Netflix’s Sexy Beasts Is The Weirdest Blind Dating Show You Need To Watch

The Bachelor's popularity has inspired shows like Netflix’s Love Is Blind, which saw singles dating in pods, only able to meet face-to-face when they're ready to get engaged. But by hiding its contestants in full prosthetic makeup, Sexy Beasts raises the stakes of blind dating.

In each episode of its six-part Season 1, Sexy Beasts will follow a disguised single, aka the “picker,” as they embark on dates with three other costumed individuals — in public, complete with stunned bystanders. Once they’ve chosen their masked match, all faces are revealed.

Per Netflix, contestants featured as “pickers” in Season 1 include a 6-foot-tall Demon; a muscular, booty-loving Beaver; a party-obsessed Panda; a professional dancing Wolf; a cowboy-seeking Dolphin; and a ripped Rooster studying to become a doctor.

It’s a wacky concept, but Sexy Beasts is based on a BBC show of the same name that’s existed since 2014. The U.S. version comes from the same production company and individuals behind E4’s Body Fixers and Netflix’s The Circle, so they're well-versed on prosthetics and blind chats.

In order to cut through the awkwardness of watching these dates go down, the series is narrated by comedian Rob Delaney, known for his Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe and appearances in Deadpool 2, Rocketman, and Mission: Impossible 7, who is sure to bring some much-needed laughs.

Upon the trailer’s release in June, fans likened the show to The Masked Singer and blamed Love Is Blind for paving the way for Sexy Beasts to exist. Many thought the furry community would embrace the series, but several furries have denounced it and even said it's “exploitative.”

“There are still a lot of furry haters out there, and they let their feelings be known in [the trailer's] comments,” famed furry/author Joe Strike told Slate. “I don’t know if anybody from the community is involved in the creation of the show, but I’d be surprised if they were.”

Amid his criticism, Strike admitted that he can’t criticize the animal heads featured in Sexy Beasts, as some are “pretty cute.” He also noted that shows like this “are signs that the zeitgeist is moving toward an appreciation of anthropomorphism that we haven’t had in the past.”

Ultimately, he said, “I don’t think this is going to do any good for us, except if there are references made to furry in reviews or whatever, and people will [say], ‘Furry? What’s this?’ and they’ll go online and they’ll discover that the furry community is about.”

Some furries are intrigued, like SemJay, founder of furry adult toy company Lycantasy, who recently told Rolling Stone he thinks the Sexy Beasts concept is funny. “As long as they’re not actively encouraging hate or violence toward the furry fandom,” he said, “then I don’t mind.”

All opinions aside, one question remains: will the competition work and actually help these disguised, lovelorn singles find their potential soulmates? Find out when Season 1 of Sexy Beasts arrives to Netflix on July 21.