Reality TVdating shows have certainly seemed to hit their stride in the past few years, with streaming services like Netflix offering up some of the most acclaimed and addictive programs of the modern era, with titles likeLove is Blind,Too Hot to Handle,The Perfect Match, andThe Ultimatum. At the same time, TV networks still rely on the proven format to draw in viewers with shows likeLove Island,The Bachelor, andTemptation Islandseeing continued success.
However, in the never-ending quest to capture viewers, the reality TV dating format has seen some bizarre additions; from strange premises to unlikely contestants. Just when you think it’s been stretched beyond it’s natural limits, an even more ridiculous premise shows up to push things even further. Here, we will look at 14 of the weirdest reality TV dating shows ever.
14Milf Manor (2023 — Present)
One of the most outrageous channels on TV,TLC has become a home for some unforgettableand extremely over-the-top content.Milf Manoris perhaps their most questionable project to date, with the first season of the show bringing together several single mothers and their sons to compete against each other.
It is as awkward as one might imagine, with ‘naughty games’ where both mothers and sons have to watch the other perform racy challenges and make confessions about their sex life.
Watching Mom Make the Moves on a Younger Man
The second season ditched the son angle and just had hot bachelors trying to win over ‘milfs,’ but the competition reality show still stays consistently cringy and awkward. The concept is meant to draw in audiences, and it was successful enough to keep the show going, but its hook remains one of the weirdest reality show premises of the 2020s.
You can streamMilf Manoron Max.
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13A Double Shot at Love (2008)
FollowingTelia Tequila’s A Shot at Love,ADouble Shot at Loveupped the ante by making a pair of twins, the “Ikki Twins,” whittle down a group of bachelors, each trying to find a partner.
Twin dating is a relatively new trend, with the Prime OriginalTwin LoveandDated & Relatedruffling feathers stirring up scorn from some reality TV fans. However,Double Shot at Lovewas the first to dip its toes in the formula, and like most MTV reality TV dating shows, it thrived on controversy and strong personalities.
First Dating Show to Feature Twins
The show would prove to be an emotional roller coaster with some controversy, both because Tila Tequila left the show and on a downward spiral and because the Ikki twins were relatively unknown compared to other ‘love’ shows MTV was producing. The ending was harsh, and the contestants were mostly awful.
It was a purposeful s*** show that admittedly made for some exciting TV. The program was relaunched in 2019, with DJ Pauly D and Vinny Guadagnino from Jersey Shore picking a potential partner from 20 singles.
12Date My Mom (2004 - 2006)
Picking an MTV show to highlight how ridiculous the network was indefining 2000s reality TVis an arduous endeavor. You had your extremely obnoxious speed dating competitionNext, the messy teenage room dating programRoom Raiders, and the other parent-themed dating program where the parents would pick a date for this child inParental Control. However,Date My Momstands tall among the slew of sensational teenage fodder that flooded MTV’s airwaves.
Mother Knows Best
The premise ofDate My Momsaw a teenager go on three dates with potential partners, but the first date had to be with their mother. The guy or girl would then choose based on his date with the mom. Much like many other MTV shows,Date My Momlacked any semblance of romance and feels heavily scripted. Still, despite the fake vibe, the show remained very uncomfortable and cringe. It will only appeal to those who like bad, outdated TV.
11Fool Around With… My Girlfriend (2004 - 2006)
The UK has its share of strange reality dating shows andFool Around With… My Girlfriendis one of the weirdest. A bachelor would meet with four women, three already in a committed relationship. The boyfriends would observe their girlfriends from a distance, providing commentary, and ‘cheering’ on their girlfriends. For the bachelor, he had a chance to make a connection and go on a date, but if he picked a woman who was already taken, that couple would win a cash prize.
A View from the Cuck Chair
Three seasons feature several contestants competing; three contestants per season. The show would also reverse the formula, with three boyfriends dispatched to try to fool and con money from a bachelorette. The format remains consistently uncomfortable, with the commentary from the peanut gallery serving little but to add to the situation’s awkwardness. The contestants are mostly partygoer types, so jealousy flares up, and many shallow observations are made.
10Flavor of Love (2006 - 2008)
Flavor of Love
Other than they previously mentionedA Double Shot at Love, MTV had a slew of ‘love’ themed shows that could easily have made this list; you hadRock of Lovewith Bret Michaels,Daisy of Lovewith the runner-up ofRock of Loveseason 2, Daisy De La Hoya, orReal Chance of Lovewith the rapper Kamal Givens. Still, the formula was the same: take a z-grade celebrity, fill a house full of questionable singles, and let the chaos ensue.
