Television series
Average Joe
- Romance
- Light-hearted
Average Joe flips the script on reality dating by pairing conventionally attractive women with ordinary men competing for their affection. It's trashy, oddly touching, and genuinely unpredictable—less about finding love than watching human nature collide with manufactured drama. Perfect if you're curious about early-2000s reality TV or just want to feel better about your own romantic choices.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you root for underdogs and relish the posturing between rival suitors when ordinary guys compete openly for one woman's attention.
Skip it if the whole thing is a loop of dates, group contests and votes, so if reality dating already wears you out, the repetition will feel like padding.
What it asks of you: Each hour is built around the same loop of group dates, rival contests and a nightly vote, so it moves steadily and asks you to settle in for twenty-seven episodes.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Bachelor2003
The DNA of all modern dating shows. Lavish dates, rose ceremonies, genuine tears, and the delicious tension between real connection and producer manipulation. Essential viewing for understanding the genre.
But It's exhaustingly long (seasons run 10+ hours) and relies on recycled drama. If you've seen one rose ceremony, you've seen them all.
Love Island2015
Raw, unfiltered chaos where ordinary people are locked in a villa and forced to couple up. It captures the messy, fast-moving emotional whiplash that makes reality dating addictive without the polish of The Bachelor.
But The constant recoupling and manufactured stakes wear thin. Also deeply, deliberately trashy in ways that can feel mean-spirited.
Flavor of Love2006
Flamboyant, unhinged, and utterly compelling. Flavor Flav's dating show is chaotic in a way that feels genuine—contestants actually seemed bewildered and hurt, which made it darkly fascinating television.
But It hasn't aged well. The misogyny and racial dynamics are uncomfortable to revisit, and the spectacle can feel cruel in retrospect.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Average Joe
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Love on a Budget1938
Both celebrate the romantic lives of 'average' people; Love on a Budget just did it via narrative fiction 65 years earlier, arguing the same thing was worth watching then.
A Depression-era film about working-class romance and compromise. It's a stark reminder that Average Joe's premise—that ordinary people deserve love and drama—is actually timeless, just without producers and confessionals.
But Silent-era pacing and aesthetics are a slog for modern viewers. The emotional payoff doesn't justify the slow burn.
More like this (6)
The Pickup Artist2007
Mystery (a self-proclaimed seduction expert) coaches nerdy men on dating. It's a time capsule of aughts dating culture and unintentionally hilarious in its earnestness. Uncomfortable but riveting.
But The 'techniques' are cringe-inducing and occasionally predatory. It's hard to watch without feeling queasy about what was once considered entertainment.
Paradise Hotel2003
Trapped contestants compete to stay in a luxury hotel while forming alliances and romance. It's more strategically cutthroat than Average Joe and captures that same 2003 reality-TV optimism mixed with betrayal.
But It's slow-paced by modern standards and padded with filler. The plot mechanics feel arbitrary after a while.
Room Raiders2003
MTV's concept: inspect someone's dorm room, then decide if you want to date them based on their stuff. It's shallow, hilarious, and says something true about first impressions and judgment.
But Each episode is five minutes of repetitive judgement with minimal stakes. It's junk food, not a meal.
Elimidate2001
A speed-dating precursor where four singles compete for one person's affection in real-time, with increasingly absurd tasks. Snappy, fun, and genuinely unpredictable compared to longer dating shows.
But The tasks are often stupid and the relationships obviously won't survive the episode. It's disposable entertainment.
Who Wants To Marry My Dad?2003
A widowed man's three adult children help him find a new partner. It's sweeter than it sounds and adds a layer of family stakes that most dating shows ignore. Surprisingly earnest.
But The earnestness is its weakness—it's less fun than schadenfreude-based reality TV and less emotionally resonant than drama. A middle ground that satisfies no one.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend2015
Both examine how ordinary people become entangled in relationship narratives not of their making; one plays it as drama, the other as comedy-tragedy, but both are asking: what does love look like when cameras are involved?
A musical comedy-drama that deconstructs reality-TV romance by treating dating obsession with genuine psychological depth and theatrical flair. It's meta-commentary that's also emotionally true and genuinely moving.
But It's aggressively weird and requires patience with musical theatre tropes. If you want your romance shows straightforward, this will frustrate you.
