Sexy Beasts is a new reality show on Netflix, which asks unmarried people to find love when they use highly detailed and fantastical prosthetics. As the trailer came out, it seemed like a vibrantly colored offspring of Love Is Blind and The Masked Singer, and was termed surreal, deranged and bizarre. Twitter user Michelle even stated that she felt disgusted and appalled to see the trailer, and that she would watch the show.
Sexy Beasts does not have a new concept, as it is a much glossier version of a 2014 show made in the United Kingdom. As for showrunner Simon Welton, it has an absurd conceit that combines the interest in a trope from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and the difficulty to help remove all first date-related nerves.
Regarding Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Welton said that he loved the idea of some vampires suddenly discussing mundane stuff, like the temperature. Welton found it to be a funny juxtaposition, and an arresting idea on a visual level. This idea contradicted the conventional objective of prostheses, which are often used in science-fiction films and biopics to make the audience accept a particular situation. As for the prosthetics director of Sexy Beasts, Kristyan Mallett, those works use prosthesis fox maximum realism, and making the audience be absorbed with characters without being distracted by makeup. In contrast, Mallett said that Sexy Beasts required creative things that are intended to be viewed and ridiculously silly.
The prosthetic team of Sexy Beasts comprised 40 individuals, which as per Mallet is twice as big as what such a project would usually require. They initially brainstormed a group of funny and colorful characters that Netflix would approve instead of scary, threatening or gory characters. Consequently, they created 48 characters for Sexy Beasts, which meant four characters per episode. Mallet stated that some of the characters are complex, so the others needed to be uncomplicated enough to shift part of the available finances between them all.
Suitability was used to assign the characters to the show contestants, and it varied as they were made generically. Mallett stated that someone was assigned a character in some situations, but it did not suit them as their hair would not fit below a wig-like cap. In that case, the makers of the show continued to try others on, even as everyone wished something would work eventually.
Every single participant in Sexy beasts worked with more than one prosthetic makeup artist. Those artists applied and finished the sculpts, meaning they painted the arms, eyes and necks of the participants, before daily shoots, and improved their looks right through their dates. Whenever the participants tried to kiss each other, notwithstanding their artificial snouts, facial fur, or buckteeth, it made way for laughs. Showrunner Welton said that when the contestants wore the makeup for about 30 minutes, they became so familiar with it that they started forgetting about it.
Every character required three replicas, since the makers filmed each episode over three consecutive days and they could wear each prosthetic just once. As for Mallet, the heart-breaking part is a character getting ditched on the first day of filming an episode, thus rendering two sets of prosthetics unused. As many resources were invested in creating the artificial body parts, it was difficult for people like Mallett to watch these getting discarded. When it comes to the discarded prosthetics, Mallett jokingly said that someone at Netflix would surely have a fun party on Halloween with the parts.
The show has traditionally attractive contestants, but its intriguing trailer drew flak for its dare to develop a romantic relationship with somebody based purely on their personality. Love Is Blind also received the same kind of criticism. Somebody getting ditched in the show evokes laughs, as they throw their beast-like prosthesis to the mask of the one who does it to them. It leads the episode to its happy ending, as the last two contestants see each other’s faces and are shocked by their fortune.
Welton does not think that every cast member is attractive. Nevertheless, he said that it is possible to improve people’s looks to the maximum level, and that good makeup and hair could make a difference here. About the reactions to the identity revelations of the cast in the show, Welton said that people were also being extremely nice.
He explained that Sexy Beasts was cast according to how engaging and entertaining one was to speak to instead of their attractiveness. Why? Because the face of each cast member would be behind a mask for almost the entirety of the running time of the show. Welton also stated that the observer could decide who is beautiful, which means one’s attractiveness may be another person’s sense of loathing.
The Netflix show has a TV-14 rating, which means it is perhaps not suitable for kids.
