If you’re stuck for something new to dive into on Netflix, you could do a lot worse than to check out the platform’s new dating show, The Boyfriend.
Now, we know what you’re thinking. Sometimes Netflix’s dating formats have a tendency to make Love Island look like University Challenge, between Love Is Blind (complete strangers getting engaged despite having never actually been in the same room together), Too Hot To Handle (horny single folks dock money from their prize fund every time they break an Alexa knock-off’s rules about no funny business), Perfect Match (where contestants from the previous two shows are coupled up and put through a variety of challenges) and Sexy Beasts (basically The Masked Singer, but for dating).
But we promise, The Boyfriend offers something different.
For starters, the Japanese series is all about queer men searching for love, and critics have already heaped praise on it for its wholesomeness and unique, gentle spin on the dating show format.
Here’s a selection of what critics have said about what makes The Boyfriend such special viewing…
“The Boyfriend is a near-perfect gay dating show that’s easily a must-see, even if reality TV isn’t normally your vibe… The Boyfriend brings nine men together in a luxury beach house outside Tokyo where hotties hope to find romance.
“The show reminds us more than once that this is ’a story of love and friendship’ though, immediately dispelling notions of overproduced trash in favour of genuine connection that can be platonic as well as sexual.”
“The pace is such that by the time you notice a hint of a crush blooming, you want to punch the air. Eyes meeting over cups of coffee. Hands brushing each other’s backs. The hint of uncertain interest [...] Essentially, the way The Boyfriend plays out feels a bit more like real life.”
“For the most part, the emphasis is on letting the men and their relationships speak for themselves, rather than straining for louder political statements. We’ll have to wait and see whether it will change attitudes in Japan – but it certainly gives us a blueprint for a different kind of dating show, one that’s the perfect antidote to Love Island fatigue.”
“The vibe is wholesome and mostly chaste. The men, who range in age from 22 to 36, operate a coffee truck during the day and cook dinner at night, with occasional forays outside for dates.
“One of the biggest (among very few) conflicts of the series revolves around the cost of buying raw chicken to make protein shakes for a club dancer who is trying to maintain his physique. Sex rarely comes up, and friendship and self-improvement feature as prominently as romance.”
“Japan’s first gay dating show is the best reality series on TV. [It] isn’t just groundbreaking because of its cast of gay men – it’s also completely changing the tired, exploitative reality formula we’re used to.
“Honestly, you’ve never experienced anything quite like The Boyfriend – it’s like the cosiest, most wholesome television you can’t stop watching.”
“Vibe-wise the series is quiet and restrained (though there are moments when the primal thirst peeks through). Think more along the lines of Terrace House and Love On The Spectrum than Love Island or The Ultimatum.”
“There is no same-sex marriage in Japan, and there are few openly-gay celebrities. What The Boyfriend tries to accomplish is to show relationships between men in Japan’s gay community in a normalised light. And they’ve picked a good cast to do just that.”
The first two episodes of The Boyfriend are available to watch now on Netflix, with new instalments coming every Tuesday.