Apple TV is taking an unexpected swing. The streamer known for its prestige, critically-acclaimed and award-winning content is moving ahead with its first dating show, titled “The Last Person on Earth.”
Described as an eight-episode dating documentary series, the show will feature couples therapist and bestselling author Esther Perel. The show will pair people who appear to be complete opposites in an attempt to challenge them to look beyond their typical dating checklist. Perel and a team of matchmakers and therapists will then guide the couples as they embark on an adventure in one of the world’s most romantic and remote destinations. Using social isolation and polarization, the experiment asks if the person someone least expects to date can become the person they can’t live without.
“Over the course of my career as a couples therapist, one truth has become undeniable: love may crave closeness, but desire is fueled by otherness,” said Perel. “‘The Last Person on Earth’ is a bold exploration of relationships that challenges everything we assume about compatibility, inviting people to drop the checklist and embrace dating as an adventure into the unknown. When we choose to step outside the narrow boundaries of what feels familiar or safe, passionate love stories can flourish.”
Though Apple TV has produced many documentaries in the past, the streamer typically shies away from reality TV, and it has never aired a dating show before. “The Last Person on Earth” may sound a bit like Apple’s version of “Love Is Blind,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple TV is going full reality slop. Showtime’s long-running “Couples Therapy” is an excellent example of a dating documentary series that always lends respect to its subjects and elevates the conversation around dating and relationships while still remaining compelling. “The Last Person on Earth” seems like it will go more in that direction than “Love Island.”
The series comes from Boldprint Studios and is executive produced by Dan Gray, Lou Hutchinson and Phil Harris, with series director Josh Jacobs. Olly Lambert also serves as director on the series.
