The 15 Best LGBTQ Reality Dating Shows For Queer Representation
The list of LGBTQ reality dating shows is not the longest, because for years, the majority of shows - like The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Love Island, etc. - focused solely on heterosexual relationships. When Bachelor in Paradise did have a queer relationship - the first in the Bachelor Nation franchise - they had already been dating before the show, and the gesture seemed more like a half-handed attempt at inclusion.
Progress has been slow, but not non-existent, as evident in the 15 examples of TV shows below. Are You the One? famously had a "sexually fluid" eighth season, featuring same-sex couples, non-binary and trans contestants, and drag personas. The Ultimatum: Queer Love takes the model from Netflix hit The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, but focuses on women (and non-binary people who date women). Some of these shows, like The Ultimatum: Queer Love and I Kissed a Boy, made for queer people, while Coming Out for Love is also made by queer women.
Others on this list may only feature some queer couples, and/or a season or so of the series features LGBTQ contestants. For example, seasons three, four, and five of MTV's Ex on the Beach feature queer contestants, like Aubrey O'Day and Adore Delano. This list will not include shows like Love Island or Too Hot to Handle that feature bisexual characters, because the format of the show caters to heterosexual pairs.
Are You The One?
Season(s): 8
Network/streamer: MTV, Paramount+
In the eighth season of Are You The One? all of the cast members identified as bisexual or sexually fluid, so there were no gender limitations on any of the perfect matches. There were also non-binary cast members, and honest discussions about transitioning. By the end of the season, there were multiple perfect matches in same-sex couples. Season 8 received a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding reality program in 2020. It's one of the better portrayals of queer dating in reality television.
The Ultimatum: Queer Love
Network/streamer: Netflix
The Ultimatum: Queer Love followed Netflix's The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, which debuted the year prior, in 2022. This season featured queer couples Lexi and Raelyn, Yoly and Mal, Tiff and Mildred, Vanessa and Xander, and Aussie and Sam, as they tried out the same experiment, but with queer and non-binary contestants. There is an emphasis on knowing everyone's correct pronouns, and serious discussions about race, gender identity, and discrimination, even amongst friends and/or family.
Coming Out for Love
Network/streamer: Coming Out for Love site
Coming Out for Love features 16 women who love women living together in Palm Springs, California, vying for the love of the "Key Master," Amber Whittington, an activist, creator, influencer, and multi-nominee for LGBT Influencer of the Year awards. There are queer celebrity judges and guests, and the host - Jessica Clark - and director - Nicole Conn - are also queer. The only downside here seems to be that it is not available on streaming, and can only be watched at the show's official website, for a fee.
I Kissed a Boy
Network/streamer: BBC iPlayer, BBC Three
I Kissed a Boy, for BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, is marketed as "the UK's first ever gay dating show." Hosted by Dannii Minogue, the show follows 10 single gay men who are paired up, and introduced with a first kiss. They don't meet with small talk or messages, but a kiss to test their chemistry. The contestants can decide if they want to pursue the dater from the kiss, or if they will get distracted by a new kiss. The show received positive reviews, and went on to inspire a spin-off, called I Kissed A Girl, to also be hosted by Dannii.
Love ALLways
Network/streamer: Paramount+, Awesomeness TV
Love ALLways is a pansexual dating show on Paramount+, which follows Tik Tok star Lexi Paloma as she looks for love from a mix of male and female contestants. It's sort of like A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, except that it seems like Lexi is actually pan. The show also has dating experts - Spicy Mari and Anthony Recenello - who choose daters to be on their team, so there are two competitions going on throughout the show. The downside for some will be the young age of the contestants, who are mostly under 21 years old, since main dater Lexi is 19.
Finding Prince Charming
Network/streamer: Logo
Finding Prince Charming, which came out on Logo in 2016, was modeled after The Bachelor, except with a black tie ceremony instead of a rose ceremony. The show, hosted by gay icon Lance Bass from NSYNC, followed interior designer Robert Sepúlveda Jr. as searched for love by dating 13 suiters. Those he wanted to continue getting to know would receive a black tie. The eight-episode series was picked up for a second season, though it never aired. However, it did inspire international versions in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and Poland.
