Dating Around is "sneakily great" reality TV that showcases what's missing from other dating shows

Vulture

Netflix's first dating reality show takes about three episodes to reveal its "addictive secret," says Kathryn VanArendonk. "It recognizes how much romance-related reality television has left on the table — how many kinds of human experience are rarely highlighted on The Bachelor or Millionaire Matchmaker or 90 Day Fiancé or Married at First Sight or Are You the One — and it seizes what those other shows typically ignore," she says. "Sure, Dating Around is still limited in scope in its own way. It’s all set in New York, featuring very New York discussions about real estate and how expensive things are and how long everyone has lived in the city. But it takes advantage of the gaps other dating shows leave unconsidered. Only one of the season’s six episodes features a straight, white, millennial man going on dates with women. Many of the singles featured are people of color; two of the episodes are about queer people. Episode four, my favorite of the bunch, is about a widower in his 60s — a private eye, no less! — who insists on telling the same very bad joke about a frog on several of his dates."

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