Blind Date (U.S. TV series)
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Blind Date was a United States reality show. It was first broadcast on first-run television syndication in 1999 and was distributed by Universal Worldwide Television. It was later distributed by NBC-Universal. Its reruns have subsequently been shown on Spike TV and Fox Reality; the show currently airs several times during weekday afternoons on the latter station. It has also been distributed overseas in many foreign markets and selected episodes have also been released to DVD in Region 1.
During each episode, people who did not know each other were paired up and sent off on a blind date. Occasionally, adult film actresses such as Rebecca Love and Friday would appear as the female counterpart, under an assumed name, though the participants never seemed to recognize them as such.[citation needed] 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 show was hosted by Roger Lodge.
On August 11, 2006, NBC Universal announced that the show would not be renewed for the 2006-2007 season due to low ratings. [1]. NBC Universal provided repeats from its seven seasons to air during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons.
The dates were sometimes unsuccessful. Certain especially disastrous pairings were described as "Dates from Hell" and the show frequently concluded with excerpts from the show's "Hall of Shame" (embarrassing moments), "Cutting Room Floor" (footage that was comic but wasn't deemed integral to a date's narrative), and "Hot Zone" (extremely sexy footage from successful dates). Blind Date occasionally matched up people older than the usual under-30 age group. Two couples who met on the show did get married in real life, with both weddings featured in special episodes.
Likely inspired by these "Dates from Hell" is the BET television show Hell Date. With a structure similar to Blind Date, one participant is actually an actor who poses as a genuine dater with an incredibly annoying personality trait which is typical of the single worst date that most people have ever been on. The unsuspecting dater likely believes they are actually on Blind Date.
