Review of French Maid TV

Tim Street and the buxom girls behind French Maid TV are well aware that sex sells. In fact, they even understand that sex can teach. While the priority of the site is clearly entertainment before education, Street has called what he does “edutainment.” He also refers to the show as “integrative advertising,” since episodes are primarily commercials for the products and services his Maids demonstrate. Gaining his humble inspiration from working in cable television and producing a segment where several voluptuous women were hired to read video game cheat codes, Street knew he had a hit on his hands when the first episode of French Maid TV was posted online in late 2005 and soared to the number one spot on the iTunes charts within three days.

All sporadically released episodes follow a similar format: the girls explain a task using screen captures and demonstrations, all while wearing their French Maid uniforms, pin-striped nurse skirts, two-piece gypsy rags, and anything else Street can procure that is skimpy and somewhat sheer. The education is interspersed with shots of the girls dusting, pillow fighting, and vacuuming around a hotel room in costume, with a voiceover explaining the task in an exaggerated accent over a kitschy, accordion-friendly French soundtrack. The actresses

are attractive recent college grads who are professional and amateur singers, dancers, models, artists, and athletes. Through the power of cleavage, they teach how to create a video podcast, give CPR, and barter online. But once again, the focus is on entertainment. Occasionally, the voiceover will declare, “This may take a while, find something else to do,” and give suggestions like vacuuming or going down the Slip N’ Slide. Stray sexy female viewers are encouraged to audition to become officially sanctioned French Maids.

One of the show’s recurring motifs is a pillow fight atop a very bouncy bed. This plays out well in the CPR episode when one of the maids accidentally swallows a feather and stops breathing, providing the viewers with a chance to recap the proper steps to restore healthy respiration. It’s also one of the only episodes not to feature a sponsored product demonstration.