Love Is Blind debuted on Netflix in February of 2020, with the second season premiering in early 2022. It's the show that has its cast couple up without ever setting eyes on each another, a seemingly absurd conceit that nonetheless drew viewers in droves. Soon after its release, it became one of the hottest series in the recent spike of reality dating shows.
But Love Is Blind is far from the first reality show to put a wacky spin on dating. Reality series in the early 2000s set the trend way before Netflix launched its series of dating shows (or even its online streaming platform at all). Fans of Love is Blind should watch the original cringe-worthy dating shows to know where it all began.
aired on MTV from 2006 to 2010 and gave parents who were fed up with who their teens were dating the opportunity to choose new potential partners for their kids. After going on two blind dates that their parents chose, the child would then choose to either stick with their parent-hated partner or swap them out for someone their mom or dad picked.
Though the stakes weren't as high as on Love Is Blind, which ends with marriages, the emotions were just as high for the parents and current partners who got a live viewing of both blind dates. This show may not have ended with many love stories, but the comedy and hatred between the parents and their kids' current boyfriend or girlfriend was just as entertaining.
Date My Mom
The old saying that mother knows best really does hold true for this reality dating show that sends suitors out on dates with their potential boyfriend or girlfriend's mom. Date My Mom ran on MTV for three seasons between 2004 and 2006, sending moms and suitors on Bachelor-type dates. While Love is Blind focuses on couples picking each other based on who they are on the inside, this show heavily relies on suitors picking a partner based on what their family has to say about them. Mothers are known to embellish, but throughout the show, they proved to be the ultimate hype-women.
Next
With six seasons and 288 episodes, this may be one of the most iconic reality dating shows from the early 2000s. Next set one suitor up on a blind date with the advantage that at any moment that they were no longer interested, they could say "next," and another blind date would get off a bus to pick up where the preceding dater left off. This show wasn't only iconic for the cringe-worthy conversations but also for the fun facts about themselves that contestants would announce as they exited the bus. For a real taste of early 2000s nostalgia, this is definitely the show to watch.
Blind Date
This series is a rarity as it is one of the only reality dating series from the early 2000s to get a current reboot. Blind Date is aptly named for the exact format of the show that would send couples out on blind dates and follow their every move.
The show originally aired from 1999 to 2006, then given a reboot in 2019 with comedian, Nikki Glaser, as the host. The series boasts more than 1,450 episodes were produced and countless of couples made. As for the happy endings, over the course of the eight seasons the show did form two couples who ended up getting married.
Room Raiders
Room Raiders is one of those great MTV teen shows you may have forgotten, the show that made everyone in the early 2000s want to keep their room clean. Contestants were kidnapped from their room one morning, thrown into a van, and then had to watch their suitor go through all of their possessions. The suitor would go through three different rooms and then choose a date based off of what they saw. A room could really tell a lot about a potential date as there were no secrets to be kept. Love is Blind fans should definitely check this one out as the couple does not see each other until the suitor pick who they would like to date.
Flavor Of Love
With iconic lines like "your time is up," and some of the best fights in reality television history, VH1's beloved "Celebreality" brand from the '00s. Airing from 2006 to 2008, the show followed legendary Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav on his quest to love. Though there's no real blind date aspect to the show as it more similarly follows the format of The Bachelor, the entertainment value is unmatched. The show gained such popularity while it was on that the second season's finale was the second-highest rated non-sports basic cable show of 2006. If fans like drama, then this is definitely the show to watch.
A Shot Of Love With Tila Tequila
In a similar fashion to Flavor of Love, this series attempted to set up an already famous, Tila Tequila. But what was really revolutionary about this show was Tequila's bisexuality and the fact that the contestants were comprised of both men and women.
Though at the time the show was controversial, today's audiences would appreciate the drama of having both men and women vying for the love of one woman. Since they all live in the same house together, there's opportunity for audiences to see what the contestants really think about each other and about Tequila, which is one of the best parts of modern reality dating shows.
The Millionaire Matchmaker
The blind dates on Millionaire Matchmaker are not random as expert matchmaker, Patti Stanger, makes sure that her millionaire clients are set up with potential matches who would best suit them. The show lasted from 2008 through 2015 with eight seasons and several successful couples. If fans like the awkward interactions of reality dating shows, then this show is definitely one to watch. With millionaires who don't have the time to pick out their own dates, or even make the time to date in general, their rusty dating skills make for amazing entertainment.
Exposed
Following the success of Next, MTV came out with Exposed, a reality dating show that forced contestants to tell the truth. Dates are hooked up to a lie detector, while the suitor asks them hot-seat style questions and is told if their date is telling the truth or lying by their best friend through an earpiece. Daters still attempt to lie, but with the inability to get past their lies, this show brings the drama.
ElimiDate
ElimiDate aired from 2003 to 2006 with a similar format to The Bachelor, but a very sped-up version. One contestant would start with four possible dates and narrow them down to just one throughout the episode. As the four dates vie for the attention of the contestant, natural drama ensues among them. What really makes this show interesting is just how quickly the contestant must choose a date. Though the show isn't known to have many (or any) successful couples, each episode does still give fans the classic happy ending.