“In this dating show, we go back to basics and start where a good date often ends — naked.”
That tagline essentially sums up the premise of the U.K. dating show “Naked Attraction,” which is currently airing its seventh season across the pond on Channel 4. Hosted by Anna Richardson, “Naked Attraction” first premiered in July 2016, but the series just made its way to this side of the pond.
On Sept. 20, six seasons of “Naked Attraction” were added to Max, the streaming giant formerly known as HBO Max. When the show arrived in Asia last year, the platform shared a teaser that revealed the surprising premise.
The rollout for its U.S. release has been much more subtle. Max has not posted about the series on its official accounts, but some social media users still stumbled across the show and voiced their opinions on X, formerly known as Twitter. The response was mixed.
The Washington Post columnist Helaine Olen shared an article from The Hollywood Reporter about the series and tweeted, “I’m sorry, but this is just grotesque.”
Others were hooked and couldn’t stop watching. “I’m nerding out over all the statistics they’re sharing, though. I’m titillated by the nudity,” one person said.
Some Brits enjoyed seeing Americans’ passionate reactions to a show that has been making headlines for years — more than 1,000 complaints about the show’s explicit nudity have been filed to the U.K. communications regulator, Ofcom, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“A lot of my American friends have just been introduced to Naked Attraction and the reactions are hilarious,” one person tweeted. “Like this is something we’ve watched for years over here in U.K. peeps. Nothing can shock us.”
Television writer Camilla Blackett said, “Americans only now just finding out about Naked Attraction is sending me…”
Writer and professor Roxane Gay responded to Blackett’s tweet and said she watched the “mind blowing” show in London a couple months ago.
Blackett replied, “It’s a British staple at this point. Like Bake Off but with abundant foreskin.”
Journalist Tilly Pearce joked, “I am so excited the US public is finally getting to know our greatest UK export — #NakedAttraction.”
How does ‘Naked Attraction’ work?
“Naked Attraction” joins a long list of dating shows, like “Love Is Blind,” “The Ultimatum” and “Married at First Sight,” that use unusual methods to pair singles together.
The British game show is a mashup of “Naked and Afraid of Love” and “The Bachelor.” In the episodes, one contestant called the “chooser,” who is fully clothed, gets to know six naked strangers. During each round, the six naked people, who are standing in display cases, reveal parts of their body, starting from the feet up. They are eliminated one by one as the chooser comments on their bodies.
When only two people remain, the chooser takes off their clothes and allows the final two to critique them. Then, the chooser selects who they want to pursue a connection with and the two enjoy a fully-clothed date.
The episodes include uncensored, full-frontal nudity as well as explicit descriptions of the contestants’ bodies.
“Naked Attraction” features contestants with different sexual orientations.
Where can you watch ‘Naked Attraction’?
Six seasons, totaling 53 episodes, are available to stream on Max.
The series has become a global hit as Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden and more countries have created their own versions of “Naked Attraction.”