Now that we're in an era of reboots and revivals on the small screen, it can take a lot of creativity to put out something in an existing genre that is truly unique. Well, one Netherlands network has landed on a game show that definitely doesn't exist elsewhere on television. The new series debuted over the weekend with a round of play that asked four men to decide whether a woman is fat or pregnant. Take a look!
Yes, the KRO-NCRV game show Neem Je Zwemspullen Mee -- or Bring Your Bathing Suit in English -- featured a segment in its first episode that brought a woman out in front of four male contestants, put her up on a spinning platform so that they would get all angles of her body, and asked them to decide whether she was overweight or pregnant. It's... not super classy, and I can't help but wonder what conversations went on behind the scenes at Bring Your Bathing Suit that the "pregnancy or fat?" question sounded like a good idea.
As it turns out, the pregnancy vs. fat round wasn't even the only one to put female bodies in the spotlight. In another segment, the male contestants were asked to decide whether a woman's breasts were fake or real. Of course, the video makes it clear even for those of us who don't speak Dutch that Bring Your Bathing Suit is about more than the evaluation of women's bodies. There are also pie-throwing and underwater games. I suppose we're just lucky that the segment from the series' pilot that asked contestants to guess if a person was Japanese or Chinese didn't make it to the broadcast.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of people have not responded well to Bring Your Bathing Suit, and there has been a social media outcry, especially due to the pregnancy vs. fat round of guessing. New York Post even reports that an online petition has already begun to circulate, asking KRO-NCRV to put an end to Bring Your Bathing Suit as soon as possible. The petition hasn't had any effect so far, however, as the production company revealed in a statement that the show is using "satirical settings" to "laugh off all forms of prejudices."
It should be interesting to see if KRO-NCRV caves to public pressure and makes changes to Bring Your Bathing Suit or if the series progresses as is. We can bet that nothing like this will debut on American television. Networks (and companies) in the U.S. have been tone-deaf to public opinion before, but I can't imagine that one of the Big 4 would ever dare broadcast a game show asking contestants to guess if a person is pregnant or fat.
Check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule for a look at all your viewing options in the U.S., and don't forget to check out our list of 2017 Netflix premiere dates to discover all your streaming options. For a look at what shows will and will not be back after the 2016-2017 TV season, drop by our 2017 rundown of TV renewals and cancellations.
