Too Hot to Handle (TV series)

Matthew Smith was a contestant on the twenty-first season of America's Next Top Model.[10] Harry Jowsey was a contestant on the first season of Heartbreak Island in New Zealand.[11] Lydia Clyma was featured on Magaluf Weekender and Sex Clinic.[12] Sharron Townsend appeared on MTV's Undressed in 2017, and he has had minor appearances in Love & Hip Hop and Creed II.[13]

The show was created by Laura Gibson and developed by Charlie Bennett, citing Seinfeld episode, "The Contest" as their inspiration for the premise of Too Hot to Handle.[16] Laura Gibson, creative director of Fremantle-owned production company Talkback, which produced the eight-part series, told Deadline Hollywood that she had been working to produce a dating show since 2016.[17]

Viki Kolar and Jonno Richards, executive producers for Too Hot to Handle, said they found inspiration for the virtual character from artificial intelligence and virtual assistants, especially in video surveillance. Viki Kolar stated, "[A.I.] is literally everywhere around us. It's kind of governing us, it's taking over," in an interview with Glamour.[18]

On 5 May 2019, Netflix Studios, LLC applied to trademark the phrase "Too Hot to Handle" for all educational, training, entertainment, sporting, and cultural purposes. The application was approved on 24 June 2019, and was extended on 5 March 2020.[19] This has been done with other Netflix original programs such as Stranger Things, The OA, and Big Mouth.[20] Too Hot to Handle was produced by Fremantle production company Talkback.[21]

The show, instead of using a human as their host, used a virtual assistant named Lana. Desiree Burch provided voice-over narration, making snarky and comedic remarks towards the contestants.[22]

In 2018, Talkback announced that casting for an untitled reality television show was open. In total, over 3,000 people auditioned for the show; however, producer Louise Peet stated that the people who ultimately ended up being on the show stood out to the casting team and were chosen quickly.[23]

A luxury resort called Casa Tau in Punta Mita, Mexico opened to guests in December 2018.[24] Soon after, Too Hot to Handle started filming at Casa Tau in late-March 2019[25] and ended filming in April.[26][27] After filming had ended, all fourteen contestants were able to spend several days at the resort with no cameras before going home.[28]

On 10 April 2020, Netflix released the trailer for the first season of Too Hot to Handle.[29] The first season of Too Hot to Handle consisted of eight episodes,[30] all of which were released on 17 April 2020 on Netflix.[31] A reunion episode aired on 8 May 2020, where Desiree Burch interviewed the fourteen contestants.[32]

At the allocation ceremony, the ten remaining contestants became the winners. Bryce Hirschberg, Chloe Veitch, David Birtwistle, Francesca Farago, Harry Jowsey, Kelz Dyke, Lydia Clyma, Nicole O'Brien, Rhonda Paul, and Sharron Townsend all split the $75,000 prize fund, resulting in $7,500 for each person.[33]