American reality TV is nothing new. In fact, American reality television has been around for quite a while, with shows about such things as wildlife and travel.
And more recently, of course, are some pretty crazy reality tv offerings to suit almost any appetite – “Hoarders,” “Survivor,” “My 600 -lb. Life,” “Naked and Afraid,” “The Kardashians,” a bunch of “Housewives of…”, “Orange in the New Black,” “American Idol” (followed by a similar sight UK and other countries, and of course, a slew of crime shows from “Dateline” to “Snapped.” And all of these shows produced some reality tv personalities whose names are known to anyone who has not been living in a cave. And the result has been the rise of hugely popular reality TV stars. One reality TV icon, for example, is Taylor Schilling from “Orange is the New Black.”
The Rise of the Reality TV Dating Show Genre
It is only natural that reality tv history would have taken up love and romance. And it did that way back in the 60’s with “The Dating Game.” Here’s how it worked. A single girl would ask questions of three men she couldn’t see. The questions were usually pretty silly, certainly not deep, and once the session was over, she chose one for a date which the producers planned and paid for.
Since then, of course, a ton of dating shows have hit the screen, appealing to reality TV fans of all types – “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” mainstream dating shows on major television networks, for example, and many more as series on Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and even social media sites.
It was only a matter of time for reality shows to embrace the queer community, and there are a bunch – everything from wild dating shows to those where folx are forging deep romantic relationships.
Let’s have a look at some of them.
Reality Gay Dating Series to Check Out
Here’s a short description of the most popular dating shows. Is this all queer dating shows out there? Of course not. But you’ll get a good variety. Tune into a few and you’ll probably find some you really like.
Vanjie: 24 Hours of Love
If you like the Ru Paul shows, you’ll like this one. An alum of Drag Race, Vanessa Matteo has set up a competition, one of the most common dating show elements. 18 people (contestants) have to go through a series of challenges as they seek the favor of the queen who has only 24 hours to choose the winner. This actually was a one-season hit with more than just a few weeks of episodes, sometimes featuring other drag race stars too. Watch the episodes on WOW Presents Plus.
Dating Around
Here is a Netflix series that has already had two successful seasons. It is divided up into episodes, each of which follows a queer person who has blind dates with five different people. The one really attractive feature of this series is it’s the first major gay dating show that features a diverse queer population of ages, faces and sexualities.
Boy Meets Boys
Here’s almost a relic in the gay dating reality TV scene. It was actually the first of its kind, airing two decades ago on Bravo. It’s kind of a spin-off of “The Bachelor.”
James Getzlaff is a gay bachelor with a twist.
Half of the contestants were gay, the other half straight. To get the prize – $25,000 and a trip to New Zealand, Getzlaff had to choose a gay man as the winner. If he chooses a straight man, he gets nothing, and the chosen one gets the $25,000.
You can also watch this show on YouTube in true 2000’s TV resolution.
The Bi Life
Here’s a bisexual dating show that is pretty serious compared to many others. It is hosted by Australian drag celebrity Courtney Act.
The show promotes the reality of bisexual dating and vulnerabilities of nine British singles who explore the dating scene in Barcelona Spain.
The contestants open up about their bi life and how they have come to accept their sexual orientations and their dating quests. While it is certainly not a chaotic bisexual dating show, it does show the complexities of being a bisexual in the dating scene.
It first aired on E! and can now be watched on Hayu.
Are You the One?
Here’s an MTV show – one of the more popular reality dating shows that is casting a diverse group of LGBTQ+ people, featuring trans cast members, along with sexually fluid and non-binary people. Even some lie MTV cast members appeared on the show.
Here’s how it goes. The contestants are asked a bunch of questions about themselves and what they are looking for in a relationship. The results are fed into an algorithm, much like what happens on digital dating services.
The twist, though, is that the players are not given the results of who would be the best match. They have to find the selected match by going through a series of challenges as each episode unfolds. There is a large cash prize for the first one who finds their match.
This series can be seen on Paramount+
Speed Dating
Here is an unconventional dating series on TikTok. This is an episodic speed dating show hosted by Josselyn Norris who goes live four nights a week. It shows how messy drama unfolds in the dating scene. Norris connects with queer singles and invites them into her chat to see if a spark is ignited between and/or among any of them. The show is chaotic and messy, but that’s what is so entertaining. It’s entertaining and and interactive and unique in its concept.
12 Dates of Christmas
The show is set in an Austrian castle (go figure), but the concept is simple and one of those “feel good” Christmas series.
The contest is among 3 contestants who are looking for that special someone to take home for the Christmas holidays. It features both gays and lesbians who are pretty much hopeless romantics and looking for a forever love. It can be watched online free, on Netflix or Plex.
The Ultimatum
The plot is simple in the 10-episode series and a cast of LGBTQ+ contestants. Five LGBTQ+ couples are making the decision to either get engaged or to end their couplings. The queer element was added during the second season.
It’s filled with lots of serious conversation, but some comic relief thrown in too.
the series can be streamed on Netflix.
