Netflix’s new reality series is the latest attempt to add a quirky twist to ITV2’s iconic dating show. But no amount of sibling dates can liven up a poor imitation
It has been just over a month since the finale of Love Island. Fans will have to wait months more until the winter edition launches in January with a brand new host in the wake of Laura Whitmore’s departure (hopefully, the bubbly AJ Odudu, if there’s any justice in the world). In the meantime, streamers are trying to sate us with knock-off versions of TV’s most popular reality show.
One attempt to capitalise on the post-Love Island comedown is Netflix’s Dated & Related, a series that on first glance appears to be almost an exact replica of the ITV2 series: swimming costume-clad singletons are sent to a sun-baked villa in the hope of finding love – featuring regular eliminations, bombshell contestants and a cash prize. Its difference, however, is a familial twist. It is thankfully not the twist that you might expect from its slightly icky, provocative title – contestants are not dating their relatives (although given the way the reality TV landscape is heading, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that a show with this premise is in production). Singletons head to a retreat in the south of France accompanied by their brother or sister – and in one case, a cousin – who are also on the lookout for love. They act as one another’s “wingperson” as they search for their soulmates and hope to win £100,000 in the process. With its sibling double dates, Netflix has billed Dated & Related as the “most awkward dating show in history”, while the press has promised it will address the “Love Island blues” or “fill that Love Island-shaped hole in your heart”.
