When it comes to dating shows, America's bread and butter would appear to be, "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette".
BUT there's another dating show, that for some reason, no one that I ever encounter seems to know about-- a damn shame because it is the crème de la crème of dating shows.
I am talking, of course, about MTV's masterpiece, "Are You the One?".
This show is the absolute guiltiest of guilty pleasures and while I'm not usually the girl to brag about DVR-ing a televised dating show, I will proudly sing my love for "Are You the One?" from the hilltops.
Here is the premise of the show, in order to familiarize you with it, before I get into all of the reasons why this gem makes "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette" look like a rock.
Each season, MTV recruits 11 single girls and 11 single guys (originally, 10 and 10) to live together in a house in an ideal location (Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, New Orleans, etc.). Contestants are in their 20s and self-proclaimed to be "bad at love", with a long history of failed/unsatisfying relationships.
Each of these singles has a "Perfect Match" assigned to them within the house, as determined by a match making process performed by professionals in the field, prior to filming. Once moved in, the couples have 10 weeks to find out who in the house is their perfect match. If they do this successfully, then they win $1,000,000.
Contestants finding out that they are a Perfect Match.
Each episode covers one week of the contestants' time in the house. During the course of a week the contestants pair up to compete in challenges, usually relying heavily on teamwork or knowledge of the other person. The top two to three couples who place highest during the challenge get to go on the "Getaway Date" for that week, usually consisting of a fun activity (like scuba diving) followed by a romantic picnic/ drinks.
Contestants competing in a "Blindfold Challenge".
At the end of each week, the contestants attend the "Match Up" ceremony, where they all pair up with the person in the house whom they believe to be their Perfect Match, based on their interactions thus far. Once sitting with their desired matches, the game's host presents a series of beams-- each beam indicates that a "Perfect Match" that has correctly paired up for that particular ceremony. This gives the contestants an idea of how close they are to correctly identifying all of the matches in the given timeframe, in order to win the money. However, if NO beams are shown during a ceremony, that means that every single couple is incorrectly matched for that week. This is referred to as a "blackout" and in most of the seasons, results in the contestants losing $250,000 of their $1,000,000 prize.
Contestants pair up during Match Up ceremony.
Another aspect of the game is the "Truth Booth". Each week, the members of the house get to send one of the couples who went on the date for the week into the Truth Booth. The Truth Booth says for sure whether or not this couple is a Perfect Match. If the Booth states that they are a Perfect Match, the couple then packs up and leaves the house to move into the "Honeymoon Suite", where they spend the remainder of the game getting to know each other, one-on-one. If they are determined to not be a Perfect Match, then the couple returns to the house to continue playing the game. The Truth Booth is good for both narrowing down potential matches, as well as for breaking up "couples" in the house. Without fail, each season at least one couple forms within the house, ruining the game for everyone, as they typically refuse to separate from one another, preventing themselves and others from finding their Perfect Matches and winning the prize money. Proving that these "couples" are not Perfect Matches early on can help encourage them to continue getting to know the other contestants before they begin to fixate on one another.
Contestants finding out that they are not a Perfect Match.
In a few seasons, twists are introduced in order to shake things up; such as in Season Two, when there was one extra girl in the house because one of the guys was found to have two Perfect Matches.
The rest is all sex, booze, wild parties, and of course, mad drama.
Now that you understand the basis of the game as well as the general terminology, let's get into the 10 reasons why "Are You the One?" should be taking up space on your DVR, rather than "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette".
1. Everyone in the house has a Perfect Match/ everyone in the house is a winner.
It's not just a group of guys or girls competing for one person. It's a fucked up orgy of epic proportions, with a ton of possibilities for love. So much better than an ongoing cat fight over one sub par person. Also, the contestants of "Are You the One?" get money AND love, so even if they don't fall head-over-heels for their Perfect Match or get their heart crushed by a fellow contestant, they can cry all the way to the bank.
2. The "Boom Boom Room".
Their devotion to the game benefits us all, seeing as nothing starts drama like a communal sex room.
*Pops popcorn.* *Sips tea.*
3. The friendships.
It takes a lot of teamwork to put all the matches together in order to win the money. It's not every man/woman for themselves so the group dynamic is really fun to watch.
4. The contestants pop up on other MTV shows so you never truly have to say goodbye.
5. The challenges.
-Bringing on the contestants' exes to talk about them and then having the other members of the house guess which ex goes to which contestant.
-Bringing on contestants' family members to tell embarrassing secrets about them, and then having the others guess which secret belongs to which contestant.
In addition to blindfolded trust exercises, "Guess What I'm Licking" events, etc.
6. Twitter.
Tyler Colon; Season 6
Zoe Pugh; Season 6
Ethan "Emoney" Cohen; Season 6
And the above screenshots are just the funny tweets. There is also copious amounts of drama between contestants from the same season, as well as from other seasons, seeing as how they all wind up dating, hanging out, rooming together, etc.
Also, while the episodes are airing, #AYTO Twitter is lit.
7. It's funny.
8. The characters feel more "real".
It's easy to see yourself, and the mistakes you frequently make while dating, in the "Are You the One?" contestants. While it is reality television and therefore doctored to garner views, the contestants themselves are extremely relatable.
9. There are lessons to be learned.
10. The strategy behind the game.
The best part of "Are You the One?", hands down, is creating predictions for who the final matches will be, based on the results of Match Up ceremonies and Truth Booths. MTV even sponsored a competition during Season 6, where fans of the show could make a chart of who they thought the matches were for that season and if anyone was correct when the matches were revealed, they would win money.
I get it, "The Bachelor"/ "The Bachelorette" is a classic. But I promise you, if you give "Are You the One?" a shot, it WILL become your new favorite dating show.
*You can watch the previous seasons (1-6) on MTV's website.*
*Or, if you're bad at relationships, in need of some money/ clout, love booze and partying, and have a face for TV, then note that MTV is currently CASTING for Season 7, which you can audition for/apply to online.*
