90 Day Fiancé has become the go-to franchise for stressful series about international dating and marrying someone after only 90 days of being face-to-face with them. It’s also become a hugely addictive show that’s full of drama and cringe-worthy couples, but it’s also a show that can be romantic at times and full of couples who are likable and some that even have long-lasting relationships. It's great, but sometimes you want something that is like it but not exactly the same. This is where Match Me Abroad comes in.
This is another TLC show all about Americans looking for love overseas. It’s not a direct copy of 90 Day Fiancé but definitely shares some characteristics with it and its many spin-off series. The shared traits and overall premise make Match Me Abroad a good companion series to the older show, and let's get into why fans may also enjoy the new program.
It’s An Interesting Show About Americans Finding Love Abroad
Similar to the original 90 Day Fiancé series, Match Me Abroad focuses on Americans who want to settle down with someone from another country. However, unlike that long-running hit, the people featured are all singles still looking for a match. They believe that they will have a better dating experience searching for someone in another country.
They rely on their beliefs about certain cultures and countries to decide that their partners must exist in these areas. The daters enlist the help of a few professional matchmakers who specialize in intercultural connections who set the Americans up on a few dates with people who possess the traits and beliefs of their ideal partners. Match Me Abroad feels more like the early seasons of 90 Day Fiancé, because most of the cast seems to truly want to find their life partner.
These people just have some barriers that hinder their dating life in the U.S. Those obstacles range from social awkwardness to strict parents, and inexperience with dating to past heartbreaks. This makes it one of the great reality shows that examines the complicated process of finding love and what that looks like for different people.
Match Me Abroad Is Not As Dramatic As 90 Day Fiancé, But It’s Still Entertaining
90 Day Fiancé thrives on drama. The show has so many brutal breakups, fights, wild moments, and conflict, and not just between the couples. The drama is part of what makes the franchise so successful. However, for people like me, who preferred the early seasons, when the conflict and drama didn’t feel as excessive, Match Me Abroad may be a nice substitute.
It has drama that feels minor, or not as intense as some of the 90 Day conflicts. Of course, if this show evolves and has more seasons, I am sure the drama will increase.
For now, though, I am enjoying it showing some conflict, but not a lot of drama. The most dramatic issue in the first season is whether the cast will really be able to find love in another country.
We Witness A Blending Of Cultures And All The Awkwardness That Comes With It
As expected, a few of the cast members experience culture shock because they went to another country with very little knowledge of it and its traditions. This adds awkwardness, as the cast doesn’t know how to react or what’s normal for these different cultures. We see this type of conflict all the time on 90 Day Fiancé.
One of the most compelling aspects of that series and those like it, though, is when the cultures begin to blend. The individuals figure out how to compromise in a way that makes them have a collaborative, not combative, relationship. Match Me Abroad is still at the stage where the Americans are just in the process of finding someone to date.
Eventually, we should see the culture shock die down and more blending of cultures. Cultural openness is more appealing to me than cultural ignorance and close-mindedness.
Match Me Abroad Has Similar Characters To What You See On 90 Day Fiancé Shows
TLC loves a good archetype for its reality TV shows. Some of the cast of Match Me Abroad remind me of people I’ve seen repeatedly on the 90 Day franchise. There is a reason the network loves these cast members: they deliver certain expectations. But, Match Me Abroad also has some archetype that aren’t that similar to those in the 90 Day realm, which adds some excitement to it.
Despite seeing a lot of these types of participants before, I am still engaged and invested in their journey. They may seem similar to others in the TLC dating show world, but they could just end up surprising us and being very different. Even if they make the same bad or good decisions as similar dating series archetypes, it is still fun to watch them.
It Has A Cast You Root For
90 Day Fiancé is full of cast members that we would like to see again, and many more that we hope to never see again on any reality TV show. Overall, Match Me Abroad is full of likable, or at least tolerable, cast members. None of them seem like they’re going to reach the same level of infamy as any of the 90 Day stars.
Most are likable or inoffensive enough that you root for their journey. You want them to find love and overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of that. Additionally, some of them are outliers in the dating world, so it’s nice to see something different, like someone who has never been on a date or someone who has had three failed engagements.
Match Me Abroad doesn’t look at them with the gentlest narrative approach and complete understanding and empathy, but it also doesn’t judge them too harshly for not falling into an arbitrary ideal of what’s normal for dating and romance.
It Doesn’t Require As Much Of A Commitment As 90 Day Fiancé
90 Day has many spin-off series and continues to add to them. It also has after-show content, specials, and even Discovery+ exclusives. It’s a lot of commitment to watch everything 90 Day Fiancé. The episodes themselves are also kind of long.
Match Me Abroad is a new series so the commitment is very low. If you need a new low-time investment series to add to your 2023 TV schedule, then this is perfect.
Match Me Abroad airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC. It’s also available to stream on Max and Discovery+.
