Best Dating Reality Shows to Watch on Netflix. (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Nothing stirs up drama quite like dating reality shows. As singles, and sometimes couples, the endeavor to find true love in front of the cameras, it leads to just the right amount of romance, emotions, lust, betrayal, jealousy, and fights.
While the format was initially popularized by shows like The Bachelor, Netflix came up with its own string of reality shows where singles, who are ready to mingle, raise the oomph factor. Here are the 10 best dating reality shows that you can binge on Netflix.
1. Dating Around
Dating Around has aired two seasons so far, each featuring six episodes. In every episode, one single cast member goes on five blind dates to see if they can find a connection. Once all the dates are over, the contestant is asked to choose one person with whom they would like to go on a second date. What makes the show special is that all the dates include people from different backgrounds, races, and sexual orientations. Giving a realistic feel of modern-day dating, the series highlights genuine interactions, avoiding over-the-top drama and heavily scripted scenes.
Based on the Australian reality show of the same name, Love on the Spectrum follows young adults with autism as they try to find love and navigate the dating world. The show offers a kind and understanding look at their unique challenges, making viewers understand what dating is like for people with autism while showing their diverse experiences. The show has aired two seasons so far, with each being appreciated by the audience and critics.
3. Love Is Blind
Keeping up with its title, Love Is Blind challenges the traditional concept of love. The reality show features singles who date and get engaged without ever seeing each other. Participants communicate through ‘pods’ where they remain hidden from each other, allowing them to form genuine connections based purely on personality. After deciding to get engaged, couples finally meet face-to-face and continue their relationships in the real world, sometimes leading to weddings. The series has been a huge hit for Netflix and has inspired several spin-offs in international regions.
4. Perfect Match
Perfect Match brings together contestants from various other dating shows, who are eager to find love. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the show features a group of singles, living in an exotic villa while trying to form couples. The contestants participate in compatibility challenges and the winning couples go on private dates while bringing new singles to the game. After each date, everyone matches again, and those without a match are asked to leave. In the end, one couple is chosen as the ultimate Match. The show combines elements of traditional dating shows with a competitive twist, making it an engaging watch.
5. Single’s Inferno
This South Korean reality dating show brings together a group of singles on a deserted island, where they must live together and form romantic connections. Without access to modern comforts and conveniences, participants engage in various challenges and activities to win dates in a luxurious ‘Paradise’. However, they can only move to Paradise only if both partners agree to form a couple or go on a date.
6. Love Island USA
The USA version of the British reality series follows a bunch of singles, known as Islanders, who live together in a luxurious villa, forming romantic connections while facing various challenges and eliminations. Contestants couple up and compete to win the hearts of both each other and the audience, as they are frequently asked to ‘re-couple,’ and the person remaining single gets eliminated from the game. In the end, the winning pair takes away the prize money of $100,000. Currently, Love Island USA Season 3 is streaming on Netflix.
7. Too Hot to Handle
One of the longest-running dating reality shows on Netflix, Too Hot to Handle, features a group of attractive singles who are brought together in a tropical paradise. The twist: contestants are prohibited from engaging in any sexual activity, including kissing, to win a cash prize. Throughout the show, participants face challenges from the virtual presenter ‘Lana,’ designed to promote emotional connections over physical intimacy. Narrated by Desiree Burch, the show explores themes of self-control, personal growth, and the complexities of modern relationships, while also featuring some steamy scenes.
8. The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On focuses on couples at a crossroads in their relationships. Each participant faces the decision to either propose and get married or go separate ways by the end of the show. As the couples enter the show, they get into a trial marriage, only to swap their partners later, and live with their new partners for three weeks. In the end, each one has to decide whether they want to go back to their original love interest and marry them, or move on with their newfound companions. A spin-off of the series, focusing on LGBTQIA+ couples, has also been released, titled The Ultimatum: Queer Love.
9. Dated and Related
Dated and Related brought a new twist to dating reality shows by featuring pairs of siblings who arrive in a French villa together to find their soulmates and compete for a $100,000 prize. With their siblings as ‘wingpeople’, contestants go on dates in front of their brothers and sisters and rely on their family’s support and insight to deal with romantic challenges and connections.
10. Sexy Beasts
Sexy Beasts combined elements from The Masked Singer and Love Is Blind to come up with an entertaining dating reality show. The contestants wear elaborate prosthetic makeup to conceal their identities while going on blind dates. This setup allows them to focus on personality rather than physical appearance. Narrated by Rob Delaney, the show features one eligible single going on dates with a bunch of suitors, who are eliminated one by one. In the end, only one suitor remains, whose identity is then revealed, and the couple goes on a second date.
