Netflix recently had yet another new original show released in the form of 100 Humans. It's described as a social experiment where 100 people of different age, race, sex, background, etc., take part in interactive experiments to ideally then answer frequently asked questions about humans. The science aspect of this isn't as accurate and reliable as the show likes to believe, and there's plenty to dig into about why that is, but still this new Netflix original at least accomplishes what most television shows set out to do, and that's providing entertainment.
The show's flaws are most noticeable when it leans further into the science aspect and tries to answer questions about entire sexes or age groups based off one experiment. Look in the second episode where every task divided individuals into their respective age groups. One experiment set out to answer which age group is best at communication and teamwork and did so by having one person from each group be given an instruction manual; they can then only explain those to a person who is blindfolded, and that person then has to explain the instructions to the rest, who actually attempt to assemble what is being described. There was only one run of this experiment, and the end results didn't take into account that the main people in the communication roles happened to not be the most well suited within their group. Strangely enough, the show doesn't do much to take into account human error, which makes a lot of their findings questionable.
Another example was trying to answer the question of whether or not being funny makes someone more attractive. A comedian went to one group and purposefully acted dull and boring. Next they went to a completely different one, made them laugh, and then had their attractiveness rated by both groups. The show then revealed data to show being funny did make them more attractive, but the experiment as a whole lacked a control. Someone being actively boring is different than simply not being funny. There was no "normal" or "average" example to use as comparison, which is often necessary.
Many experiments in the show are heavily flawed in these ways. Through others, it's also apparent that 100 is too small of a sample size to properly find answers to the questions that the show aims for, and 100 Humans still has its occasional successes; largely in the episode dealing with human's perception and biases on others, it's not exactly a full learning experience.
The preview for it on Netflix focuses merely on a scene where everyone explains which way they put toilet paper on the tube, how their general bathroom routine goes and it's actually entertaining. As weird as it sounds, that's the type of content that the show as a whole is stronger with. There's plenty of playful fluff that appear in the experiments, which can often be fairly absurd. It's silly and mildly interesting; with 100 people, a fair amount of them are bound to be entertaining in any given situation, but ultimately it's better at being popcorn television than it is at actually making any scientific breakthroughs.
Are life's questions really answered here as the show advertises? Not quite. In fact, it's not even close. 100 Humans is not as smart as it thinks it is, and should it realize its faults, then there is a fully worthwhile show hidden in it. Especially given that already despite that, when someone isn't hoping to find anything greater than what it is, it's a perfectly enjoyable watch filled with a good amount of inoffensive fun disguised as legitimate science.