HBO Max’s reality-dating competition 12 Dates Of Christmas gifts queer romance in new trailer
Bringing your significant other home to meet the family is usually not the best way to kick off a relationship—maybe after a few months or so. But nobody ever let an impulsive idea ever get in the way of a reality TV show, so HBO Max will soon offer us 12 Dates Of Christmas, in which three contestants search for the perfect person/relative stranger to take home for the holidays. In this “rom-com come to life,” lucky Faith, Chad, and Garrett get to move into a fairy-tale castle in Austria while they evaluate their dating options. Best of all, in the overwhelmingly heteronormative world of reality-show dating, Garrett is gay, so he has his own line of suitors to choose from. Also, 12 Dates appears to be marginally less white than these types of shows usually are, and Chad is Black (The Bachelor will finally have its first Black Bachelor, Matt James, in the show’s next season).
Naturally, complications quickly ensue as Faith, Chad, and Garrett enjoy activities and events like skiing, lots of hot-tub hangouts, an ugly sweater party, even a masquerade ball to help them rank their dating partners. From the looks of things in the trailer, you’ll see the usual elimination ceremonies and contestant-sniping. At the end will be the ultimate test: leaving the castle to head home for the holidays and see how their new loves get along with the relatives. Then, says HBO Max, “they must decide whether to commit or walk away forever by the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.” Cinderella-themed drama!
HBO Max will drop the first three episodes on Thanksgiving, followed by three more episodes on December 3, and the final two on December 10. As most of us are facing a lonely, socially distanced holiday this year, the chance to spy on some picturesque winter romance seems pretty enticing. Plus, 12 Days is narrated by Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell, and executive produced by Sam Dean, showrunner of Netflix’s Love Is Blind, and lord knows we gobbled that reality dating series up as quickly as we possibly could.
Check out HBO Max’s trailer for 12 Dates Of Christmas below.