6 International Dating Reality Shows That Need USA/UK Remakes
Either you’ll believe in love again or revel in the messy drama
1. Love Catcher
This is a South Korean show that could throw shows like Love is Blind straight out of high water. The premise of this show is that everyone is either a Money Catcher or a Love Catcher. A Love Catcher is, of course, there for love but a Money Catcher is only there for money.
However, the only way the Money Catcher gets money is if they match up with a Love Catcher, if 2 Money Catchers get together then neither of them gets the cash prize. On the other side, if two Love Catchers match up, they will forfeit the cash prize and choose love instead.
I watched a random season of this show (not the one above) and the “it” couple of the season, that were so lovey-dovey, ended with one of them being a Money Catcher. I was so shocked that I sent a 5-minute WhatsApp voicenote to a friend because of how frustrated I was over all the reveals. It’s not on Netflix but you can use sites like dramacool or kshow123.tv.
2. Deep Fake Love
This is a Netflix Spanish dating show with a cruel new twist. This show centers around 5 couples being separated into 2 different villas with a group of singles. Deep Fake videos are created of their partners cheating and tests them on whether they think the video is true or not.
If they make the correct guesses, they are in for a chance to win the €100,000 cash prize. I feel like the premise itself is messy enough that there would be an immeasurable level of drama created if it were to get a Western remake.
3. REA(L)OVE
This is a Japanese show on Netflix that was completely diabolical. The premise of the show is that every person has a grand secret that would deter people from wanting to date them. These secrets ranged from someone sleeping with 300+ people, being a past adult actor, and being hundreds of thousands in debt.
Each episode has different reveals and it was crazy to witness how judgemental some of the people were even when their own reveals were just as bad. I think this is something that would be next-level entertainment in Western Media as it would cause a lot of confrontation and drama. This show was a bit lacking in that department as Japanese culture itself is very non-confrontational.
4. Terrace House
Terrace House is like if Big Brother had a primarily dating agenda. The exception being everyone is still going about their daily lives like they normally would and just live together in a big house. There are no set challenges like the other shows, it’s more about how a group of people would naturally interact if you just threw them all into one big house.
They make friendships and even go outside for group dinners and dates with each other. It is a more realistic show than the others so it can be slower-paced and mundane at times. I just think that since a show like Big Brother is still popular, something like this would fit in really well too. You can find multiple seasons on Netflix.
5. Divorced Singles
This South Korean reality show technically did have a USA remake (named Love After Divorce on Netflix) which was centered around Korean-American divorced singles. They have 4 hidden information reveals throughout the show, which are: age, location, reason for divorce, and if they have children.
Later on, they choose who they will live with including children, and/or pets to see if they can adjust to each other’s everyday lives. After which, they must decide whether to continue dating or break-up. I think there’s a lack of dating reality shows centered around older people looking for love; it’s wonderful to witness genuine connection-building as opposed to the drama that younger dating reality shows can be.
6. Love Like A K-drama
Finally, this endearing Netflix show had Korean actors and Japanese actresses living all together and dating, with each episode making them pair up and audition for lead roles in romance short films that premiered within the show. I feel like a show like this would be great exposure for talented unknown UK/US actors if nothing else.
Key Message: There are more interesting reality dating show concepts to watch if you branch out internationally!
What did you think about these shows? Would you watch these if they had Western remakes?
