Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Flinch’ On Netflix, A Game Show Where Flinching Is Bad — And Really Hard To Avoid

Most game shows that contain physical challenges offers a cash prize to the person who endures the longest. But Flinch, a new Netflix game show, just offers its contestants the prizes of pride or embarrassment. But there’s a lot more incentive for the hosts to avoid coming in first place. Read on for more on this confusing show…

FLINCH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A disclaimer that the stunts performed by the contestants on the show are checked out by experts and safe, but “Please, don’t try this at home.”

The Gist: On a farm in Northern Ireland, eight contestants are given physical challenges that are designed to make them flinch. If they flinch, they’re punished by some physical pain and/or discomfort.

In one stunt, the contestants are on top of a catapult-ish device that swings down and dunks their heads upside down into cold water if they flinch when an air horn goes off. In another challenge, the contestants are fitted with an helmet covered in balloons, and if they flinch when a guy shoots paintballs at their head, they get pulled down for a shock. In the third challenge, stinky food like rotted meat and smelly cheese are sent in front of the contestants’ noses via a model train; if they do anything but breathe normally, they get hit with a cattle prod.

But there’s an additional element to the game. The show’s three hosts — Seann Walsh, Desiree Burch and Lloyd Griffith — each pick a contestant that represents them before each round. The host who ends up with the most flinches has to participate in a “Flinch Forefit”; in other words, they’re subject to a physical challenge of their own. In this episode, the loser would be hit by fire extinguishers if they flinched while fire shot out on either side of them.

Our Take: How much you’ll enjoy Flinch really depends on whether you are entertained by a bunch of not-particularly-bright young people putting themselves through these oddball physical challenges. If you are, this is a pretty entertaining show. If you’re not, then, well… That’s why Netflix introduces 3,223 shows per year. There’s something for everyone.

The best part of the show is the trio of hosts — or “presenters” in British parlance — as they taunt each other and make fun of the contestants. Burch is the funniest of the three, but it does seem like each of them have a chuckle-worthy moment or two, especially as they make fun of the constantly-flinching Collum, who looks tough but basically would flinch at a butterfly.

Normally, we wouldn’t love seeing the hosts make fun of the contestants, but since these contestants are there for no other reason than to be on TV and face these challenges, they leave themselves open for ridicule. You see, the person who flinches the least gets nothing, and the person who flinches the most gets… nothing. So, while the hosts have something to play for, namely avoiding the “Flinch Forefit,” the contestants themselves are just there for shits and giggles. Which makes absolutely no sense and in some respects makes us that much more scared for the fate of humanity.

Sex and Skin: Not on this show.

Parting Shot: The hosts and contestants enjoy the heck out of seeing the loser host be subjected to being blasted by fire extinguishers. And they all leave the barn, leaving the losing host still attached to the machine.

Sleeper Star: Burch is pretty funny, and the best of the three presenters.

Most Pilot-y Line: The whole show is pretty silly. Pinpointing one moment that’s sillier than the rest is a futile exercise.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Flinch is a game show where it seems like there’s no incentive to win other than to get tortured less than the other contestants. We’d rather watch people play for, you know, cash and prizes.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream Flinch on Netflix