This dating show, in which couples hook up with singles to try out the non-monogamous lifestyle, is the definition of “bad representation.”
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The Lede
Going into the finale of Peacock’s newest dating show, Couple to Throuple, I was “gagged and gooped and gagged,” as Ash, one half of one of the participating couples, says in Episode 4. Ash means this as a positive thing. I am not sure how I mean it, because, while I must admit that the show has been incredible television, I can’t say that it has been a particularly good representation of polyamory or non-traditional relationship structures.
Key Details
- Now, look—I’m not under the delusion that all representation must be good. Straight, monogamous people have been messy as hell on reality dating shows for decades at this point.
- In trying to make predominantly queer culture legible to cishet audiences, are we doing more harm than good?
- “The search for thirds is very common, and it’s very commonly done unethically."
- This is the only kind of show about non-monogamy that could have been made for a mainstream audience.