, just different. As always, it’s the “naughty nymphomaniacs” whose obsession with sex remains the beating (throbbing?) heart of the show and they remain the reason we’re here.
I try to take a charitable view of contestants on shows like these, who seem allergic to modesty because their comments are usually so outlandish that they’re funny. But if I’m, say, 70 percent charitable and open-minded and am entertained by the show, I’m still 30 percent grumpy and cranky who’s worried that at least one of these contestants will probably end up in public office in the next four years. But if you watch a show like this with a critical attitude, you won’t enjoy it. If you take it as unseriously as its contestants seem to do, as if you’re living your whole life as if it were hot chick summer, you’ll certainly have a good time.
Sex and skin: There’s very little left to the imagination when it comes to the contestants’ bodies, and even though they’re not technically allowed to have sex, it’s all they want to do and talk about.
Parting shot: After it is announced that Bri and Charlie will be living in the banishment area, narrator Desiree Burch says, “So Lana takes hostages now? She’s not sitting around doing nothing this year.” In a montage of scenes from future episodes, it is also revealed that two past contestants will be joining the cast to replace Bri and Charlie, who are also shown dressed in the banishment area in jumpsuits that make them look like extras from the Dharma Initiative in Lost.
Performance worth watching: I mean, this character is perfectly presented with uninhibited personalities that seem to be willing to say and do anything and to anyone, but if I had to pick just one person to pay attention to, it’s Katherine, who looks a bit like Dua Lipa and describes her type as “tall and tan with colored eyes.”
Memorable dialogue: “I’m sorry in advance, mom, you probably shouldn’t be watching this,” contestant Kylisha says in an interview after explaining that her mother was the one who signed her up for the show. This, just a moment after Kylisha described herself as “the best f—ing girl.”
Our calling: WATCH IT ON STREAM! Look, now that your season of Love Island, United States The end is approaching, we all need another option for summer fun, and this season’s new twists are fun and unexpected.
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her crowning achievement is the time she won the contest Chain reaction.
