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This is spoiler-free review of ‘Stand Bi Me’, for the final couples click here.
From the creators of South Korean LGBTQ+ dating shows ‘His Man’ and ‘ToGetHer’ comes ‘Stand Bi Me’, and the premise is exactly what the title suggests: bisexual men and women spend seven days together in the hopes of finding a romantic partner.
When the teaser for ‘Stand Bi Me’ first dropped, it looked like a recipe for disaster. Especially since both ‘ToGetHer’ and ‘His Man Season 4’ were surrounded by controversy, with the latter being re-shot in its entirety because of issues involving a contestant. Unsurprisingly, the teaser’s comment section quickly filled with skeptical viewers questioning whether some participants might simply pretend to be bisexual for screen time and social media clout.
Then again, that’s a risk every dating show inevitably takes. We now live in an era where even romantic comedies like ‘The Wrong Paris’ poke fun at the genre, with its protagonist signing up for a Bachelor-style reality show in hopes of winning money for art school. The possibility of contestants chasing fame rather than love has become part of the package.
Anyway, the first few episodes of ‘Stand Bi Me’ give the show an entertaining head-start if you compare it to some of the shows that inspired it. Episode 1 introduces three pairs of contestants on one-on-one dates, with the producers revealing via the show’s phone that they have been matched by AI using answers from a questionnaire they filled out beforehand.
The amusing part is that the same-gender pairings seem to hit it off almost immediately, while the one man-woman date is about as romantic as a LinkedIn networking event. Watching contestants flirt, hesitate, and bounce between potential connections regardless of gender gives the show an unpredictability that many dating series lack. Although as more episodes roll in, the small number of contestants – just eight of them – starts to prove that the dating pool is too limited, and the six days length also isn’t enough. Obviously, maybe 2 months like Netflix’s dating show ‘The Boyfriend’ would be too much, but they should definitely consider stretching the timeline to two weeks.
The contestants are an attractive bunch, and the show cleverly prevents them from revealing their ages or professions during their first meetings, forcing them to judge one another purely on vibes and conversation. A few of them look like they walked straight out of a K-pop music video, and one particularly adorable young man has already emerged as the house favourite. By the end of the second episode of ‘Stand Bi Me’, practically everyone, men and women alike, has spent part of their confessional gushing about how attractive he is.
Format-wise, ‘Stand Bi Me’ doesn’t reinvent the wheel. The contestants live together for a week, flirt, date, play games, nurse crushes, and inevitably overthink each move before choosing who they’d like to walk away with at the end. Their shared residence is aptly named “Bi-Live,” a postcard-worthy house complete with manicured gardens, plenty of greenery, peaceful zen corners, and the obligatory reality-TV swimming pool, which will almost certainly become the backdrop for future drama.
My biggest complaint is the small cast size, especially since the 14 episodes are more than an hour long! Eight contestants feels a little small for a concept this ambitious. Give me ten or twelve people and the resulting chaos would be glorious. Netflix dating shows like ‘Love Is Blind’ often begin with around 30 participants, so expecting at least 12 participants isn’t a big ask.
Watch ‘Stand Bi Me’ on Wavve or iQIYI.
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