90 Day Fiancé

Four seasons in, I just became aware of this show's existence. After watching two episodes, I think it is mostly sad.

The concept is that individuals from the U.S., who have a long-distance relationship with people they may not have met, get engaged. When their fiancees come to the U.S. on K-1 visas, they have 90 days to get married--or they have to leave the country, by law.

The trend in dating-for-marriage shows seems to be speeding up the process. "The Bachelor" gives its participants mere weeks to make a life-long connection. "Spouse House" requires participants to become engaged or risk being evicted from the house/show. "90-day Fiancé" uses immigration law to accelerate the ticking clock for its five couples.

What really makes this concept perilous for participants is the real and obvious risk of "catfishing". It is very much like offering someone money if they get married to a person they know very little about. Yes, there are declarations of love, but viewers can clearly see that some relationships are very suspect.

In the end, viewers get train wrecks or love stories, both of which are interesting viewing. There is also plenty of drama, based on the anxieties of the participants, which viewers feel vicariously.

Some of the past seasons were really entertaining, and many of the cast members were not clout chasers as they are today. Many of the scenes today are so heavily scripted that it insults our intelligence. This may be my last season of watching. Would like to see another network take a show like this back to a natural level of real people, and real problems. Not the outwardly manufactured garbage the show is now producing.

75% of these couples don't even last, I can't even count how many times the non-american literally states they're doing it to live in america, it's painfully obvious in a lot of the couples yet these americans are too stupid to realize it. Luckily it's not ALL the couples, but most. This show can be pretty entertaining but it's infuriating to see a lot of these americans being completely used, but sometimes they need to be to wake up and realize some sexy foreigner that's half their age doesn't ACTUALLY want to be with them. Don't let this discourage you however, as obviously there are still quite a few couples that aren't using each other in some way and end up lasting at least a couple years.

I saw one episode of 90 Day Fiance by accident and i got hooked to the drama. Yes, it is overly dramatic and extra and useless, but there is something addicting too. I dont know how much of the show is written but sometimes its weird how much drama can a on couple have.

I don't review programming often. First and foremost, "reality TV" I hate to break it to y'all is mostly scripted and manipulated in post to fit the narrative the shows producers want. That being said, it's even more crazy they get these people to do it. I am in a state of bewilderment. I've never experienced a dialectic so strongly, my extreme level of embarrassment for these people walks hand in hand with my extreme level of intrigue a mix that left me uncomfortably comfortable. I've read that the subjects of these "reality" programs, do not receive compensation. (at least not from the producing network) I have thought about this more than I care to admit and I just can't figure out why anyone would participate on what is essentially a worldwide television show that makes the people participating look as bad as they do for our enjoyment. This is not a complaint however because it is unnervingly captivating. I can't shake the feeling that there couldn't possibly be this many ignorant, oblivious walking cringe emitters and its all an act... but that is another reason I ended up watching the whole damn series, because I wanted to catch them slipping and pull a Truman show gotcha.