MILF Manor is an American reality television series that aired on Sundays on TLC in 2023.[1] In the show, eight single women between the ages of 40 and 60 live in a villa in Mexico to pursue romantic relationships with eight single men several decades younger. In the first episode, the show reveals that the men are the women's sons.
A second season is scheduled to premiere on April 28, 2024.[2]
Premise
Eight pairs of mothers and sons travel to a villa in Mexico to look for love. Upon arrival, the contestants are told that the sixteen contestants were to romantically pursue each other. The announcement is a surprise to the contestants; one contestant, April, stated that she thought her son would be on a separate retreat instead of in her dating pool.[3]
The contestants perform challenges each episode. In the first episode, the blindfolded women have to identify their son by feeling the men's shirtless torsos, and the winner of the challenge receives a night in one of the suites with a hot tub.[4][5] Each mother-son pair shares a room. In the second episode, the contestants guess each other's deepest sex secrets, and one of the women reveals that she has had sex with her son's best friend.[6] The fourth episode introduces elimination to the program, as one mother-son duo is kicked off, and the fifth episode introduces a new mother-son duo (Lisa/Ryan S) to take their place.
The show's title refers to the acronym "MILF", meaning "Mother I'd Like to Fuck", though the show's definition of MILF leans closer to the idea of a cougar, in which an older woman actively pursues younger men, whereas the term "MILF" only implies the sexual attractiveness of the woman and not her own romantic/sexual tendencies.
The second season takes place in a lakefront chalet.[7]
Cast
| Mother | Age | Son | Age | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlene DeCicco | 46 | Harrison Bock | 23 | They live in Los Angeles and previously lived in Hammonton, New Jersey.[8] Charlene works in the hospitality industry. Harrison is a college football player and a former male entertainer. |
| Shannan Diggs | 51 | Ryan Jovan | 30 | Shannan is an event planner from Atlanta who was married for 18 years.[9] Ryan worked in social media marketing and now is pursuing a career in music. |
| Kelle Mortensen | 51 | Joey Buford | 20 | Kelle lives in Orange County and works as a real estate broker, fitness coach, and a self-proclaimed "Disco Mommy." She has six children including Joey, who is a bartender and aspiring real estate agent.[10][9] |
| April Marie Watson | 44 | Ricky | 26 | April is an insurance representative and an event planner[11] and Ricky works for the United States Postal Service. Both live in Detroit.[9] |
| Stefany Johnson | 47 | Billy | 28 | Stefany is a paralegal and realtor. She moved from Lima to Los Angeles when she was 8.[9] Billy is pursuing a career in real estate and always dates older women.[12] |
| SoYoung | 51 | Jimmy Kristensen | 26 | SoYoung works as a surgical nurse who specializes in heart surgery and lives outside of New Orleans.[9] Jimmy is a model and actor. Previously, he was in the army. |
| Pola Mochon | 48 | Jose Mizrahi | 28 | Pola is a former ballerina who owns a gym in Miami. Her husband died in a car accident when her children were young.[13] She is from Mexico and prefers to speak Spanish.[9] Her son Jose works with her in the fitness industry and also is an actor and television host. |
| April Jayne | 60 | Gabriel Jayne | 23 | April Jayne is a personal trainer whose fiancé passed away in 2022. Gabriel is in a rock band with his brother and father. Both live in Los Angeles.[9] |
| Lisa Wilcox | 59 | Ryan Sherman | 26 | Lisa is an actress best known for her role as Alice Johnson in the A Nightmare On Elm Street films and Ryan is a software engineer. |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "MILF Said Knock You Out" | January 15, 2023 | 0.92[14] | |
| The eight moms are introduced, alongside the twist that the younger men in their dating pool consist of their sons. For the episode's challenge, the moms take turns feeling up the shirtless men while blindfolded, seeing who can identify their son the fastest. | ||||
| 2 | "Your MILF Should Know" | January 22, 2023 | 0.75[15] | |
| Each contestant must anonymously post a sexual secret on a corkboard and guess which one belongs to their mother or son, with the goal being for each pair to stump each other. The winning sons get a date with a mom of their choice. During the challenge, SoYoung reveals that she had sex with Jimmy's best friend, which leaves him shaken up. | ||||
| 3 | "Your MILF Don't Dance" | January 29, 2023 | 0.62[16] | |
| The contestants must try to wow each other by performing a mother-son dance routine, with the winning pair earning a date at a nightclub. | ||||
| 4 | "She's a Bad MILF Jama" | February 5, 2023 | 0.56[17] | |
| The contestants have a round of speed-dating and are scored based on how much they click with each other. The first elimination takes place after this challenge, with April W. and Ricky being the pair to head home. | ||||
