On Netflix Single’s Inferno, nine hot young singles meet and mingle on a tropical island. If they fall in love and mate, they can go to a luxurious resort called Paradise, but if they don’t, they’ll have to stay behind on the island known as Inferno, where they’ll have to fend for themselves with no phones(!) or catering (!!).
opening shot: “One choice can separate paradise from inferno,” explains an off-camera commentary over footage of a sandy beach.
The essentials: A group of handsome single men arrive on a tropical island where, albeit reluctantly, they meet. I’m so used to the first episode of most dating shows being so bubbly and energetic, with contestants who are total strangers greeting each other as if they already know each other and want to party right away, but move on Single’s Inferno, no one shows much emotion when their competitors arrive, and all just silently await directions. A woman sits with a pillow on her lap and does not look at anyone. This show is said to be a smash hit, but so far no one has anything.
When we meet the nine new contestants, five women and four men, they all describe themselves as physically fit or athletic, and the boldest adjectives they use to describe themselves are “clumsy” or “cold and snobbish.” There are also four hosts on the show who are more commentators than hosts, Hanhae, Hong Jin-Kyung, Lee Da-Hee, and Kyuhyun, and they watch along with us and add their opinions and thoughts. Although they are all actually working on the show, they don’t seem to know anything about what they’re about to see, adding comments and surprised thoughts about the looks of the mansions and contestants. Their commentary is almost grandmotherly when judging the candidates arriving on the island (“She looks elegant!” “He has a nice smile.”) and everything feels very tasteful and boring, the opposite of lewd or sexy.
The whole point of the show is that if these singles don’t mate, they have to stay on the island called Inferno, a deserted (but still beautiful), sunny island decorated to look like a ship washed ashore and torches lit by them. While on Inferno, they cannot use their phones, they must cook for themselves, and they are not allowed to reveal important details about themselves such as their occupation or age, so they must use their physical attributes and general appeals to woo at each other.
When a couple gets engaged, they come to Paradise, a resort where they can not only enjoy a bit of luxury, but also share more intimate details about themselves.
Things pick up speed as the contestants are forced to make dinner for themselves, and while it’s nice to watch them work together and work together, it’s too early to see sparks of chemistry between the contestants. Despite their outwardly vague and very subtle feelings, at the end of the episode the contestants must vote for the person they would most like to be compatible with by leaving a cute little love message in the mailbox of the person they like best. However, they cannot reveal if they have love letters to their competitors.
What shows will it remind you of? Single’s Inferno feels like a G rated Too hot to touch. Contestants on both shows are guided by a robotic voice that tells them where to go and what to do, and when they’re grouped by gender, the conversations are about which members of the opposite sex they find attractive and who to move on to similar. It’s just that Single’s Inferno They are voluntarily celibate because they are all very nice and sweet and are not just motivated by sex in everything they do.
Our opinion: Single’s Inferno, despite its fiery name, is classified as a TV PG, and while much of the talk on the show revolves around the contestants’ fit bodies and looks, they’re also meant to charm each other with their winning personalities. I have to admit I almost turned off the show when one of the conversations between three of the potential dates on the show went like this:
“There’s something to it.”
“It’s so good, isn’t it?”
“Mm, cold water!”
I’m not saying that every dating show needs contestants just talking about their Instagram followers and that they’re aspiring actresses or whatever, but a conversation about water where all three contestants are genuinely excited about the idea of drinking seeming to be a nice cold glass of it is new – and frankly confusing – to me. But that’s the pace of this show. It’s about meeting people and getting to know them, in what feels like awkwardly awkward real time. If it weren’t for the intentionally stretched pacing, I would put a lot more into the show, but I just don’t have that much time.
gender and skin: Not yet, this is a decidedly low-key dating show.
farewell shot: As the men on the show head to their mailboxes to see if any of the women left them a love letter, the hosts speculate as to which man has received more love letters than the others. The show ends before we find out who got the most.
sleeping star: So far I feel like I don’t know these candidates at all, apart from their universal love for the movement. I’m sorry to say that I don’t find any of them exciting.
Most pilot line: “When the hot summer sun sets your heart on fire, what choice will you make?”
Our appeal: SKIP IT. Do you have infinite patience? then Single’s Inferno might just be the show for you as it is the slowest of all Slow Burns and the contestants – who all seem nice! And yet definitely not made for TV! – are just normal people who are awkward at dating and it’s hard to watch. what am i missing
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer based in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show chain reaction.