This Is Why ‘Naked Attraction’ Is Able to Show Full-Frontal Nudity

It may officially be fall now, but the hottest show of the year just dropped on Max. The U.K. dating show Naked Attraction has surged in popularity since landing on the streaming service earlier this month because American viewers are shocked over the premise.

Naked Attraction is "dating in reverse" and allows a clothed "chooser" to see their potential dates fully nude before agreeing to go out with them. The potential suitors begin standing naked in frosted glass cases and gradually reveal their bodies to the chooser, who eliminates them in each round. When it gets down to the two final suitors, the chooser also gets naked before deciding who they want to go out with.

The shocking thing is that nothing is blurred out as the bodies are revealed. You get a full-frontal look at your potential date, which is unheard of on United States television. Reality shows, even ones with nudity in the title like Naked & Afraid blur out breasts and genitalia. So how is Naked Attraction able to get away with it? The quick answer is that the U.K. has different broadcast standards. Let's break it down.

Why 'Naked Attraction' can show full nudity in the U.K.

Naked Attraction airs on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, which is a British broadcasting network, similar to ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX and NBC in the United States. While you wouldn't dream of seeing full nudity on stateside channels like these, the U.K. has different broadcast rules.

Ofcom is the agency that oversees broadcast standards in the U.K., and the rule is that no obscene or graphic content can be shown before the "watershed," which is 9 p.m. BST, in case children may be watching.

Channel 4 also has its own standards for nudity which state, "Nudity after the watershed depends heavily on context. The vast majority of viewers, for example, do not object to seeing even the most explicit nudity, for example close-ups of male and female genitalia, in the context of medical procedures such as cosmetic surgery, as long as it's shown at an appropriate time and they are properly forewarned. However, the same shots might not be acceptable if presented in a sexual context."

Naked Attraction airs at 10 p.m. overseas, which is after the watershed hour. The series doesn't show people actively having sex or even participating in foreplay, which puts the nudity closer to education or not obscene content, and thus allowed to air. Trailers for the show which may air before the watershed do use pixelation to hide the genitalia on the show.

Why is 'Naked Attraction' full-frontal nudity allowed in the United States

Naked Attraction nudity remains because the show is streaming on Max, which is a premium streaming service. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) partially regulates United States broadcast networks and thus has strict rules about nudity and language. Naked Attraction would never be shown in full on any of the big four networks because of the FCC fines and those networks depend on advertising dollars to stay in business.

The FCC does not regulate premium streaming services like Max, though, because they are subscription-based. People are choosing to pay for that content, and it is not funded or supported by the government. It's up to user discretion to put up parental controls or prevent their children from watching content they deem to be inappropriate.

While the FCC has no place to object to the full-frontal nudity of Naked Attraction, the Parents Television Council, a private interest group, are advocating the show be taken down from the network: "Naked Attraction should not exist on the Max streaming platform, and HBO should immediately remove this exploitative, pornographic program," the PTC said in a statement. The PTC cannot actually require Max to take down the show, though.

Can there be a U.S. version of the series with the same nudity?

The short answer is: Yes. A Naked Attraction: U.S. would have to air on Max, Starz, Netflix or some other premium service for the full-frontal aspect to remain. The producers would also have to be on board with showing everything. Even though premium cable and streaming networks are technically allowed to show full-frontal nudity, they don't often do it to avoid viewer backlash.

Importantly, however, full-frontal American version of Naked Attraction would not be allowed to air on a United States broadcast network.

Naked Attraction still airs on Channel 4 in the U.K. Six of the 11 seasons are now streaming on Max.