Featured Image Credit: E4
Topics: Channel 4, Documentaries, LGBTQ, TV, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
A bizarre dating show in which gay men pretended to be straight has been rediscovered by shocked fans, as well as its celebrity host from before she was famous.
Any fans of reality shows can attest that, in the 90s and 2000s, you could get away with more or less anything on TV.
Whether this be shows like The Biggest Loser, which Netflix recently did an exposing documentary on, or the earlier wilder seasons of shows like Love Island, reality shows definitely used to go much further.
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In the case of this TV series however, it is undeniably bonkers and makes you question how it even made it onto TV.
A viral post made this month on X brought people’s attention to the show, called Playing it Straight, which has an incredibly simple premise you won’t be able to believe.
There is one woman who, Bachelorette style, dates a number of men to decide who she wants to leave the show with.
Amongst the number however are a cohort of secret gay men doing their best heterosexual impersonation.
If the woman leaves with a hetero hunk, the pair split the money, but if she picks a gay man, he leaves with all the cash.
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The viral tweet saw someone watching the US version of the show in which there were 14 men, one woman, and a $1,000,000 prize pot.
In the UK version of the show on Channel 4, there are 10 men and one woman, and they are all fighting for a prize pot of £100,000.
Though the UK version was successful enough to be renewed, albeit with a 50% reduction in the prize fund for season two, the US version was cancelled just three episodes into its airing.
The UK version’s second season had some incredibly famous faces behind it, with Good Place star Jameela Jamil acting as the presenter prior to her fame and Alan Carr providing the voiceover.
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While you could hope there might be a version of the show that wasn’t homophobic, unfortunately, it is, and is very problematic upon a rewatch.
The poster who drew people’s attention to the show with their viral tweet followed up by watching it and posting their thoughts, at one point saying: “Wait it got so homophobic so quickly … Damn, 2005 was a time.”
Others weighed in shocked that the show ever happened, with one replying saying: “not woke, not anti-woke, but a more confusing third thing.”
The show did succeed in one way however, it helped spawn the career of Zoe Hardman, the contestant on season one of the UK version.
Hardman’s earliest public appearance was as the female star of season one, however now works full time as a TV and Radio Presenter and hosts shows on Heart radio.
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She was fooled at the end of season one by a man, Ben, who turned out to be secretly gay and decided to still split the £100,000 with her after seeing her upset.
Some of the episodes are available to watch on YouTube – but proceed with caution as they are bonkers.