Ex on the Beach
Network/streamer: MTV, Paramount+
Seasons three, four, and five of Ex on the Beach featured same-sex couples, transgender contestants, and open discussions of sexuality, like David Barta coming out as pansexual in the fifth season. These seasons featured well-known LGBTQIA+ characters, like Adore Delano from Rupaul's Drag Race, Nicole Zanatta and Laurel Stucky from The Challenge, and singer and former member of Danity Kane, Aubrey O'Day. Thanks to O'Day, Lisa Coffey, and Mark Jansen, there is even discussion of open relationships, ethical non-monogamy, and throuples.
Perfect Match
Network/streamer: Netflix
Netflix's Perfect Match dating show brings together other Netflix reality stars to date around, match up, and fight to be voted the "Perfect Match" by the other contestants at the end of the season. Though it is not explicitly a queer dating show, it did receive praise for featuring three bisexual contestants, including fan-favorite Francesca from Too Hot to Handle. Variety even wrote, Perfect Match is “changing the game for LGBTQ representation on reality TV," and the way bisexuality is discussed and accepted by the contestants definitely works toward dismantling the stigma.
Dating #NoFilter
Network/streamer: E!, Hulu
Dating #NoFilter is an underrated series from E!, streaming on Hulu. The format features two blind dates each episode, with a panel of comedians - split into pairs - watching and giving commentary to the dates the viewers are also seeing. There are LGBTQ representations both in the panel of comedians - like Cara Connors and Zach Noe Towers - as well as in the daters. The queer daters are presented in the same way as the heterosexual ones, and gay connections are not fetishized.
Match Me If You Can
Network/streamer: MTV
Match Me If You Can is a dating mini-series from MTV and Pepsi, which followed reality stars from other series as they went on dates to find their perfect match. It was a big marketing campaign to promote the Pepsi and mango drink. However, it did feature three LGBTQ+ contestants, Kylie Smith of the queer season of Are You The One?, Natalie Negrotti of Big Brother and The Challenge, and Kyra Green from Love Island USA and season five of Ex on the Beach.
Dating Around
Network/streamer: Netflix
Dating Around was the first original dating show Netflix released, and it premiered in 2019. Each episode followed a different person as they went on multiple dates, and four out of 12 of them were centered around LGBTQIA+ people. Deva, from episode three of the show's second season, actually dated both genders during her episode.
12 Dates of Christmas
Network/streamer: Max
Both seasons of Max series 12 Dates of Christmas, hosted by Natasha Rothwell, seamlessly feature queer daters. The show follows three singles who all move into a mansion in a winter wonderland, where they search for love while experiencing all kinds of romantic holiday dates seemingly pulled from Hallmark Christmas movies. There are an assortment of contestants vying for the singles' hearts, and the gay and lesbian dating experience is featured throughout both seasons.
Love on the Spectrum
Network/streamer: ABCTN
Love on the Spectrum on Netflix follows the dating lives of a group of people on the autism spectrum. There are a number of queer daters on the series, like Jayden - who identifies as bisexual - and Dan, and fan-favorite Chloe. Chloe and Lotus memorably had a touching date where they went to a sunflower field to pick flowers together. There are two seasons, and both of them feature queer daters.
Love on the Spectrum / Netflix, The Bi Life / Monkey Kingdom Productions, I Kissed A Girl / BBC Three
The Bi Life
Network/streamer: E!
British reality dating mini-series The Bi Life, hosted by drag queen Courtney Act, had three episodes of bisexuals looking for love. She described the show as a "bisexual Dawson's Creek goes on spring break to Barcelona." The show was praised for promoting bisexual visibility. Courtney Act explained why she thinks the show was so special, “The sweet thing about this... It's queer people in a space with each other, not having to explain their identity, and feeling supported. One of the cast members has never been on a date before, period. But he had a group of people there to give hi advice and cheer him on.”
I Kissed a Girl
Network/streamer: BBC Three
Due to the popularity of I Kissed a Boy, the “UK's first gay dating show,” BBC Three announced an all-female version, called I Kissed a Girl. This show is also hosted by Dannii Minogue, and will see pairs of women meeting for the first time and sharing a kiss. They can decide if they want to pursue the person they kissed, or explore chemistry with someone else. Minogue said, “After showing love truly is for everyone with I Kissed a Boy, I am thrilled to have the chance to be Cupid again for girls in this second series... I think the important thing about this show is that it's kicking the door open, and hopefully allowing space for there to be lots of different programming for this community.”
This piece was originally published on Ranker.com.
