Following the success of Love is Blind, Netflix is premiering another reality dating show from the same creators on April 6, 2022. The trailer for The Ultimatum has already raised multiple red flags to viewers -- ensuring the series will be a nice companion to the two wildly popular (and wildly dysfunctional) seasons of Love is Blind.
The premise for the new show involves six couples on the verge of marriage. One partner is all in and the other that has one foot out the door. Each one of them chooses a potential new partner from the other participating couples for the duration of the show. At the end of the season, the couples decide -- on television -- if they want to commit to marrying the person they arrived with or move on with someone else.
This setup is putting good-looking individuals from fragile relationships together in a situation where temptation is highly encouraged. In the trailer, some of the issues within the couples were revealed to tease the show, demonstrating how many of these couples are together just because of much deeper fears of abandonment and commitment issues. Breaking up is hard, and many people jump through hoops to avoid giving their partner the harsh truth that they are just no longer interested.
A quote from the first few seconds of Netflix's official trailer highlighted some of these insecurities. One contestant said, "The only thing scarier than losing you right now would be to marry you." From that sentence, viewers can draw the conclusion that these contestants feel trapped in their current relationships and don't have the courage to express this clearly to their partner. The Ultimatum provides a green light for these questioning individuals to test out how it would feel to date someone else.
Many contestants might believe their behavior on the show could be dismissed or forgiven without realizing there will be very true and serious consequences to their actions. The premise provides a perfect setting for situations that will add heightened tension and drama for the viewer's pleasure... and, probably, the displeasure of the contestants themselves.
After watching Love is Blind, viewers can assume there will be a similar storytelling structure to The Ultimatum that often appears in many reality dating shows. There will be contestants who attempt to hide their red flags from the camera and their new partner, like Shayne did to Natalie, only to be discovered or exposed later in the season. Another popular tactic will be to frame one particular contestant as the villain, using editing to showcase their worst moments.
Emotions will run high as these couples will be forced to air their dirty laundry and publicly experience many forms of vulnerability and embarrassment throughout the season. The contestants in Love is Blind at least had the benefit of being single to win over audiences, but the cast of The Ultimatum faces an incredibly high bar to justify any actions that jeopardize their relationship and their reputation.
Love is Blind Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix, including the finale that revealed which couples were married. For viewers who like reality series with less personal drama, the streamer also has several excellent reality competition series that can be binge-watched now.