| 5 | "MILF I'm a Big Boy Now" | February 19, 2023 | 0.62[18] | |
| Lisa and Ryan S. join the villa and get acquainted with the others. For this episode's challenge, the mothers must quiz their sons in Sex Ed. | ||||
| 6 | "MILF Told Me Not To Come" | February 26, 2023 | 0.65[19] | |
| With everyone blindfolded, the sons must give the mothers a massage, earning a score based on their performance. | ||||
| 7 | "MILF's Broken Heart" | March 5, 2023 | 0.67[20] | |
| The moms and sons must sort through a pile of dirty laundry and try to identify each other's underwear. Following this, everyone must choose their match, with the risk of getting sent home if the feeling is not mutual. | ||||
| 8 | "I Ain't Your MILF" | March 12, 2023 | 0.61[21] | |
| The remaining couples –– Ryan and Pola, Kelle and José, Joey and April J., and Stefany and Gabriel –– have to receive an appraisal from outside sources, in the form of the mothers' friends and family members. | ||||
| 9 | "I'll Always Love My MILF" | March 19, 2023 | 0.70[22] | |
| The remaining contestants have to write letters to their partners, deciding whether they want to continue their relationship outside of the villa. Everyone decides to stay together, while April J. lets Joey down gently and offers to remain friends. | ||||
Reception
Naomi Fry wrote in The New Yorker that MILF Manor "might be a new low for reality TV, perhaps even a rock bottom", stating that the show's premise was "only slightly less outlandish than 'MILF Island,' featured on NBC's 30 Rock, back in 2008."[4]
Daniela Neumann, the managing director of the London-based production company behind the idea for the show, said that she doesn’t understand “what all the fuss is about" and that the series is about "female empowerment, erasing the double standard stigma of older women dating younger men, that everyone on the show had a good time, and that every man is someone’s son."[23]
The show currently has a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[24] where critics describe it as "psychological torture" and "Freudian Horror".
See also
References
- ^ Haasch, Palmer. "I watched 'MILF Manor' so you don't have to, but frankly, you have to see it to believe it". Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ Holub, Christian (April 1, 2024). "Meet the cast of 'MILF Manor' season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ Bradley, Laura (2023-01-29). "Did 'MILF Manor' Really Trick Contestants With Its Effed-Up Premise?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ a b "The Mother-Lovers of "MILF Manor"". The New Yorker. 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ Los Angeles Times Staff (2023-01-27). "'MILF Manor,' explained: We watched TLC's Oedipal fever dream so you don't have to". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ "The moms and sons of 'MILF Manor' had to guess each others' deepest sex secrets on episode 2 — here are 5 other wild things that happened". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ "MILF Manor Is Back With New Singles –– And New Surprises".
- ^ Tyler, Diana (23 January 2023). "Hammonton NJ mother & son hope to find love on the same dating show". 92.7 WOBM. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g Longeretta, Emily (2023-01-10). "'Milf Manor' Cast: Meet the Moms Looking for Love on TLC's New Dating Show". Variety. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ "Meet the Men of MILF Manor". TLC. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ "Meet the Women of MILF Manor".
- ^ "Meet the Men of MILF Manor".
- ^ "Is Milf Manor the queasiest new dating show on TV?". the Guardian. 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (January 18, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 1.15.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 24, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 1.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (January 31, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 1.29.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (February 7, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 2.5.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (February 22, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 2.19.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (February 28, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 2.26.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (March 7, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 3.5.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 14, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 3.12.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Salem, Mitch (March 21, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 3.19.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "The story behind 'MILF Manor,' the reality show that seems like a fever dream". Washing Post. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ "MILF Manor - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
External links
- MILF Manor at IMDb
- MILF Manor at Metacritic
- MILF Manor at Rotten Tomatoes
- MILF Manor at TheTVDB
- MILF Manor at TV Guide