Riding the Catchphrase to the Bank
Okay, maybe that Z-grade label is a bit unfair for Flava Flav, who made millions as a rapper and multi-instrumentalist during his time withPublic Enemy. Still, the impression of the rapper was not necessarily favorable on the show.
What made this one weird, other than Flavor Flav’s unique personality and yelling of his catchphrases, was the cast throughout the three seasons being general oddities prone to infighting and nasty behavior, making the show feel morelike a competition reality showinstead of a dating game.
9Gay, Straight or Taken? (2007)
Another British oddity,Gay, Straight or Taken?is pretty straightforward in its premise: a single woman goes on a date with three men, to win a glorious prize and a date with the hunk of her choice. However, if she picks a ‘gay’ or ‘taken man,’ that person wins a prize for himself. It is already strange to have a date where three men trying to impress one girl, but it becomes all the more awkward with the ‘guessing game’ element.
An Awkward Guessing Game
These formats were not entirely alien during the 2000s, when any aspect of queer culture was often treated as more of a novelty. Still, the show itself is pretty tame despite the awkward interactions between contestants. A show likeGay, Straight or Taken?feels like an alien concept in modern-day reality TV, and for good reason.
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8Dating Naked (2014 - 2016)
With Western culture’s fascination with nudity, the idea of getting contestants naked on the screen is certainly not a new concept. Perhaps the most outrageous example of this is thecontroversial British TV showNaked Attraction, where a single picks his or her partner by only examining their genitals.
However, going to the meat market and picking out the juiciest cut kind of drains all sense of romance or humanity from the reality TV dating program, so we have to give the edge toDating Naked.
Bearing It All for TV
Dating Nakedwas a provocative spin on the dating show format, but its approach managed to get the show to three seasons. Despite what some might think, nudity was not the focus, and instead of highlighting it, the show tried to normalize it. This attracted free-spirited viewers, but it also allowed for the personalities of the contestants to shine more than their physical assets. Still, seeing people dating naked is, and always will be, an odd format choice to draw in viewers.
You can streamDating Nakedon Paramount+.
7Chains of Love (2001)
Who does not want to be chained to strangers for a long, drawn-out date while doing physical challenges? No one… no one wants that… Yet,Chains of Loveoffered up a reality TV dating/game show format that saw five people chained together with the chance to win a whopping 10k. The ‘picker’ would eliminate potential dates one by one, and eventually decide at the end if he wanted to share the 10k with the last contestant and a date, or just keep it all to himself.
Bound By The Love of Money
Chains of Love, lasting for only one season, was not entirely maligned despite its premise, and it did okay for the short-lived UPN network. Still, many found its premise unsavory and even reflective of abusive relationships by forcing contestants to be bound together through uncomfortable physical activities and awkward social interactions. In retrospect,Chains of Loveis an oddity best left in the barrel-scrapping era of 2000s reality TV.
StreamChains of Loveon Tubi.
6Puppy Love (2020)
Puppy Loveonly lasted one season; even then, it was short. Was this because the concept failed to be marketed, or perhaps because of pandemic interference? Regardless, the five existing episodes still make this one worthy of note. The premise is that a single meets with a dog from three different potential dates and chooses based on how well he or she interacts with the dog.
What Does Your Dog Say About You?
Aimed at dog lovers, the strange premise of picking based solely on someone’s dog is not without its flaws or lack of reasoning. This includes the fact that most dog owners will find the sad angle of having a dog not chosen because every boy or girl is the best in the eyes of an owner. Moreover, the way a pet acts is never going to fully reflect the owner unless there is some sort of abuse involved (a sad reality). At most, the show offers interactions between dogs and hot singles.
Puppy Loveis available to stream on Brit Box and Tubi.
5Phone Swap (2018)
Judging Someone By Their Search History
This is dating in the modern era, and one that will also pique the anxiety of some viewers who keep their phone close to their chest. Despite the potential horrors, the show normally boils down through going through image galleries and finding silly photos that may make others hesitant to approach someone romantically.
Things could have been a lot worse, but the weirdness does come from how superficial the whole process becomes of judging someone without meeting them through the images they like on their phones.
You can streamPhone Swapon Tubi.
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