In just a few years, Netflix has become one of the biggest hubs for reality dating shows. Though the official start of the streamer’s original reality dating programming began with Dating Around, most of the buzz came from the splashy Love Is Blind, released right before the pandemic with isolated tales of romance to cure our collective cabin fever. Now, in 2023, Netflix has enough dating programming to keep viewers entertained for weeks on end.
Since then, we’ve seen wacky series about siblings dating (not each other, but on the same reality TV show), people dressed in animal costumes finding love, Real World-esque dramas, and literally sexless series about finding love before hooking up. Nick and Vanessa Lachey, hosts of many of Netflix’s most popular dating series, have truly altered our brain chemistry. To top it all off, the streamer is set to release Perfect Match this week, a dating show that invites stars from other shows to meet each other and fall in love.
The stars of Perfect Match come from a variety of different reality series on Netflix. The vast majority are Too Hot To Handle castoffs, finally able to kiss and touch on a TV show without a bot telling them to stop! Others are from Love Is Blind, Sexy Beasts, The Ultimatum, and Twentysomethings: Austin. A few starred on non-dating shows like The Mole and The Circle. Love can sprout from any reality TV chaos.
We’re here to rank them all, so you know what to watch this Valentine’s Day—if you’re not in the mood for a less chaotic, non-episodic rom-com, that is.
(As for qualifications, we’ve kept this list limited to U.S. versions of reality TV series specifically about finding love, be it through competition or just normal dating. Our honorable mentions veer from those qualifications, because they’re noteworthy too.)
Honorable Mention: The Circle
The Circle is a game show, sure, but it’s also my favorite Netflix reality series of all time, so I have to include it in some way. Two of the stars of Perfect Match started dating after appearing on The Circle together. Players flirt as a strategy to win over their competitors. Some have even kissed on the show! The most recent season was advertised as a “singles-only” season, in which the players were encouraged to flirt and find love. That’s dating show material, so I’m filing it as an honorable mention.
Honorable Mention: Are You the One?
Are You the One? is, inarguably, one of the best dating show concepts of all time. It is not, however, a Netflix Original series—it’s an MTV series, but it’s been living on Netflix for as long as I can remember. Ten girls and 10 guys take a questionnaire to find their perfect match. They don’t know who it is in the house, but using a variety of puzzle techniques, they have to guess who it may be. In the best season, Season 8, all the contestants are queer. Again, we can’t thank Netflix for this masterpiece, but it is on Netflix (for now), so watch it after you watch Perfect Match. And Kariselle Snow, who appears in Netflix’s new series, got her start on AYTO!
Honorable Mention: Terrace House
This isn’t a dating show, per se, but the dating sequences are immaculate. The Japanese reality series is basically a much less messy Real World, but the relationships are always reeeeeealllllyyyy slow burns. While the series was canceled in 2020 after tragedy befell the cast, Terrace House is lovely if you need a break from the chaos of Netflix’s other dating shows.
10. Sexy Beasts
I remember the pandemonium on social media the day the first Sexy Beasts trailer was unveiled. The reactions were hilarious, as people made jokes about this being a win for furry culture. But Sexy Beasts is basically a boring version of Love Is Blind, in which contestants are dressed up in full animal costumes, as to create some sort of charade. It doesn’t work. How could Netflix bungle such a bizarre, campy concept? The furries are better at romance than Sexy Beasts is.
Similar to Sexy Beasts, Dated and Related seems like a bonkers, MILF Manor-esque concept so chaotic, viewers would have to love it. But the concept is more riveting than the actual show. Siblings, cousins, and other related singles live in a villa together and have to watch their family members date around. Again: The concept is great! But the contestants are boring—I guess that’s understandable, considering they only get around 10 minutes to explain their dating history and life background. Pass.
8. Twentysomethings: Austin
Twentysomethings—which, for the first season, takes place in Austin—has a lot of potential. Though it’s not entirely focused on dating like the rest of these shows, when you put a gaggle of twenty-somethings in an enclosed space together, the result is predictable: They all start dating each other. Netflix’s take on The Real World brought in such vibrant characters (a recent divorcée, a surfer who goes on Tinder dates with 51-year-old women), and it’ll be fun to watch more if the show comes back. While there’s nothing particularly wrong with Twentysomethings, it’s not as enticing or original of a concept as those we’ve ranked above it.
7. Indian Matchmaking
Indian Matchmaking had an incredibly strong start—the series had in-depth discussions about arranged marriage and what it means to stick to the “old-school method” of dating, all led by pro matchmaker Sima Taparia. The series stuck to traditional reality dating show techniques, with awkward first encounters and cheesy flirting galore. But what leaves Indian Matchmaking lower on our list is its less-enticing second season, which recycles old storylines and offers few new voices in its main cast of clients. When it comes to this dating series, watch the first season, skip the second.
6. Dating Around
Dating Around was the OG Netflix reality dating show. Before the Lacheys took over, this breezy dating show drew every hopeless romantic over to the streamer to watch blind dates. It’s awkward, but it’s also endearing. Singles go on five first dates and must decide which person they’d like to invite on a second date. Episodes are short, with no host or lingering characters. Though it’s a little forgettable, we’ve got to give Dating Around props for getting the Netflix dating show ball rolling.
The Daily Beast did not speak fondly of this show when it first came out—but I don’t agree with the negativity! Too Hot to Handle is a cheesy masterpiece. Think Love Island-meets-your buddy who can’t stop cockblocking everyone in the friend group. A handful of horny hot people live in a villa together, but they’re not allowed to kiss, have sex, or touch each other intimately. If they do, they’ll lose money from the cash prize pool. It’s shocking how bad they all are at staying away from each other! Just don’t kiss; it’s that easy! Still, watching their feral failures is a treat.
If you’re reading this article, chances are, you know everything about the premise of Love Is Blind. In fact, you can probably name every couple from the past three seasons of the series. Love Is Blind has had its ups and downs—last season was the worst, by far—but it’s definitely the Netflix reality dating show. People meet without seeing each other, talking through walls, and after they meet face-to-face, get engaged and either end up married or leave each other at the altar. My favorite part: When the wedding officiant must thread the question, “So, is love truly blind?” into their speech.
(Ed. note: Season 3 rules, actually, but the best version is Love Is Blind: Japan.)
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On is an absolutely bonkers concept. The show invites couples on the brink of marriage or breaking up to unpack their relationship issues. To figure out if they actually want to get married (or even stay together), couples must swap partners, dating another member of the show for a “trial marriage.” In the first season, most couples cheated on each other—though it wasn’t really “cheating,” apparently, since they were technically in a new relationship. What was enthralling about The Ultimatum was the various stages the couples were at: Some realized they were fully ready to commit and quit the series (how cute), while others dipped their toes into new relationships with reckless abandon (weird). The next season is going to be completely queer. Let chaos reign.
Love on the Spectrum offers something fresh to the Netflix dating scene: sincerity. The series—which began in Australia and now has a U.S. version—follows singles on the autism spectrum, as they work with dating coaches to make a connection with The One. There’s not as much pressure to perform for the camera as there appears to be on other Netflix dating shows, especially on social media, where former stars update audiences on their ongoing love lives with an overwhelming amount of support. Love on the Spectrum gives a supportive space for its leading cast, but it’s also an invigorating take on dating shows. We don’t always need to watch awkwardness, horniness, and cheesiness to fall in love with a dating show. Maybe all we need is real, tender romance.
1. Perfect Match
You heard it here first. Perfect Match, Netflix’s latest dating reality series, is the very best in its entire catalog. The concept is similar to Bachelor in Paradise or Love Island: It’s basically the dating Hunger Games, where new contestants compete for a match with contestants already familiar to us Netflix dating show connoisseurs. Seeing our favorite reality stars—Francesca Farago! Joey Sasso! Chloe Veitch!—fall in love with each other makes it much more gripping than any of the other competition series I’ve seen before. And some of them have already hooked up before the show started, which is even more gossipy. The fights are larger-than-life, the love actually feels real, and the challenges are as goofy as ever. I’ll be spending the rest of the year predicting who will appear in Season 2.
