Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton are the unlikely hosts of 'The Celebrity Dating Game,' but the big question is: Do they really go on a date?
The commodification of love in entertainment is a tried-and-true tradition that'll probably keep on going for as long as "the arts" exist in its current form.
And there's no shortage of shows that participate in this phenomenon.
Whether it's The Bachelor or Flavor of Love reruns, folks are more than happy to turn love into a game-show contest that equates the ultimate fulfillment our existence on this weird planet has to offer with the sensation of winning a washing machine on The Price Is Right.
The Celebrity Dating Game reboot follows a similar premise, but do participants really go on a date with the stars in the show?
'The Celebrity Dating Game': Do they really go on a date with contestants?
The biggest question folks have about The Celebrity Dating Game is whether or not the winners actually go on a date with the celebrities on the program. And the apparent answer to that is, uh, no, they don't.
That would be a premise rife with problems: What if production happened to get some obsessive über-fan who got on the show and was able to secure a date with a star?
According to USA Today, it isn't a requirement for the celebrity and the winning contestant to go on a date.
The fact that participants don't necessarily date the stars who are featured on the show is something that was criticized heavily by some reviewers who saw early episodes.
"Because first we need to address the biggest issue facing any show that gives itself the title The Celebrity Dating Game: it doesn’t feature any celebrities and nobody goes on any dates," The Guardian wrote. "Really it should just be called The Game, although that would confuse it with the David Fincher movie where Michael Douglas can’t work out whether he is participating in a piece of entertainment or actively being tortured. So maybe it is quite a good fit after all."
There's also been a lot of talk about the "awkward" pairing of hosts Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton on the program.
As The Guardian put it: "Deschanel is many things – a brilliant actor, a seasoned singer – but on the basis of the first couple of episodes, her talents don’t quite stretch to 'reading from a teleprompter without looking genuinely terrified.' Michael Bolton’s role on the show is less easy to pin down."
Season 1 of 'The Celebrity Dating Game' has featured Carmen Electra, Taye Diggs, and more!
The reboot of The Celebrity Dating Game kicked off with former Bachelorette Hannah Brown, who unfortunately was not able to find love on ABC's other dating juggernaut, The Bachelor franchise.
Other celebs have included rapper Iggy Azalea, actor Taye Diggs, former Baywatch star Carmen Electra, and original Queer Eye mentor Carson Kressley.
DANIEL COLVIN, NATHON VERDUGO, CARMEN ELECTRA
As expected, fans are obsessed with the show — even if the celebs don't end up actually dating their pick.
"Celebrity Dating Game is what I've been watching after catching up on The Bachelorette to destress... ABC knows what they're doing," one viewer tweeted before another added, "MICHAEL BOLTON: such an enchanting voice, his vocals on Jack Sparrow are great, he also kills it in the Celebrity Dating Game."
We couldn't agree more. Watch The Celebrity Dating Game Mondays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
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