Netflix Rebooting Startling A&E Show, and the Internet Is in Disbelief

Social media is in an uproar over Netflix’s upcoming revival of Sexy Beasts. The show made a splash with its preview last year, though some may be surprised to hear that it’s actually not new. While this is technically a Netflix original series, it’s based on a British dating series that actually aired in the U.S. on A&E.

Sexy Beasts challenges contestants to find love not blindly but through a mess of makeup and prosthetics. It uses movie-grade costumes and effects to turn each of its contestants into an animal hybrid, obscuring their features and sometimes making them startling to behold. The premise did relatively well on the BBC in 2014, and in the U.S. when it aired on A&E. From the looks of it, Netflix’s version will be even more over-the-top.

“Ready to say goodbye to superficial dating?” asks the Netflix synopsis of the show. “SEXY BEASTS is the dating show that takes looks completely out of the equation using fantastical, cutting edge prosthetics to transform the daters – giving them a chance to find love purely based on personality!”

The show will start off with six episodes in its first season, all available at once on Wednesday, July 21. For some, it may take that long just to prepare themselves for the visual shock. Here’s what people are saying about Sexy Beasts online so far.

Furry

First and foremost, many viewers compared the concept of this show to various forms of the “furry” fetish. They speculated that the participants must be at least a little interested in animal roleplay to get involved in such a show.

Predictions

Even as they mocked it, viewers admitted they would be watching this show, and predicted that others would too. Most seemed to agree that this would be an easy hit for Netflix.

Surreal

The trailer was simply so shocking to some viewers that they were left to question reality itself. Many wondered if they were really seeing what they thought they were seeing.

Beastarz

Fans couldn’t help comparing this to the Netflix original series Beastarz — an animated action show that is also popular among self-described furries.

Attractive

While the prosthetics might completely obscure a contestant’s face, some viewers complained that it still left their body type in perfect view, so going strictly off of “personality” was not quite an option.

Cancellations

Of course, fans of other Netflix original series that had been canceled couldn’t help feeling bitter to see money going towards this instead of their favorite show. Some went even further, imagining how writers must feel after getting pitches rejected only to see shows like this picked up.

Pitch Process

On a related note, some wondered how Sexy Beasts itself got pitched. They were more interested in seeing that pitch meeting than the show itself.