Hulu's 'Back In The Groove' Helps 'Cougars' Find Their 'Cubs!'

Hulu’s newest reality dating series is like nothing ever seen before.

“Back in the Groove” is the streaming platforms latest dating series which involves three women in their 40s looking to get their “groove” back.

The show is hosted by Taye Diggs, who famously shot to fame from his role in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”

The movie basically tells the tale of a heartbroken, older woman who goes on a tropical vacation to get away from her life. She ends up falling in love with a much younger island native (Diggs) and the rest as they say is history.

Per Hulu, “Three single women in their 40s, all stuck in the grind of their everyday lives, will check OUT of their comfort zones and check INTO The Groove Hotel, a magical resort on the beautiful island of the Dominican Republic.”

The goal of their stay at The Groove Hotel is to rediscover their youth, live joyously, and hopefully find love with men “HALF. THEIR. AGE.”

“As the saying goes, ‘you can’t fall in love with someone unless you fall in love with yourself!’” the press release continues. “At The Groove Hotel, these three women will have the opportunity to do both! Whether they find the perfect fling, friendship, true love, or something in between, this is their chance to take charge and break through the double standards older women face every day. And they’re going to have a lot of fun doing it!”

There are 24 male contestants ranging in age from 22 to 32 looking to win over the hearts of the three women.

The Blast got an exclusive interview with one of the male contestants!

We spoke to Josh Teasley, aka Teasley.

Teasley is from the Midwest and came out to Los Angeles six-and-a-half years ago. He’s 31 and works in the music and television industries.

He obviously knows a thing or two about the “industry,” so we had to ask right off the bat, “Did you want to do this show for y our 15 minutes of fame?”

Teasley adamantly replied, “No.”

In all honesty, he revealed what he was currently doing to find a companion/partner just wasn’t working.

“I saw this as an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, and to try something new, because what I was doing (dating apps) wasn’t working,” he said.

He explained that dating in a pandemic and post-pandemic world has been extremely difficult and tricky to navigate. People are afraid to go out, get too close, etc. etc.

The last relationship he had prior to getting cast on “Back in the Groove,” was before he moved to Los Angeles over six years ago.

The Blast asked Teasley, “What do you feel, being on the INSIDE of the show, makes this different from every other reality dating show out there?”

Being very transparent, he replied, “The concept of younger guys dating older women is crazy. And the fact that there were so many guys and only three women. We didn’t know, or at least I didn’t know, how many women there were gonna be. I’m open for 20 women you know what I mean? With three, I had to be more intentional with how I move, I gotta go for it.”

He also revealed that there’s an exciting TWIST in the show that sets is apart from every other reality dating series.

“There’s a twist on the show that I think really makes this show a lot different, but mostly it’s the age difference,” Teasley teased. “I think that’s kind of ‘taboo’ or looked differently upon depending on who you talk to.”

This is the first time Teasley has gone after, so to speak, an “older woman.”

We inquired if the age difference was a turn on, a challenge or just simply sexy.

“I feel like older women know what they want and they’re not really about the games. They’ve been through a lot. They can offer some wisdom that maybe younger women just haven’t had the opportunity to experience,” he explained. “I saw it as an opportunity to try something new. You can’t knock it until you try it. I had never dated someone 10+ years older than me. I was like, ‘Yo, what I’m really doing isn’t cutting it, what if, you know what if this is the move for me?” I’m not going to say ‘No,’ I’ll let them say ‘No.’ So I was like gung-ho. I wasn’t intimidated at all. I’m pretty self-aware, pretty confident in how I move and how I show up.”

Teasley got to interact with Diggs a little bit and he said the actor was very blunt in his advice.

“One of you guys are going home, so step it up,” Diggs told the contestants.

He also explained that Diggs promoted urgency, thirst and a “go-getter” attitude.

Teasley couldn’t reveal many nitty gritty details about on-set drama, fights or how far he got, but he did say there is A LOT that unfolds.

The biggest lesson he took away from the entire experience…“As the episodes unfold, I think it will affirm it. But how much better it is to let go and not be obsessed or being in control of the situation. How much cooler life can be if you let loose of control and ride the wave.”

“Back in the Groove” is streaming now on Hulu.