{"id":15710,"date":"2026-03-16T09:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:52:33","slug":"jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/","title":{"rendered":"Jen O\u2019Connell & Rebecca Quinn Discuss Age of Attraction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since launching in 2023, Velvet Hammer Media has released a range of projects, including\u00a0The Big Bakeover<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Best Bite Wins<\/em>. Now, the company is diving headfirst into the dating genre with\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em>, which began streaming its first five episodes on Netflix last week.<\/p>\n

In the new format, singles search for their soulmates without worrying about their birthdates. Men and women ranging from ages 22 to 60 begin to build connections with each other at a retreat near Whistler, British Columbia. They are only allowed to share their ages\u2014with each other and with the audience\u2014once they are ready to commit. At that point, the couples move into \u201cthe real world,\u201d and they live together in apartments for two weeks to see if they are built to last.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more, we\u2019re seeing older women dating younger men,\u201d says Jen O\u2019Connell, co-founder and co-CEO of Velvet Hammer Media. \u201cIt\u2019s always traditionally been stories about older men dating younger women. We\u2019re also living in a time where people just look better and are healthier and are dating outside of their age range. We thought, \u2018We can do that in a way that isn\u2019t going to feel like we\u2019re disrespecting anybody.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been shows in the past where women are called MILFs or cougars,\u201d she continues. \u201cThat\u2019s not the kind of show we wanted to make. We wanted to make a show that tells the story of the whole person and isn\u2019t judging them on that as a filter. We are embracing what\u2019s happening out there but doing it in a way that has a distinct female gaze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of 40 initial contestants, 32 of them coupled up. The series focuses on six of those 14 couples. There was a slight worry that there either wouldn\u2019t be many couples or that there wouldn\u2019t be a variety in the age differences\u2014or, worse, that the contestants wouldn\u2019t take it seriously. You never know what can happen with a brand-new concept. Thankfully, none of those scenarios happened.<\/p>\n

Part of that has to do with a rigorous and honest casting process. \u201cOur casting director, Jacqui Pitman, was excellent,\u201d says Rebecca Quinn, co-founder and co-CEO of Velvet Hammer. \u201cUnlike some shows, we didn\u2019t bait and switch the contestants. [We said], \u2018We want you to be looking for love, and we want you to really be open to dating outside of your age range. If not, this isn\u2019t the right show for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, the contestants chosen to appear on the show were open to all possibilities. And there were a variety of age differences between the couples. In fact, very few were similar in age. The age gaps of the six couples range from\u2014spoiler\u201415 years to 33 years.<\/p>\n

Portraying relationships with age differences isn\u2019t the only aim of the show. Seeing older women dating\u2014when older women dating are often treated as spectacles or are fetishized in some way\u2014is not often seen in dating shows. One of O\u2019Connell\u2019s favorite moments of the series happens because of the willingness to show women outside of their 20s and 30s dating: \u201cYou can hear one of the older women giving a little talking-to to a younger man about when they\u2019re intimate and what she expects and what she deserves. To see that on screen is amazing, and it\u2019s not done in a gross way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to having the right cast, having the right\u00a0host<\/em>\u00a0is essential for the success of any format. For\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em>, they were looking for a couple with an age difference. Nick Viall (The Bachelorette<\/em>,\u00a0The Bachelor<\/em>), 45, and his wife, Natalie Joy Viall, 27, were selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest with you, I was thinking we would go with an older woman and a younger man for that duo,\u201d O\u2019Connell admits. \u201cBut then Nick and Natalie came up. Traditionally, we see a lot of older men, younger women couples out there. What I loved was that Natalie is so smart and grounded and in control and confident. I felt like she really grounded this relationship in a cool way.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continues, \u201cI think that we do look at older men with younger women and think, \u2018Oh, are the younger women being taken advantage of maybe? Are they too young to understand what\u2019s happening here?\u2019 Let me tell you, she is a star. She makes you like them as a couple even more because you see the way they are together. He clearly adores her, and she\u2019s very, very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

And strong women is what Velvet Hammer is all about. Telling a story from the female gaze is a central part of Velvet Hammer Media\u2019s ethos. O\u2019Connell and Quinn are industry veterans who have worked on some of the biggest format hits in history\u2014from\u00a0Wipeout<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Fear Factor<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0Deal or No Deal<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Real Housewives\u00a0<\/em>franchise. That also means they\u2019ve worked on plenty of projects that were not told from the female perspective. Coming at concepts from a woman\u2019s perspective, one that often has not been given top priority, allows for fresh, new ideas to shine.<\/p>\n

