This Is Dating
5.0/5
Critic Rating
Come for the cringe, stay for the connection. Follow four modern daters as they trade the swiping, the small talk, and the fumbled first kiss for a curated virtual date with a team of fairy godmothers behind the scenes. You might have eavesdropped on a first date before, but never like this. From the producers of Where Should We Begin, This is Dating, a series of recorded first dates. If you would like to get new episodes a week or so in advance in addition to ad-free listening subscribe to This Is Dating on Apple Podcasts. Visit the This Is...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Eliana Dockterman • Time • May 26, 2022
"...equally compelling but far more nourishing show for you...The show scratches a voyeuristic itch, but instead of feeling guilty when you finish it, you’ll emerge wanting to interrogate your own attachment style or scrutinize why you’re attracted to the people you’re attracted to."
Score: 5
Elle Hunt • The Guardian • Apr 21, 2022
"Each episode is an intimate and engaging study of how to fan the flames of connection (or not, as the case may be), perhaps to apply to your own first date. …"
Score: 5
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Jan 30, 2022
"On hand for pep talks and debriefs is Logan Ury, a behavioural scientist and dating coach who points out patterns of behaviour or inconsistencies that might hamper the guests’ progress. Perhaps most impressive is how all this happens without killing the show’s fun and hopeful vibe. This Is Dating could easily go for the cheap laughs but instead it offers a more substantial experience, one where there are no obvious saints or villains, where no one is hung out to dry and in which we all emerge a little wiser about the nuances of human relationships. I won’t reveal what happens on the dates, but it’s fascinating to hear the gulf between what takes place and the participants’ interpretations of it."
Score: 5
Reggie Ugwu • New York Times • Jan 26, 2022
"The show balances MTV game-show-style elements — separately recorded sideline commentary is intercut with audio from the dates — with the more earnest ambitions of modern social psychology."
Score: 5
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter • Jan 17, 2022
"I felt like their mother, cheering them on to be their best, confident selves, and open to the idea that they’re falling in love. It’s an interesting character study and fun for people who like to think about relationships in a totally different way."
Score: 5
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • Jan 14, 2022
"...voyeuristic new podcast series that invites listeners to eavesdrop on virtual blind dates as they happen, things can get slippery. Cringing and awkwardness is to be expected — after all, we’re talking blind dates here. The tape in This Is Dating is undeniably captivating. The podcast delivers on the same vicarious thrill as eavesdropping on first dates out in the wild, where you, as the intruding observer, end up trying to read each individual as they try to read each other."
