8 dating shows steaming up our screens

Love Is Blind (2020 - present)

Follows 30 men and women hoping to find love. For 10 days in a speed-dating format, the men and women date each other in “pods”, where they can talk to each other but not see each other. If he so decides, the man may propose to the woman he wants to marry. After the proposal, and meeting face-to-face for the first time, they must decide whether to split up or get married. — Netflix

Date My Family (2019)

A South African show, it helps singletons find love by sending them on dates with their potential partner’s family. Can you really trust your family to help you find love? — Showmax

Dating Around (2019 - present)

Each episode of the series follows one person going on five blind dates, with dates including people of various races and sexual orientations. — Netflix

Sexy Beasts (2021 - present)

Strangers are set up on blind dates, except there’s a catch — they’re decked out in prosthetic makeup, hiding their true faces, so that they must fall for their date’s personality only. — Netflix

A Night with My Ex (2019)

In this South African reality show, couples who’ve gone their separate ways for any number of reasons are locked — literally — in an apartment together overnight. They get to talk through why their romance failed, confront the reasons they needed to break up and profess their reasons for wanting a second chance, perhaps. — Showmax

Love on the Spectrum (2019 - present)

Follows a group of young adults who are all on the autism spectrum as they look to find love within the dating world. It’s lighthearted, wholesome and cute, unlike other dating shows that are all about how many followers someone might want to get from being on the show. — Netflix

Back with the Ex (2018)

Australian reality show about couples who’ve previously broken up giving their relationships another try. They are filmed as they see whether it works out, or if it’s a waste of time. — Netflix

Are You the One? (2014 - 2019)

Follows a group of men and women secretly paired into couples by producers, via a matchmaking algorithm. Everyone lives together, and it’s up to the contestants to figure out these “perfect matches”. If they do, the group shares a $1m (R14m) prize. — Netflix. Andrea Nagel