I Kissed a Boy
The I Kissed a Boy series was the first exclusively gay reality dating show of a sight UK. It was well-received and very popular, probably in part due to its host, Dannii Minogue, an Australian singer, TV personality, and actress.
Here’s the scene. 10 gay men are sent to an Italian villa where they compete with one another to find their prince charming and fall in love. But before the competition begins, they’ll have to kiss.
All episodes of the I Kissed a Boy series can be streamed on BBC iPlayer sight UK.
I Kissed a Girl
Ok. So obviously a spinoff of “I Kissed a Boy,” the scenario is the same. It is also hosted by Dannii Minogue. It’s streaming on Hulu for anyone who is interested. In this lesbian dating show, 10 single lesbian women are taken to a Masseria in Italy with the same “rules” as its male predecessor. They had to kiss first, before they began their other interactions. It available to watch on Hulu.
Of note here: The Katy Perry song of the same name is in no way related.
Ex on the Beach
This is clearly one of MTV’s more chaotic reality series.
A bunch of young people are set on a beach and forced to live in the company of their exes – sort of “maybe the one that got away” was the real deal.
The first series didn’t have any single queer women or men, but the second one and beyond featured and continue to feature queer men and women of all different sexualities.
Obviously, it’s available on MTV.
Finding Prince Charming Logo TV
Robert Sepulveda Jr. is an interior designer in Atlanta Georgia. He hosted his own dating show. It was a groundbreaking LGBTQ dating show because it first aired on cable TV in 2016 as a dating competition.
Sepulveda would host eight contestants who would compete for his love. In the end, none of them obviously stuck because he remains single to this day, obviously not finding prince charming for himself – yet.
The series can be streamed on the Logo TV website.
For the Love of DILFS
In this series, hosted by Stormy Daniels (famous adult film star), ten gay men were divided into two groups, “Daddies” and “Himbos.” For those familiar “Himbo” refers to young good-looking men who are assumed to not be very intelligent. You get the drift – older, more experienced gay men and often objectified youngers.
The goal is for a Daddy and a Himbo to find love. If they do, they become an entertaining gay couple with a $10,000 reward.
The series was launched in 2023 by OUTtv and Daddy TV. It is now in its 3rd season.
The One That Got Away
Hosted by bisexual woman Betty Who, this series is much like Ex on the Beach. The concept is that, by the age of 25, most people have found their “one,” but for whatever reason, they split. The series puts six singles with their exes to see if there is still that “spark.”
The series first aired in 2022. In one season, Prime Video Jeff Perla, the queer lead, is connected with his former lovers. For those wondering how things worked out, Amazon’s Prime Video’s the one to access.
Lovedown
This series was born out of the global pandemic when people. In it, contestants see if they can find the “one” without ever meeting in person and was the first queer reality series online. The second season if their Pride edition, including lots of queer drama.
It’s free to watch on YouTube.
Who Likes My Follower
Here is a Netflix dating series produced with the idea that online influencers could help a follower find love. And so, three Spanish influencers set about to do just this. This queer reality show does not spare any of the realities of the ups and downs of queer love stories and the complexities of dating in the 21st century.
The series can be streamed on Netflix.
Looking for a Third
A brand new Canadian dating series is hosted by Tiffany Pollard who is also producing her very own dating show.
Here’s the scenario. One gay couple and one lesbian couple are featured, each looking for a third partner. the goal is to openly explore the stories of queer couples and the complexities of LGBTQ relationships, honestly and openly.
Pollard not only hosts the series, but she also controls every aspect. So far, it is gaining quite a following as a reality series, and the queer love season is likely to have more queer love seasons to come. It’s available on OUTtv.
Next
Here was a silly but truly funny speed dating series that ran for 3 seasons, from 2005 – 2008. It has been described as a “chaotic reality TV gem” shown on MTV. There were a few episodes that featured LBTQ contestants.
The gist of the series was to have as many as five people at a time participate in a speed dating event – laughs, chaos, and just plain fun.
It’s available on MTV.
The Boyfriend
Here’s the first queer dating series from Japan, its first season launched for one month in July 2024.
Nine queer men are placed in the same house to learn more about themselves and develop confidence in communicating with each other. After their summer is over, these adorable cast members did everything from develop great friendships, permanent connections, and some even fell in love.
So popular was this first season that Netflix has announced a second season to begin in July 2025 with all new cast members.
Something for Everyone
Reality dating shows have quite a long history, actually going back to the late 1960s. Obviously, they did not include queer dating, and even when they began to, these were considered groundbreaking dating shows that might not be well received.
Quite the contrary. As time went on, combining dating and queer love contestants vying for everything for all types of relationships gained popularity and full acceptance, even when a few straight couples were added to the mix.
Whether a cast included queer couples looking for throuples, queer guys entering into a variety of scenarios and relationship, either queer love interests vying for the gay lead or the “followers” stealing the show, queer dating has become a pretty interesting concept (not to mention enlightening.
Dating shows come in all varieties. Whether they are very few episodes like “The Boyfriend” of long-running for several seasons, there really is something for everyone among queer dating reality series.
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