A ’90 Day Fiance’ Dating Show Could Be TLC’s Next Big Spin-Off

There’s nothing TLC seems to love more than releasing a new 90 Day Fiancé spin-off. There’s 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, and now 90 Day: The Last Resort. Quantity over quality isn’t always a recipe for success, but in this case, TLC’s approach has continued to expand the reality franchise and its revenue. We’ve seen OG couples fight to stay together, while others navigate messy divorces on the spin-off shows. Different cast members have also tried their hand at dating each other, which doesn’t end up smoothly (but does make for great drama).

It likely won’t be long before TLC announces another spin-off to capitalize on the success of 90 Day Fiancé, but why not try something new? While sticking to the same format has worked so far – where multiple couples are followed on independent storylines – it may be time to try something new. The franchise doesn’t seem to be suffering, so TLC can take the risk without worrying it’ll sink everything. And given how many stars 90 Day Fiancé has produced, and how many seem eager to date each other, a dating series seems like the perfect way to expand the beloved franchise. Here’s why.

A Dating Spin-Off Is A Recipe For Success

TLC is pretty much guaranteed a successful spin-off if it produces a 90 Day Fiancé dating shows, for several key reasons. For one, as mentioned, the franchise is hugely successful. Many viewers are aching for more episodes to binge-watch, so a dating spin-off wouldn’t suffer from viewership.

Moreover, TLC should pick from former cast members rather than new folks. The 90 Day franchise has gotten criticism for casting people who’re interested in fame, not love. But this spin-off would avoid that issue since clout chasers are exactly what this type of show needs to bring the drama. While it’d be a nice touch to see the contestants find love, people tuning into this spin-off would be there for the familiar characters more than anything.

A spin-off could capitalize on the popularity of fan favorites, which will draw in viewership even more. Fans love to hate on Big Ed, but there’s no denying fans would love to see him embarrass himself on another spin-off. Big personalities like Jasmine and Natalie are currently single, so they’d keep the drama going on a show exploring them dating. We’ve already seen other networks do this, like Netflix’s Perfect Match, which throws a bunch of contestants from Netflix reality shows together to find love – it became an immediate success.

A ’90 Day Fiance’ Dating Series It Needs To Be Different Than ‘The Single Life’

To be fair, there’s already 90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life, which explores former contestants as they try to date. But what this spin-off would do differently is actually set up contestants. It could be similar to Love Island or The Ultimatum, where the stars have a chance to all date each other to start, and then they build those connections over the seasons. Contestants could be forced to participate in challenges that test their romantic connections, helping to create the drama that the 90 Day Fiancé franchise has become known for.

No one going into (or watching) this spin-off would expect the contestants to find their soul mate. We’re here for the drama. But most dating shows are like that nowadays. While some naïve contestants on Love is Blind or The Bachelor may think they can find true love, for others, it’s part of a career opportunity. But viewers love eating this content up, which is why networks like Netflix keep pushing out tons of dating-style shows. We know TLC loves its spin-offs, so to keep current with the times and trends, putting out a 90 Day Fiancé dating show seems like a logical move. So long as the show delivers the drama viewers crave, then it’s destined to succeed.

90 Day Fiance can be streamed on Discovery+.

Stream on DIscovery+