The CW’s new show “Dates” explores what happens when online matches meet — juicy secrets and all

StayTuned Staff

11 years ago

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during a real life Tinder-matched date? If so, consider your prayers answered courtesy of The CW. Throw in some British accents and you have yourself the network’s brand-new comedy Dates, which will make its summer premiere Thursday, July 9 with back to back episodes at 9 and 9:30 ET.

And while its subject matter may not pertain to the supernatural, Dates still includes all the sexiness of our favorite CW shows.

Dates is an original series that was created by Bryan Elsley and originally aired on Channel 4 in Great Britain. Now that it has moved across the pond to the U.S., the series hopes to find a new audience for its distinctly British comedy.

Some familiar faces appear in the first episode titled “David and Mia,” including Game of Thrones‘ Oona Chaplin and Will Mellor of Broadchurch. The cast also includes Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Katie McGrath (Dracula), Amanda Hale (The White Queen), and Gemma Chan (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit).

True to its title, focuses on two people meeting for the first time on a date. What makes Dates unique is that each couple has met through an online dating service. While watching the two premiere episodes, all I kept thinking was how well this show would fit on a segment of Dateline NBC. I kept waiting for Chris Hansen to walk out from around the corner.

While Hansen never made an appearance, these couples don’t exactly have a clean track record. During David and Mia’s date, they point out how little they know about each other even though they have been communicating with each other online. They also come clean about a few fibs on their profiles such as job titles and having children.

During Jenny and Nick’s date secrets such as being a compulsive thief and hiding one’s sexuality come to light. Ouch.

Here is the age of social media and online everything, it’s amazing — and scary to realize how easy it is to create a whole different person online and hide one’s true identity behind a computer screen — a circumstance that led to heartache, and then a lucrative career for Nev Schulman from MTV’s Catfish . So whether you personally have your own horror story about an online date gone wrong or you’d just like to see how they go down, Dates is the summer show for you.

And if you’re like me, you might even use Dates as a way to know what to watch out for in your own future sweeties, online or otherwise. One of the reasons I watch so many Investigation Discovery shows is so I have the knowledge to not end up on one of the network’s shows. So consider Dates your summer escape that’s a little educational, too.

Dates premieres Thursday, July 9 at 9:00 and 9:30 ET on The CW.