“The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” have been cult classics in the reality television dating world for years, but since their rise to fame, producers’ ideas have only gotten crazier and crazier. Here’s the countdown for our top five.
5. Love Island
Starting off tame, “Love Island” is probably one of the most iconic dating shows on any streaming network. It has three versions: UK, Australia, and USA, all streaming on Hulu. In all three versions, a group of singles enters a luxury villa in a European paradise for a summer of romance and drama, and a mission to stay in the villa, find love, and win up to £100,000. Since “Love Island” began, many other dating shows have drawn inspiration from it, including several from this list.
4. Too Hot to Handle
Next is “Too Hot to Handle.” Similar to “Love Island,” a group of single people enters a villa, expecting a summer full of love and fun. However, they quickly go from excited to disappointed when the omnipotent virtual assistant cone and “host” of the show, Lana, tells them what the show is really about. In this Netflix show, there is $100,000 on the line, and when any of the singles engage in any sexual act, they begin to lose money from the collective prize fund. They spend the summer in a beautiful luxury villa in Turks and Caicos. The biggest question that emerges from this show is simply, how are all of these people so horny?
3. The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On
Coming in at number three is “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On.” A group of couples in committed relationships enters the show, all sharing one thing in common. One of the members of the couple has issued an ultimatum to their partner: if they don’t pop the question soon, it’s over. Each couple splits and mingles with others to test their relationship and to see whether they want to try something new or stay with their partner.
2. F Boy Island
Number two is “F Boy Island.” The show features three women entering a villa with 24 men, so I bet you can imagine there’s no shortage of drama with that ratio. Twelve of the men are self-proclaimed “nice guys.” Twelve of them are self-proclaimed “F-boys.” The three women must mingle and date with all 24 men to establish who are the nice guys and who are the “F-boys.” The nice guys look for love, while the F-boys look for money, a prize of $100,000 if they can deceive their way to the finale. The show streams on HBO Max, and it’s basically the embodiment of why women don’t trust men.
- Dated and Related
This might just be the craziest one yet. “Dated and Related” features a group of singles who enter yet another luxury villa in paradise in search of love and happiness. Except there’s a twist. Everyone enters with a partner in crime – their sibling. Each contestant must be a wingman or wing woman for their sibling, who is also searching for love. Its first season was released this year on Netflix, showing 13 weeks of drama, romance, and sibling awkwardness over a total of 10 episodes. We think some of these siblings might be a little too close for comfort.