TheвЂ…Bachelor (2002) and its spin-off TheвЂ…Bachlorette (2003), where a single man or woman partakes in activities with a larger group of women or men respectively, and progressively eliminates contestants from the pool over the course of the season.The increased popularity of realityвЂ…television in the early 2000s influenced new types of dating shows, where the emphasis was on realistic actions and tensions, but which used less realistic scenarios than the traditional blind date: These resembled the reality shows that began to emerge at about the same time in the 1990s. HeвЂ…Said,вЂ…SheвЂ…Said focused not on setting up the date, but on comparing the couple's different impressions afterwards, and for their cooperation offering to fund a second date. Other shows focused on the conventional blindвЂ…date, where two people were set up and then captured on video, sometimes with comments or subtitles that made fun of their dating behaviour. Variations featuring LGBT contestants began to appear on a few specialty channels. CableвЂ…television revived some interest in these shows during the 1980s and 1990s, and eventually new shows began to be made along the old concepts. The genre waned for a while but it was later revived by The New Dating Game and the UK version BlindвЂ…Date, and the original shows were popular in reruns, unusual for any game show. Gimmicks were the lifeblood of all such shows, which drew criticisms for instigating disaffection that could not have been effected. Once, someone divorced after appearing on The Newlywed Game got a 'second chance' on The Dating Game. The couple who knew each other the best would win the game sometimes others got divorced. TheвЂ…NewlywedвЂ…Game, by contrast, another Barris show, had recently married couples competing to answer questions about each other's preferences. Questions were often obviously rigged to get ridiculous responses, or be obvious allusions to features of the participants' private areas. The various suitors were able to describe their rivals in uncomplimentary ways, which made the show work well as a general devolution of dignity. The person behind the screen could hear their answers and voices but not see them during the gameplay, although the audience could see the contestants. The format of Barris's first dating show, TheвЂ…DatingвЂ…Game, which commenced in 1965, put an unmarried man behind a screen to ask questions of three women who are potential mates, or one woman who asked questions of three men. The original dating game shows were introduced by televisionвЂ…producer ChuckвЂ…Barris.

The dating game show subgenre has its origins in the UnitedвЂ…States. As the genre progressed, the format developed towards a reality-style show and more into a relationship show then simply finding a mate. They are presented for the entertainment of the viewers. There have been a number of dating shows aired on television over the years, using a variety of formats and rules. The audience sees only the game an important feature of all dating game shows is that the contestants have little or no previous knowledge of each other, and are exposed to each other only through the game, which may include viewing a photograph or at least knowing the basic criteria for participation (typically participants are not already married). Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the amusement value than any concern for their happiness or compatibility. Dating game shows are gameвЂ…shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules.

List of newlywed game contestants