Netflix’s British reality dating show Sexy Beasts is the kind of show that’s guaranteed to either make you squeal with delight or roll your eyes in disdain. Sexy Beasts is a Netflix original series, Sexy Beasts season 2 has six episodes, and each one runs about half an hour long.
– Sexy Beasts season 2 review does not contain spoilers –
Bizarre Meets Ridiculous in Sexy Beasts Season Two
It’s the reality TV equivalent of a low-budget indie horror movie, filled with all kinds of weird characters and truly bizarre personalities. It’s occasionally funny, but mostly just amusing enough to keep you watching until the end.
Sexy Beasts season 2 follows the contestants as they compete for the heart of an eligible bachelor. The twist? They have to do it while wearing animal masks that are prosthetics.
The entire premise is silly, which is why I can’t help but think it would have worked better as a short web series rather than a full-length season.
It’s not that they don’t try hard enough with this thing—there are genuinely funny moments throughout—but it never entirely hangs together as a cohesive whole. And at times, it feels more like a parody of itself than an actual reality dating show.
What makes Sexy Beasts season 2 so hard to take seriously is that it takes itself too seriously at times, which only serves to make it feel even sillier at other times.
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Seemingly Unstoppable Cycle of Clumsiness by the Sexy Beasts
Sexy Beasts is one of those shows that sounds like it’d be good, but then you watch it and realize that the premise isn’t nearly as fun as you initially thought.
The best thing about Sexy Beasts is its diverse cast of characters. It’s refreshing to see real people looking for love rather than the stereotypical pretty face. The beasts on the show include a buck-toothed cat, a goblin with a mohawk, a hairy pig creature, and a zombie-like figure with its brain on display.
The show does have its flaws: Although I appreciate that it’s trying to be respectful of what its participants go through, it can also come off as superficial and voyeuristic at times, particularly when the contestants are sitting in front of the panel deciding whether or not to keep dating someone. And although it would be unrealistic for a program like this to prove that inner beauty exists (or doesn’t), I also wish the show would spend more time identifying it in its candidates.
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Looks Vs Personality-Sexy Beasts Take on Romance
Each episode follows the same pattern: The protagonist has a conversation with each suitor, then sits down with the host to decide which one to eliminate. In between, we’re treated to a variety of interviews conducted in front of a live audience. These aren’t revealing—the men are generally soft-spoken and demure—but they’re occasionally amusing.
While it is indeed a refreshing and intriguing concept, and while the production team does their best to present it visually stunningly, I can’t help but feel that this show would be better if most of the prosthetics were removed completely.
It’s understandable why they were implemented. Instead of appreciating physical beauty through physical attractiveness, we must understand it through understanding and empathy – which is no easy feat, even with the additional help of makeup and prosthetics.
However, the show’s lack of depth is at once its saving grace. As long as you can keep up with the parade of strangers and don’t expect anything more than a few silly pratfalls and some fundamental truths about human nature, it’s an enjoyably silly diversion. And it is indubitably fun to see such a wide range of people struggling (or failing) to be sexy beasts — and then seeing them get rejected or rewarded.
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Sexy Beasts Filled with “Oh Shucks” Moments
The appeal of this show is very clearly limited to those who like watching people embarrass themselves on camera — and there are people for whom that is a significant niche. The show’s winners and losers are apparent after only a few seconds: The losers’ failures at comedy and romance are as evident as their efforts to stay in character, while those who succeed at both look like they’re having so much fun that it’s infectious. If you fall into the former category, this might not be the best show for you; if you fall into the latter, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy this season just as much as the last — but perhaps with lower expectations.
Most of all, Sexy Beasts is a parody of itself: The contestants are self-aware enough to know the game but not quite self-aware enough to realize that they are ultimately just playing themselves. It’s a show that promotes being shallow, then derides its subjects for being superficial. It is a program that calls its participants “beasts” then asks them to become “human beings.” And it only seems interested in dating as a form of group therapy rather than romance.
Sexy Beasts season 2 has excellent production values, but its participants are saddled with more heavily scripted dialogue and situations. The results are often awkward and occasionally painful. The producers’ heavy-handed attempt to remind us that our participants are bravely violating social norms feels like an afterthought or a separate entity altogether. The less the show insists on the bravery of its participants, the better.
Unfortunately, the complexity of their personal stories is flattened into a series of one-note reveals.
Stream It or Skip It?
The short episodes are easy to take in one sitting; you don’t feel like you have to spend hours of your life getting invested in this world. And it’s fun watching people try to flirt with each other while wearing animal heads.
Sexy Beasts season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
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