Too Hot to Handle is the Antidote for Your Social Isolation

Let’s be honest. By this point, we are all yearning for some social interaction and sense of normalcy. That cannot happen but you can experience some of this through a proxy. In your voracious consumption of streaming television, Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle can provide the satisfaction to your itch. The timing could not have been more perfect for the completion of this series which wrapped production almost as the lockdown was looming on the horizon. Paul Newton brought his skill and insight from Love Island UK (as well as the BAFTA nominated Celebrity Big Brother) to this series, expanding and improving on the format in notable ways. Netflix perceived that this type of storyline could be improved upon in its appeal to American audiences and procured Newton to guarantee this. Too Hot to Handle is unquestionably the most mesmerizing program of the genre. Watching this series will certainly introduce you to a group of unimaginably attractive people all vying for the attention of each other but there’s much more to it than strategy and hormonal interest. Too Hot to Handle changes the way we experience a format in terms of what to expect. The visual style and the access offered by it supersedes anything that has come before and sets a new standard for what is possible in the genre. 

The goal for this series was to elevate it beyond what had been achieved with Love Island. Creating a more intense and visually immersive experience necessitated rethinking the template which had driven the British series of a similar theme to become one of the biggest international hits of the dating reality series genre. After visiting the Mexico location for the premier season of Too Hot to Handle, director Paul Newton suggested a bold idea; a complete redesign of the reality dating show format by scaling down the number of remote cameras and increasing the number of personally operated cinematic cameras. A seemingly contradictory idea at first, this not only resulted in enhancing the perceived cinematic quality of the show but also made it feel more like a drama with a reality twist. The goal and eventual outcome was that viewers felt unsure whether they were watching a drama or a reality show. Though the crew was brought closer than ever to the interaction of those appearing in the show, they eventually faded into the surroundings for participants while being able to exponentially increase the visual style of the series. The director’s gamble blurred the lines between dramatic film and reality television on a level never achieved before. 

Such freedom is not without an accompanying anxiety. Void of the constraints of ad breaks and fixed episode lengths, Too Hot to Handle was in search of a pace and tone that was ground breaking. Newton concedes that found himself often shooting scenes that would never make it to the final cut in service to the exploration of an identity. This uneasiness and pressure would form the series into arguably the most unique of any show in the genre.

  While we’d prompt you to investigate this series for yourself, there’s no need to take our word for it. The success of Too Hot to Handle surpassed all expectations, with the show quickly becoming the number one most-watched program on Netflix in the first week of its release. When questioned about how he gauges the success of the show and his contributions, Paul Newton confesses, “For me the success of a show can be gauged by its presence in other areas of society, such as discussions on radio shows, news outlets, among friends or colleagues, and on social media. The first season of Too Hot to Handle did just that and gained significant traction across all these platforms, being widely discussed and shared. This widespread recognition was immensely gratifying as it validated all the hard work and effort everyone put into creating the show. This achievement is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the production team and the innovative visual approach that helped to distinguish Too Hot to Handle as a must-watch series in the reality TV genre.”

Writer : Winston Scott