What Is Naked Attraction: Max's Newly Added & Fully Nude Game Show Explained

And you thought "Naked and Afraid" was scary.

"Naked Attraction" started its life in the United Kingdom, where it debuted in 2016. It has remained a popular program there. The game show has continued to run for 11 series strong, with its most recent episode airing in May 2023. Now viewers outside of the U.K. can view six of those seasons on Max.

The adults-only game show features one bachelor or bachelorette and six possible partners standing in a colorful, backlit cube. Piece by piece, the nude bodies of the six contestants are revealed to the fully-dressed singleton, who promptly dismisses them based on their physical preferences. When the contest is winnowed down to two parties, the questioning bachelor or bachelorette strips down to their own birthday suit and the remaining contestants critique them in return. The end result is hopefully a happy couple — and a fully-clothed date. 

Even in the U.K. — where post-9 p.m. nudity is common on networks like Channel 4, the home base of "Naked Attraction" — the show has engendered controversy. From critics who have accused the show of indulging in body shaming to those who decry it as the worst thing to ever happen to British television, it has not been smooth sledding for the show's producers over the years.

A concept like this one is bound to cause controversy, and, of course, it did. Over the years, a thousand complaints (and more) about the show have been lodged with Ofcom, which regulates broadcast standards for the United Kingdom. However, the governing body declared the show's nudity justified. Viewers have expressed mixed points of view about the series, with some finding it lurid and others enjoying its wackiness. One part of this controversy became tied to a larger media industry concern in the U.K. When Channel 4 was entertaining the idea of becoming privatized, audience members cited "Naked Attraction" as the kind of crass programming that'd result in the change from being a state-owned broadcast channel. (For context, the move would have been similar to a local PBS station in America becoming owned and operated by a private broadcast company like Disney with its own fiscal interests and programming to prioritize.) However, it's worth noting that any formal plans to privatize Channel 4 ended in January 2023 (per Guardian).

"Naked Attraction" has tried to ameliorate some of the controversy inherent in its existence by launching a six-part spin-off program, "Naked Education." Intended to celebrate body diversity and promote sexual education, the show allows audience members to ask questions about sex and their bodies to an expert panel. But the program engendered several complaints after its first airing for doing everything from showing nudity before the 9 p.m. watershed hour to exposing purported minors to nudity. Still, the series soldiers on, with host Anna Richardson hinting that there might be a future celebrity edition of the game show. Only time will tell if this spin-off series will also find an American perch on Max.