Lily Remington / Thresher
By Nishanka Kuthuru 1/18/23 12:18 AM
Now that the semester has started, it’s officially time to postpone again. Here is a list of the best and worst new reality TV shows to hate. Disclaimer: Once you start watching, you won’t be able to stop.
“Dated and Related”
How involved would you say you are in your siblings’ love lives? Close enough to make out with strangers, go on dates, and then talk about your encounters in a bed together at the end of the night? In “Dated and Related,” six pairs of siblings are looking for love (and a $100,000 prize). Over the course of 10 episodes, the siblings mingle, swap, and settle down with their roommates to be the couple most likely to “make it” in the real world.
“Too hot to touch”
How much self-control would you have if there was a $100,000 grand prize at stake? In a beautiful tropical paradise, watch 10 attractive single dudes battle their primal sexual instincts with only a white cone-shaped robot named Lana to keep them in check. As an Alexa-like AI monitoring the contestants’ every step, Lana deducts money from her prize pool for every rule violation. With only their personalities and closets full of swimsuits, these horny individuals must put their passion aside to complete the challenge and walk away from the island with a share of the prize money.
“Are you the one?”
This reality dating show, which pits human connections against empirical data, matches couples based on a series of in-depth questionnaires. The goal of the show is that these algorithmically theorized pairings are kept from the contestants, requiring them to work together to discover who their perfect match might be. In a battle of emotion and logic, these 20 singles try to find 10 perfect matches before their time is up to win true love and a cash prize.
“Love is Blind”
Could you fall in love with someone you’ve never met face to face? In Love is Blind, people try to find their soulmates through the power of conversation and an emotional connection. Constantly separated by a wall, these people meet, fall in love with and become engaged to people within a matter of weeks. These couples can’t see their partner until after they get engaged and are trying to make it in the real world and decide whether or not to say yes at the aisle.
“Catfish”
With online dating increasingly becoming a societal norm, how can you tell if someone you’re talking to on the phone is legitimate or not? Sometimes those online relationships go beyond just swiping on an app and instead morph into years of chatting with relative strangers living across the country. On “Catfish,” hosts Nev Schulman and Max Joseph get these longtime online couples to meet in real life for the first time and finally reveal if the particularly hesitant, shady partner who refuses to video chat is actually a catfish is.
“The ultimatum: marry or move on”
“Get hooked or quit.” This Netflix show examines how many couples will get married if given an ultimatum. The Ultimatum focuses on longtime couples who have reached an impasse: one is ready to take the next step and say yes, the other is less sure. Couples can choose to get engaged immediately or engage in a switcheroo situation where they get romantically involved with other participants to explore their options before being tied down for life.