Netflix’s "Sexy Beasts": A Furry-Adjacent, Monster Kink Infused Quest for Love?

The monotony of a typical Wednesday morning was shattered when the @NetflixUK account unleashed upon my unsuspecting timeline what can only be described as a profoundly bizarre tweet. This tweet heralded the arrival of "Sexy Beasts," a reality dating show seemingly conceived in the deepest, darkest recesses of a streaming service algorithm. Imagine "The Masked Singer," but instead of celebrities warbling karaoke tunes, you have singles swathed in elaborate prosthetic makeup designed to resemble an array of animals. Then, cross that with the blind dating premise of "Love Is Blind," and you’re halfway to grasping the utter absurdity of this concept.

The premise, as far as I can decipher, involves singles embarking on three dates with potential romantic partners. The catch? Everyone is disguised as an animal, ranging from the relatively mundane panda to the more exotic armadillo (or at least, what I think is an armadillo), with rhinos, birds, and even dolphins thrown into the mix for good measure. After these three dates, the discerning single must choose one lucky beast to continue seeing. Only then, in a grand reveal worthy of a daytime talk show, will the chosen one’s human form be unveiled. The whole shebang is hosted by the ever-charming Rob Delaney of "Catastrophe" fame, adding a layer of comedic potential to this already outlandish spectacle. Apparently, this televised fever dream is based on a British series originally produced by Lion TV, suggesting that the UK has a penchant for oddball dating formats that we across the pond are only now discovering.

Netflix’s commitment to reality dating shows is no secret. They’ve been pumping them out at an impressive rate, from the guilty pleasure of "Too Hot to Handle" (whose second season conveniently dropped the same day as this "Sexy Beasts" announcement) to the emotionally manipulative rollercoaster that is "Love Is Blind." But "Sexy Beasts" feels like a step beyond, a plunge into the truly surreal. Variety reports that the first six episodes of this… thing… will be available globally starting July 21st, and perhaps most shockingly, it’s already been greenlit for a second season, indicating that someone, somewhere, believes there is a significant audience clamoring for more masked mammal romance.

After enduring the trailer multiple times, a disturbing thought took root in my mind: Netflix has simply identified a lucrative (and largely untapped) demographic through SEO analysis and decided to capitalize on it. The question of whether this show is in line with furry culture is what I sought to answer next.

Driven by a mixture of morbid curiosity and journalistic integrity, I sought the expertise of my husband, an SEO wizard. Armed with Semrush, a professional SEO analytics tool, he embarked on a mission to either validate or debunk my theory.

The results were, to put it mildly, eye-opening. The search term "furry" garners a staggering 450,000 searches per month in the U.S. alone. Globally, that number jumps to a mind-boggling 1.2 million. Semrush identifies this as a "very hard keyword to rank for" due to its "high competitive volume," meaning there’s a lot of content already vying for attention. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Delving deeper into the data revealed an even more… specific… landscape. Terms like "furry porn," "furry hentai," "furry porn comics," "gay furry porn," and "furry sex" collectively generate a staggering 1,258,500 monthly searches in the U.S. Adding "furry suit" to the equation brings the total to somewhere between 1,349,000 searches.

The conclusion? America, or at least a significant portion of its online population, has a marked interest in furry-related content. A very marked interest.

However, while the data suggests a correlation, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to equate "Sexy Beasts" directly with furry culture. It’s more like… furry adjacent. After further investigation, it became clear that the show leans closer to something akin to PG-rated monster kink. Think less Disney’s "Robin Hood" and more Ron Perlman as Beast in the 80s TV show "Beauty and the Beast." That’s the level of beastly we’re talking about.

So, what exactly is monster kink? In essence, it’s sexual attraction to mythical creatures. Those who indulge in monster kink often enjoy monster porn, which is precisely what the name implies. Scientific American has even noted the proliferation of this genre in the internet age, encompassing everything from werewolves and mermen to creatures yet to be conceived by human imagination. In 2014, the market for cryptozoological smut was so substantial that Amazon took action against self-published titles in the genre.

Interestingly, "monster kink" appears to be a far less competitive keyword to dominate than "furry." While it only boasts 720 searches in the U.S. and 810 worldwide, its keyword difficulty is a mere 19%. This suggests that Netflix is well-positioned to establish itself as a major player in this niche market.

There’s even a psychological basis for this particular inclination. Psychology Today suggests that monster kink taps into "elements of a fantasy of female submission to a hyper-masculine creature along with a willingness to explore varied and unusual erotic experiences, including ones that could not be enacted in real life." And let’s not forget the mainstream success stories, such as Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning "The Shape of Water" and Disney’s animated "Beauty and the Beast" (and yes, someone did, in fact, create a dildo modeled after the fish man’s anatomy from del Toro’s film).

Look, we’re not here to kink shame. While Netflix’s primary intention is undoubtedly to generate views and subscriptions, one could argue that they’re inadvertently bringing monster kink into the mainstream. And for that, we say… happy Wednesday, everyone. May your day be filled with the unexpected, the slightly unsettling, and perhaps, just perhaps, a newfound appreciation for the bizarre and wonderful world of televised dating.