Valentine’s Day, fittingly enough, is the premiere day for a couple of dating shows. On Freeform, there’s Love Trip: Paris, which sees four American women, “unlucky in love in their own country,” according to Freeform, move into a penthouse in Paris to meet some French men. “Is this love trip to Paris their one-way ticket to romance, or are they headed for heartbreak in another language?” added the network.
On Netflix, there’s Perfect Match. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the show brings together singles from a range of unscripted shows on Netflix, including Love Is Blind, The Ultimatum, Too Hot To Handle and The Mole.
Love Trip: Paris comes from Fox Alternative Entertainment and is executive produced by Susan House. Matt Rogers narrates.
The contestants are Caroline, a personal trainer in New York; Rose, a Boston real estate agent; Lacy, a Nashville-based podcaster; and Josielyn, a model in Los Angeles.
Two episodes air on premiere day.
A Daily Beast review noted that the four contestants include a lesbian, a “sexually fluid” woman and another who is trans and bisexual. “It’s beyond thrilling to see these women treated with love and respect, and not have to make their queerness a traumatic focal point of all of their experiences on the show,” the review said. “Love Trip: Paris transcends token casting and exploitation and instead sets up a safe and amiable environment for its cast. In a television landscape where reality dating competitions tip almost entirely cisgender and heterosexual, it’s exhilarating to watch these women navigate Paris and all of its sexy sweethearts while out and proud.”
Meanwhile, over on Netflix, Perfect Match is set in a tropical paradise. The contestants compete to form relationships, with the most compatible couples playing matchmaker — breaking up other couples and sending them on dates with brand-new singles.
“Will they create better matches, or will they create chaos?” Netflix wonders.
There are a dozen Perfect Match episodes.
Sticking with Daily Beast reviews of current dating series, it said: “For the most part, Perfect Match is about what one would expect: Singles from various Netflix shows gather together to mix, mingle, and pair off before the end of each night. Anyone left without a match must go home. Each week, paired matches will compete in ‘Compatibility Challenges’ that determine who has the power to send any two players on a date with someone not yet living in the villa. In the end, only one pair can be the ‘Perfect Match.’ ” ■