Over the years of working in the industry, Quinn says, \u201cFor me, the biggest lesson\u2014and it\u2019s hard to do, it gives me a tummy ache thinking about it\u2014is breaking out of some of the old producing habits and the old ways. There are some great shows and there are great ways to produce them. But unfortunately, if you just keep sticking to that, then we\u2019re not evolving.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople love IP now.\u00a0Fear Factor<\/em>\u00a0was amazing. I worked on that every season. I loved it. I love Joe [Rogan, the host]. It was just the best. I know it got brought back at FOX, and I\u2019m sure it\u2019s doing well. But for me, I want to challenge us. What\u2019s the 2026 version? And how would it be different if I was in charge of that show back in the day, or Jen was in charge, from a female point of view? You\u2019ve got to think it\u2019ll feel fresh, just in that our POVs are going to be heard in a way that they weren\u2019t all those years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Age of Attraction<\/em>\u00a0is just one example of their perspectives bringing a fresh idea to a very popular and crowded genre. The new format also carried the possibility of something going against their plans\u2014what if there hadn\u2019t been any age-gap couples at all? That\u2019s the kind of thing that excites O\u2019Connell the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me a long time to get to this place because I\u2019m a control freak, but I love creating either a situation or a format and making a plan and then it blows up in my face because that is where the magic happens,\u201d she says. \u201cThat is real life. It\u2019s not scripted. That\u2019s what I live for. When I worked on\u00a0The Real Housewives of New York City<\/em>\u00a0in the earliest days, people would ask me, \u2018You script them, right?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Are you crazy? You think I could come up with that? I would be writing screenplays right now!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing O\u2019Connell has learned over her years in the entertainment industry? \u201cI don\u2019t believe in \u2018no,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in, \u2018You can\u2019t do it,\u2019 or, \u2018We can\u2019t pull that off.\u2019 If someone says to me on set, \u2018Oh, we can\u2019t do that,\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Next! I\u2019m going to talk to someone else. We\u2019re going to make it happen.\u2019 I think everything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suffer from the same affliction, which must make us so annoying,\u201d Quinn quips.<\/p>\n

But at the end of the day, that is how the best shows get made. Bringing a unique perspective, being innovative and believing in the impossible. Having fun is pretty important, too.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em>\u00a0and every other project Velvet Hammer works on, \u201cwe just like to have fun together,\u201d O\u2019Connell says. \u201cAnd in this male-dominated space, we\u2019re really proud of the traction we\u2019ve been able to get, and we\u2019re having a good time doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, \u201cas much as we like to sell, sell, sell and make money and all that fun stuff\u2014like the guys have been doing for a long time\u2014what\u2019s really been the highlight of this is whenever we sell a show, we know that the crew is going to look and feel different than some of the big format crews when I was growing up,\u201d Quinn adds. \u201cThat\u2019s a fun extra benefit. We get to be in control of those hires, and hopefully we\u2019re one of the more inclusive production companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first five episodes of\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em>\u00a0are out now on Netflix, and more creations from O\u2019Connell, Quinn and their company will be announced soon. Two celebrity docu-follows are in the works, as are multiple other dating shows and social experiments. The powerhouse producing duo hope to bring their perspective to a big physical competition show soon, too.\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em>\u00a0is only a taste of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jen O\u2019Connell and Rebecca Quinn, co-founders and co-CEOs of Velvet Hammer Media, on how they bring a unique female perspective to every project, including the new Netflix dating show Age of Attraction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":15711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[4233,4751,3580,3581],"class_list":["post-15710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-age-of-attraction","tag-jen-oconnell","tag-rebecca-quinn","tag-velvet-hammer-media","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nJen O\u2019Connell & Rebecca Quinn Discuss Age of Attraction - TVFORMATS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jen O\u2019Connell & Rebecca Quinn Discuss Age of Attraction - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jen O\u2019Connell and Rebecca Quinn, co-founders and co-CEOs of Velvet Hammer Media, on how they bring a unique female perspective to every project, including the new Netflix dating show Age of Attraction.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-16T13:43:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T20:52:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/Jen-and-Rebecca.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"391\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/\",\"name\":\"Jen O\u2019Connell & Rebecca Quinn Discuss Age of Attraction - TVFORMATS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-16T13:43:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-19T20:52:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/jen-oconnell-rebecca-quinn-on-bringing-the-female-gaze-to-dating-formats-with-age-of-attraction\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jen O\u2019Connell & Rebecca Quinn Discuss Age of Attraction\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\",\"name\":\"TVFORMATS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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