For a lot of us, ‘Reality Shows’ are all about nasty fights, rivalries, loud emotions, anger, animosity and high drama. Especially those based on relationships. But Korea’s first gay dating themed reality series turned out to be anything but a slice of the usual. Titled ‘His Man’, the show is eleven episodes long and stars eight eligible bachelors looking for love. The show begins with just six men, each randomly paired with the other to go on a first blind date, before they can meet all the participants in the house where they are expected to spend a week together. Whoever finds a mutual match in the end, gets to walk away with their man.
The men are all so well-behaved and reserved, one begins to wonder if they were given some sort of memo by the producers with a ‘DOs & DON’Ts’ list. Or maybe since being openly gay in Korea isn’t easy, perhaps each member felt the burden of representing the queer community positively on TV. There was one poignant episode, where all the eight men sit in a circle together and share how easy or difficult it had been to ‘come out’ to their family/friends.
Just seven days is obviously two less for anybody to make lasting connections, and almost all the men have their eyes set on the same guy through the show, which makes the series quite mundane at parts. Two of the most good-looking men get most of the attention, even though each contestant is visually attractive in their own way. With the way things unfold, ‘His Man’ could’ve been on the lines of dating shows where all contestants fight for the love of one person (like ‘The Bachelor’).
While some viewers suspect the entire thing was scripted, there isn’t a lot going on if a ‘script’ did exist, because the members are quite awkward and shy around each other. If the producers could have mustered up a bigger budget for a longer show with more contestants, things could’ve been a lot more entertaining. But for its sheer novelty factor, ‘His Man’ makes for an interesting enough watch.
It’s a 7/10 from me.