My Mum, Your Dad: The ITV Reality Show That's Getting Better Reviews than Love Island

Publish date: 2024-08-31

Is My Mum, Your Dad the reality dating show we've all been waiting for?

Most dating shows follow a pretty standard format. Producers select a group of young (and usually stereotypically attractive) people who are ‘looking for love’ (and definitely not a Pretty Little Thing deal!) and throw them together in a house or a villa where they are left to flirt, fall in love, betray each other and generally give us all some very juicy drama.

Well, there's a new dating show in town — and you may be surprised to hear that it strays from the typical formula in some pretty exciting ways. Introducing ITV's latest reality TV offering: My Mum, Your Dad.

Once billed as a “middle-aged Love Island,” the show features older singles along with their adult children, presenting us with an idea that is shockingly refreshing for reality TV: that you're never too old for love.

So far, just two episodes of the new show have aired on ITV — but already, it has garnered critical acclaim and a whole lot of new fans. Want to learn more about the show that is being heralded as “better than Love Island” and “the best reality series of the year”?

Here is everything we know about My Mum, Your Dad so far.

What is My Mum, Your Dad?

My Mum, Your Dad is ITV's latest reality dating show. The show's premise is pretty simple: a group of single, middle-aged people live together in a villa, while their grown-up children watch their progress from a remote location.

The kids then have to compete in challenges to help their parents on their quest for love.

The show is hosted by Davina McCall of The Masked Singer and Big Brother fame, no less.

What are people saying about My Mum, Your Dad so far?

So far, the reviews for the new dating show have been pretty glowing.

One reviewer from The Guardian gushed that the show was the first of its kind to feel real and complicated: “Unlike Love Island, humiliation and hate-watching are not the goals here. Unlike the usual contestants, these people have real stories, real baggage and, as a consequence – get this! – real emotions.”

Viewers are also already hooked.

My mum your Dad. Loving this programme, what a good idea and I hope they make more of these in the future... #MyMumYourDad," one fan tweeted.

"I love ‘trash’ tv but I have a feeling My Mum Your Dad will be more meaningful. Its so good to see mature people given the chance to fall in love. We may be a bit saggy in places but we still want "the one" #MyMumYourDaduk #DavinaMcCall," wrote another.

Well, we will definitely be tuning in!

However, there is already some controversy around My Mum, Your Dad

Of course, there are a few criticisms of the show. One of the big ones is that the premise involves the younger generation watching their parents date and even receive therapy sessions.

For one thing, this means the parents aren't given much agency.

“The show’s producers appear to have mistaken the middle-aged contestants for helpless geriatrics who can no longer be trusted to boil a kettle, let alone make decisions about who they’d like to date,” wrote a reviewer for the Independent. The reviewer added, “This is a series about middle age as seen through the eyes of youngsters, complete with the ruthless judgment and misplaced embarrassment that comes with that.”

Fans have also voiced their discomfort at the bizarre kids-watch-their-parents-get-therapy structure of the show.

“Not overly comfortable with last night's My Mum Your Dad,” one viewer tweeted. “The kids shouldn't have watched their parents opening their hearts in therapy, without them knowing. I had therapy last year and it helped a lot but there has to be trust and honesty. This was wrong.”

“Just seen @MyMumYourDadUK. What a nightmare for the children to watch /spy on their parents having psychological counselling! Who’s counselling them?? #MyMumYourDad,” wrote another.

After all, a therapy session should be a place where you can open up to a trained professional about everything that is on your mind without fear of being judged or overheard by the people who are close to you.

While it's great to see middle-aged romance get some time in the spotlight, perhaps producers can start giving their older contestants a little more agency — and maybe, a little more privacy, too? We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Is there a trailer for My Mum, Your Dad?

There certainly is. The trailer introduces us to the middle aged contestants, many of whom haven't been on a date in decades. It also teases some very real conversations about finding love in middle age — and we are so here for it!

Where can I watch My Mum, Your Dad?

Luckily, you won't need to wait to start bingeing My Mum, Your Dad — the first episode of the show dropped on ITV on September 11. New episodes air every Monday-Friday at 9pm on ITV and are available to stream on ITVX shortly after. The entire series will last two weeks, so it's a much shorter commitment than the likes of Love Island (which might just sway you)!