Stream It or Skip It?

In The Perfect Match on Netflix, ten reality dating show alums gather in Tulum, Mexico for a second shot at love. Its third season, hosted by Nick Lachey, features a range of contestants spanning The Bachelor, Love Island, Too Hot to Handle, Love Is Blind, Temptation Island and more.

Opening Shot: In a goofy Cast Away-esque intro, host Nick Lachey (Love Is Blind, The Ultimatum) sits alone on a beach, chatting with a coconut. “Who knew a year would feel so long?” he sighs. Then, a message in a bottle revitalizes Lachey, who tells the coconut, “It’s time,” before rushing to greet the contestants.

The Gist: The singles arrive and begin to mingle. Lachey tells them they have to match up with someone tonight, or risk elimination. But first, a quick challenge to break the ice. The “Let’s Puck” challenge gets the contestants acquainted with one another in totally normal ways including body shots out of sweaty navels, tantric yoga poses, and ice cube teasing.

After the challenge, the singles continue to pull each other for chats, step on each other’s toes, and try to find their Perfect Match. Two by two, they couple up.

The next day, the couples’ first “compatibility challenge” ensues. I don’t even know how to describe this challenge’s premise. Imagine the Suck and Blow card game, but its a race and you’re on a raft in the ocean, and the stakes are high. The winners of the game, deemed the most compatible, become producers in their own right with a visit to the “boardroom,” where they gain the control to bring new contestants in and break other couples up by sending them on dates with the newbies.

A twist is teased in the preview — former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia joins the cast, which her ex-Bachelor beau Colton Echard is already a part of. As one can imagine, drama transpires.

At the end of the season, all contestants, even those not remaining on the island, vote on which couple they believe is the most compatible. The winners receive an all-expenses-paid vacation to any location of their choice.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Gives Bachelor in Paradise energy, as each member of the cast has been on reality TV before. Also bears resemblance to Love Island, because everyone is hot and horny.

Our Take: Perfect Match has the potential to be one of the best dating shows to enter the zeitgeist in years. The challenges are fun and creative, and the casting team did a fantastic job choosing stars who would mesh. Plus, despite the absence of his wife, Vanessa Lachey, who he hosts Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum with, Nick is a worthy host.

Another crucial cliff note — the men casted in Perfect Match are actually attractive, rather than the average Joes we’ve been seeing on The Bachelorette and Love Island as of late. I laughed out loud when Juliette Porter, a contestant who got her start on Siesta Key, told the girls she was “pleasantly surprised because (she) was worried people were not gonna be attractive.”

While some dating shows (*cough* Bachelor franchise *cough*) are facing a downhill trend (for more reasons than just the unremarkable men), The Perfect Match is fresh, well-executed, and fun.

Sex and Skin: Yes. The Perfect Match contains Love Island levels of lust. At least they all get their own rooms in this one.

Parting Shot: The episode ends right as a date between an original contestant and a new one begins, leaving us at the edge of our seats.

Sleeper Star: There’s a lot of big personalities in the cast, but my personal favorite is currently Madison Errichiello from Love Is Blind. She seems even-keeled, knows what she wants and has a general good vibe. On the other hand, Juliette Porter from Siesta Key entertains, but might be setting herself up for the villain edit.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Perfect Match has the stuff to be the next Netflix hit.