Sixth Season of ‘Too Hot to Handle’ “didn’t come to mess around”

                                                      Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

  

On July 19, 2024, Netflix premiered the sixth season of ‘Too Hot to Handle’, which has received a mixed reception from critics and viewers alike. For anyone unfamiliar with the format of the show, singles must remain celibate and avoid temptation to win $100,000. With every indiscretion, there will be a repercussion. But what exactly did the critics say? 

Samantha Graves of Collider praises the series, stating, “Season 6 of Too Hot To Handle didn’t come to mess around. From the first few minutes, the new season set itself apart from past ones by introducing plenty of series-changing twists. For starters, the contestants know what they’re signing up for ahead of time, which is a stark difference to past seasons where they’re usually tricked into thinking they’re joining a different show, only for the bomb to be dropped that they’re actually on Too Hot To Handle. But that wasn’t the only twist.” Continuing, “With Bad Lana, banishment quarters, and the contestants knowing what they’re signed up for, it seemed as though Too Hot To Handle Season 6 couldn’t come up with more twists if it tried. But then it threw us one more, and this one changed everything! After Charlie and Bri were sent to banishment quarters on Night 1 for bending the rules the most, Lana announced that two new contestants would be coming in to take their place. But not just any two contestants, two past contestants. The Season 6 singles were thrilled about this, having watched previous seasons and being familiar with the contestants, and even went so far as to voice their wishes for who they hoped would arrive at the villa next. Among these wishes were Christine from Season 5, Harry from Season 1, and Creed from Season 4. But some other fan-favorites that were name-dropped were Louis from Season 5 and Flavia from Season 4. Lucky for the contestants, that’s exactly who was brought in.”

Janet A. Leigh of Digital Spy says, “While these new aspects of the show are initially interesting, it still falls back into the same old patterns, so if you’ve come to the show hoping for a sustained burst of freshness, you’ll be disappointed. Still, we can only speak to the first batch of episodes (1-4) as that’s all we’ve seen. Perhaps the middle and back half hold the promise of something spicier. What it ultimately comes down to are the contestants and their chemistry, platonically or romantically, and in that there is some hope. The latest crop have bounds of energy and charisma and are entertaining to watch for the most part (we’re looking at you, Jordan).”

Liz Kocan of Decider notes, “What they don’t know is that the show’s formula has changed up 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 hook up and in fact, she encourages them to get their flirt on.” Continuing, “What the contestants don’t know is that regular Lana (Good Lana?) is watching their every move, and though there won’t be financial penalties for all that slutty behavior, she plans to kick off the contestants who prove to be the biggest rule breakers and cant 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, admittedly, a hilarious line, but the way he says it denotes some genuine annoyance and, dare I say, robot misogyny. Lana assembles to contestants to announce that the original rules of the show, no kissing, heavy petting, sex, or masturbation, are back in place, and that the show’s two biggest rule breakers of the day will be banished immediately (!). Those two contestants are Charlie, who kissed three girls that afternoon, and Bri, who kissed two guys.”

Lyra Hale of Fangirlish writes, “Too Hot to Handle season 6 is insufferable. As a long time viewer of this dumpster fire of a show, I know it’s not exceptional TV. But it is entertaining TV. That’s changed though in the last couple of seasons. And this sixth season feels like a TikTok reality show instead of the dumpster fire that I’ve come to love. The only saving grace that season 6 has is the editing.” Adding, “The cast is also boring. There is no bombshell that stands out and it feels repetitive with a side of “Am I watching Netflix or a TikTok house with a bunch of stale influencers?” There’s also no one who’s messy. Previous seasons have had messy people like Harry, Francesca, and Christine. Or they’ve had other contestants like Harry and Beaux, who’s instant chemistry drew you in. There’s even the meme worthy ones like Chase and that roach that landed on his head. There is unfortunately none of that in season 6 of Too Hot to Handle.”