Skip to main content

Most Are You the One? viewers agree that season 9 has been tedious, repetitive, and overall not entertaining to watch. After waiting more than three years for a new season, fans are understandably disappointed with the current competition. But where exactly has Paramount+ gone wrong with Are You the One?

Will Gagnon and Courtney Rowe ride a jet ski in 'Are You the One?' Season 9 on Paramount+. Will wears a red and gray life jacket, and Courtney wears a blue and gray life jacket.
Will Gagnon and Courtney Rowe | Gerardo Valido/MTV Entertainment

The ‘Are You the One?’ Season 9 challenges don’t give the cast a chance to build connections

First things first — the challenges in Are You the One? Season 9 are uninspired and terrible. Every competition in the show’s first six episodes has just revolved around matching contestants’ faces to something they have said. It’s boring to watch for the audience, but it also hurts the players because it doesn’t help build connections in the house.

In past seasons, the challenges often required the singles to pair up and compete together. But in season 9, the men and women switch off every week for the challenges, and they always play by themselves. So there is no relationship building, and there’s no drama surrounding picking partners.

The mysterious envelopes that contain the “results” of the challenges are also eye-roll-inducing. Why should the cast member with the lowest score get to go on a date? And why couldn’t the show utilize something more exciting than an envelope to deliver the results?

It’s possible that Are You the One?‘s new home, Paramount+, didn’t have the budget for extravagant challenges and drama-building reveals. But there had to have been a better solution than what the producers came up with for Are You the One? Season 9.

Host Kamie Crawford is lackluster

We were so excited when we learned that Kamie Crawford would host Are You the One? Season 9. Crawford is fantastic in Catfish, so we assumed her talents on that show would carry over to the reality dating series. Unfortunately, we were wrong.

Are You the One? doesn’t give Crawford a chance to shine during her interactions with the cast. She’s seemingly only there to deliver news. Sometimes, Crawford shares her opinion on the happenings in the house, but her passion doesn’t come across onscreen. Consequentially, the host appears as dull and unnecessary.

We know if Crawford was in the right environment and if Are You the One? Season 9 was better produced, we would be singing her praises. Instead, she continuously fades to the background, leaving fans without an exciting host to narrate the drama.

Related

‘Are You the One?’ Season 9 Math Spoils Which Couple Is Most Likely a Perfect Match

‘Are You the One?’ Season 8 raised expectations that season 9 has failed to meet

One of the worst things Are You the One? has ever done is given fans an outstanding, unexpected season and then follow it up with its most boring installment.

Are You the One? Season 8 was a revelation in the heteronormative world of reality television. Instead of guys only matching up with girls and vice versa, the season 8 cast was sexually fluid, meaning anyone could match up with anybody.

To make it a bit easier for them to find their perfect matches, there were only 16 contestants, which was also refreshing for viewers because it can be challenging to keep up with 20-22 singles in one house. Whereas after six episodes in season 9, there are a handful of people whose names we struggle to remember.

Overall, season 9 is a significant step down from season 8. And if producers want to regain the show’s loyal fandom, they’ll circle back to Are You the One? Come One, Come All for inspiration.

New episodes of Are You the One? Season 9 drop Wednesdays on Paramount+.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.

Best in Entertainment