Entertainment

'NAKED DATING' is coming to a T.V. near You

by Christine DiStasio

Vh1 is leaving nothing to the imagination on its new reality series. The network announced on Tuesday that it's given the greenlight to Naked Dating, a new unscripted dating show. The series will feature — you guessed it — fully nude contestants who will explore the idea of "what it really means to be naked in the search for love." Whatever that means, but it'll at least be less depressing than Couples Therapy . Either way, we have some big questions for the network.

According to Vh1's official announcement, Naked Dating will consist of 10 hour-long episodes, filmed in exotic locations to "set the mood," and feature a nude male and female contestant as they each date two equally naked suitors. That's a hell of a lot of nudity (and black-bar censoring) for one hour of television, so why go there? The network intends to explore whether or not the hunt for your perfect match is made easier when you've got nothing to hide and nothing to detract from who you are as a person. Interesting theory, Vh1.

Susan Levinson, Executive Vice President of Original Programming & Production at Vh1, said in the official announcement:

At first, this seems like a show that’s all about a noisy, provocative hook – and we embrace that, but when you go deeper, it’s really about something that we can all relate to – the search for true love. It’s also a series with heart and masterful storytelling – both earmarks of an engaging, must-watch show.

Well, if we weren't already sold on sheer absurdity — we're definitely sold now. But even with the details already revealed, we've got some a million questions about how Vh1 plans to pull this venture off without being ridiculous. Here's our top three:

1) Will everyone on the show be nude?

Naked Dating will be a hosted series — so will the host be nude? And while we're at it, will all of the other people at these "exotic locales" be nude as well? Obviously they will want the contestants to be as comfortable as possible and we can't imagine that they'll want to be surrounded by a bunch of clothed people. I'm feeling like they should approach Ryan Seacrest about this gig.

2) Where will these dates actually take place?

The announcement detailed that each episode would take place in a different exotic location. Which is fun and interesting (etc., etc.) but where exactly will these dates take place? Are the couples just going to go on skinny-dipping dates to the beach where they'll get to know each other during long, sunset-lit walks? When you're nude, your options are limited (not speaking from experience, but see: "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service") so where are they going to go? Will they be allowed to go to resorts in these locations to share a meal — in which case we're brought back to question one.

3) How will they stop contestants from inappropriately staring?

This was the first thing I thought of. These people might be stripped of "societal conventions", technology, and their clothing — but it doesn't mean they're stripped of their nature. How will production prevent contestants from inappropriately staring at one another's naked backsides (among other things)? I know, they volunteered for this but there's no way we won't catch a side-eye here and there. And, really, if that's a possibility — how do we know they won't make their decisions based on who has the best butt or the perkiest boobs? We don't.

Good for you, Vh1 — challenging stereotypes and societal norms in the most provocative way you could think of. Naked Dating sounds ridiculous, but we're going to watch anyway — and probably come up with a really epic drinking game to go along with it.

Images: Vh1, Gurl.com