How fantastical prosthetics in ‘Sexy Beasts’, dating show on Netflix, were created – and how producers chose which contestant wore what
- Forty prosthetics makers brainstormed a list of characters that were ‘colourful and funny, and not gory, threatening or scary’, creating a total of 48
- The funniest moments came when contestants tried to share a kiss, and forgot their prosthetic snouts or facial fur, says series creator Simon Welton
Netflix’s new reality series Sexy Beasts asks singles to find romance while wearing fantastical, highly detailed prosthetics. When the trailer debuted last month, it appeared to be the vibrantly coloured love child of The Masked Singer and Love Is Blind, and was described with confused-but-can’t-look-away adjectives like surreal, bizarre and deranged.
One Twitter user said it best: “I’m appalled and disgusted and will definitely be tuning in.”
But the concept isn’t new. In fact, Sexy Beasts is a glossier remake of a UK programme that aired in 2014, which was followed by an American version on A&E the following year.
“I used to love it when a couple of vampires would suddenly have a chat about mundane things” on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, series creator Simon Welton said. “The juxtaposition of these odd-looking creatures talking about the temperature or something like that, I thought that was funny, and quite arresting as a visual.”
This wild idea went against the traditional goal of prosthetics, which are regularly used in dramatic biopics and sci-fi fare to sustain the suspension of disbelief.