Imagine this. Your partner is taking forever to move to the next stage of the relationship by making a commitment, so you give an ultimatum. Attached to that ultimatum is the promise to ungrudgingly allow your commitment phobic lover to date other people in hopes that it will further drive the point of how much your partner will miss out on if they don’t commit.
Welp, there’s a new show delving into this very idea. The Netflix series, The Ultimatum, follows six different couples as they embark on a social experiment where they date new partners over the course of eight weeks to clarify whether they want to marry their original partners or call it quits.
Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, who have been married since 2011, the first episode shows the original partners break up and a game of relationship swinging commence. Ironically, not one person involved looks like the average American. Everyone is in actor’s best shape with perfectly coifed hair and fashion sense.
Although the pawns are wonderful to look at, it provides for an unbelievable re-enactment of what’s really going on in relationships today and is quite disappointing. In what world are the selections so extrinsically perfect and they’re right at your fingertips? In the real world, the app is king, and for wanderers who long for real human connection over a left swipe, very rare will the package check all the boxes — especially in a room with only six people to pick from.
Still, The Ultimatum is already a draw for audiences who are suffering from “Relationship Plateau,” when the evolution of a relationship comes to a standstill. Now, people can vicariously dream through the bold test dummies that so willfully risk their long-term relationships for the possibility of fresh, new love.
Is it worth the watch?
Most certainly. Standing at No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10, The Ultimatum makes for juicy entertainment with perplexing messaging that is basically leading Americans into the new era of open relationships, swinging, and/or trading up.
Let the games begin!
