You're not seeing things —'nudity creep' in streaming TV reveals more of its stars
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
One of the most popular shows on one of the biggest streaming services right now is called "Naked Attraction," and it's exactly what it sounds like - a dating show where everyone is completely naked. Even for Max, the streaming platform that used to be HBO, the nudity is a lot. And this is what NPR's Neda Ulaby calls nudity creep. She has this report.
NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: "Naked Attraction" comes from Britain. It's been popular there for years.
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ANNA RICHARDSON: Welcome back to "Naked Attraction," the dating show that likes to let it all hang out.
ULABY: Here's the gimmick - one person looking for love faces six boxes. They contain six completely naked people.
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RICHARDSON: We are going to reveal them to you bit by bit.
ULABY: And bit by bit, the contestants are eliminated based on the bits we see.
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RICHARDSON: Can we please reveal...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Laughter).
RICHARDSON: ...The bottom half of the bodies?
ULABY: Nothing is blurred or censored. In fact, there are close-ups.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Laughter).
JEFFREY JONES: They are showing full male frontal nudity, and that's what's maybe catching a few breaths.
ULABY: Jeffrey P. Jones is a professor of television studies. He's written a book about the history of HBO, and he happens to run the Peabody Awards, one of the most prestigious prizes in media. Between us, I don't think "Naked Attraction" will win. This is a show based on people cheekily assessing each other's junk.
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AINA ROXX: Well, nice, really - a nice form, you know, a nice shape.
ULABY: Do you think it's outrageous that HBO, the home of prestigious dramas like "The Wire" and "The Sopranos," has stooped so low? Jones does not. He remembers when HBO aired programs like "Real Sex" and "Taxicab Confessions."
JONES: So that was its attraction. Its sister network - let's not forget - was called Cinemax, e.g., Skin-emax (ph). Sex has been central to why we subscribe to these channels.
ULABY: Cable television always enjoyed less regulation than broadcast, and streaming TV is not regulated for decency by the FCC at all. From the beginning, Jones says, streaming services attracted subscribers with provocative shows like "House Of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black" that centered naked female flesh. Now we're seeing more men - way more.
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ULABY: A Netflix show called "Sex/Life" became a viral sensation because of just one scene.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Open your eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Oh, whoa.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Look.
ULABY: Netflix says that one scene alone got more than 20 million views.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: No, you have to watch.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I don't want to watch.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Keep watching. You're not there yet.
ULABY: On TikTok, people recorded themselves and their friends reacting to the big reveal involving a naked man.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Oh. Oh.
JONES: This is marketing that happens without the HBO, Netflix marketing departments.
ULABY: Jeffrey Jones says this nudity creep is because there's so much competition for eyeballs and subscribers. But if nudity is the gimmick to get them, what happens when it gets old?
JONES: We will never get tired of nudity. It's on frescos all through Europe. Nudity is with us forever. You know, frankly, it's a central part of who and what we are as humans, and we're going to tell stories about it.
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RICHARDSON: OK, I think we really need to see the boys' bums.
ROXX: Yes.
ULABY: You can call it nudity creep or maybe a bumrush.
Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
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