Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Modern matchmaking experiment makes marriage a surprise.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Married at First Sight
What's the Story?
MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT is a reality series featuring couples participating in a radical social experiment about marriage and relationships. Six singles who have done everything to find love are paired by a team of experts, including clinical psychologist Dr. Joseph Cilona, sociologist Dr. Pepper Schwartz, sexologist Dr. Logan Levkoff, and Greg Epstein, a spiritual advisor, to someone they believe will be their ideal partner. Once they're matched, they legally marry their new partner. The catch? The couples don't see each other until the moment they exchange vows. Cameras then follow them for six weeks as they get to know each other. They also go on a honeymoon and try to build a relationship that takes them from strangers to a bonded couple. Throughout the process they check in with experts to share their experiences and receive advice and guidance. At the end of the experiment, each couple must decide if they want to remain married or get a divorce.
Is It Any Good?
The series puts a modern spin on the concept of arranged marriage and offers a voyeuristic-but-interesting look at the work that goes into building a lasting relationship. It also offers some surprisingly thoughtful moments, which reveal how people come to know themselves and understand what may keep them from having healthy relationships.
Viewers will be skeptical about the plausibility of meeting someone after you marry them, and others may find the awkwardness surrounding the process uncomfortable. There's not a lot of romance here, either. Nonetheless, it's a thoughtful, albeit unorthodox, approach to understanding the effort that has to go into relationships to find real love.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about arranged marriages. Why do people agree to them? Do they work out? Did you know that in some cultures arranged marriages are very common? How has the media portrayed the practice over the years?
TV Details
- Premiere date : July 8, 2014
- Cast : Pepper Schwartz , Logan Levkoff , Joseph Cilona
- Network : A&E
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate