Blind Date (American TV series)

Blind Date is an American dating game show. The show was originally hosted by Roger Lodge, and is currently hosted by Nikki Glaser.[1]

Blind Date
GenreDating game show
Created byJohn Degnan
Presented byRoger Lodge (1999–2006)
Nikki Glaser (2019–20)
Theme music composerDevin Powers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes1450
Production
Executive producers
  • David Garfinkle
  • Jay Renfroe
  • Matt Papish
  • Thomas Klein
Running time23 minutes
Production companyGold Coast Television Entertainment
Original release
NetworkSyndication (1999–2006)
Bravo (2019–2020)
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) –
May 6, 2020 (2020-05-06)

During its syndicated years (1999–2006), the series was distributed by Universal Worldwide Television. It was later distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution. The program was one of the many syndicated dating programs from the late 1990s-early 2000s (other shows in this category included Change of Heart, The 5th Wheel, ElimiDate, Ex-treme Dating and Shipmates), that aired after midnight, aimed at college age students coming home from partying or studying.[2]

Synopsis

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During each episode, people who did not previously know each other at all were paired up and sent off on a blind date. The cameras followed their every move, while commentary in the form of subtitles, animations, and "thought bubbles" was added by the show's producers. The most common "type" of date on the show involved two attractive people in their 20's and 30's, one male and one female, who would do 1 or 2 activities before having dinner and (often) hanging out in a Jacuzzi, after which the date would end. However, the show did a lot of variations on this theme: many episodes took place in other cities or even other countries, a lot of dates involved same-sex couples or older daters, and there would be dates that were explicitly stated to be "hot dates" or "dates from hell", which reflected the daters becoming physically intimate on the former score and furiously hating each other on the latter one. The show did not make alcohol available to daters who were driving themselves around, while chauffeured contestants were usually free to (and often did) drink a lot of liquor.

From its initial 1999–2006 run, the show ended up having two couples that met on blind dates and later got married; while other couples did date for a while as documented in later "Checking In" segments, the majority of dates ended with the daters stating that there was no connection and there wouldn't be any further dates, while a decent-sized minority did have the daters state they'd like to see each other again but few of those plans were ever confirmed to have taken place.[3]

Reboot

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On October 10, 2019, it was announced that the series was getting revived and premiered on November 18, 2019, on Bravo.[4][5]

Syndication

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Blind Date was aired on TNN (The National Network, later Spike TV, now The Paramount Network) from 2001 to 2003. Also, Spike TV picked up the show after re-launching the new channel name, the show re-aired from 2003 to 2005. Blind Date re-aired on Fox Reality Channel from 2005 to 2010.[6]

Some Blind Date episodes are available on Nosey.com but only a fraction of the over 1450 episodes that were produced.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nikki Glaser Bravo Credits". Bravo TV.
  2. ^ "Blind Date history and episodes". Ranker.
  3. ^ "Blind Date Episode List and Videos". Apple TV.
  4. ^ "'Blind Date' Reboot Ordered to Series at Bravo". Variety. April 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Bravo Makes Dating Funny Again When "Blind Date" Premieres Monday, November 18 at 11:30PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. October 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Paramount Network List of Shows". Paramount Network.
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