MILF Manor is the new TV show playing into tiresome, sexist tropes

Just when you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to wild dating shows, something comes along to top what we’ve all seen before.

MILF Manor is the new reality TV dating show that has intrigued and confused people in equal measure. Not least due to the name and predicted surprise twist that the show has up its sleeve.

Let’s start with the show’s name. The word MILF itself brings back memories of Jennifer Coolidge’s role as a “MILF” in American Pie – and while this film was a cultural moment in itself, we can’t deny the sexism and misogyny that is derived from an older female character whose only function is to be, how else can we say it, f*cked.

MILF Manor falls into the same trope and, subsequently, the same problem. It’s 2022 – and the show will air early in the new year – are we really all about marketing mature women as a w*nking fantasy for young men? And don’t get us started on how problematic it would be if the genders were swapped here, with older men seeking younger women.

There’s a lot to unpack, and we haven’t even got to the really weird predicted twist yet. Here’s everything we know so far about MILF Manor, for better or worse.

What is MILF Manor about?

The show’s premise follows a group of 40 to 60-year-old women who are looking for a younger man to date. The gang of ladies are set up in a seaside mansion in Mexico, where they are told they’ll meet a group of youthful lads up for the challenge of keeping them satisfied, so to speak.

“Young men have much more energy. They think outside of the box. I want that,’ one of the “MILF” contestants explains, with another adding: “Especially in the bedroom”.

Another reveals that she has “an extremely high libido”. Good for you, girl.

But, as often happens on reality TV shows centred around dating, there’s a twist. When the younger male contestants are revealed, there seems to be a certain amount of shock on the ladies’ faces, and many are predicting that their own sons will be appearing on the show alongside them.

With the success of Netflix’s Dated & Related – where siblings join a dating show together to find love – we wouldn’t rule this predicted twist out.

You’ve got to watch the MILF Manor trailer to believe it:

What are people saying about MILF Manor so far?

The trailer has garnered some rather passionate comments, with one user commenting: “Now I’m learning how low tv can go”, while another posted: “humanity is going down the drain”.

A LOT of people are sure that the twist is going to involve the sons of the female contestants – only time will tell.

When is MILF Manor available to watch?

It will air on TLC (a UK TV channel owned by Warner Bros) on 15 January.  What a TV show to start the new year with.