Format

Armoza Formats, part of ITV Studios, has today announced the commission of dating show Date in Reverse in South Africa. The local adaptation is set to air on the Afrikaans-language lifestyle channel VIA.

Created by Volley Formats, Shenhar Productions Ltd. and Daniella Slavik, Date in Reverse (60’) offers a unique twist on the dating genre. Each week, two singles looking for love will get to know each other by experiencing a relationship’s most meaningful milestones – but in reverse. In just one day the couple will move backward through major life events – from the marital bed to the wedding reception, from the first family get-together to the first weekend getaway – affording them a rare opportunity to peek into their future and avoid wasting time with the wrong person. At the end of it all, each couple will decide whether or not they’re willing to show up for their “first date.”

Izelle Venter, Channel Head at VIA, “The whole world has gone mad for dating-as-social-experiment formats and so have we. We’ve been playing around with the idea of sinking our teeth into a big, new dating format and when we stumbled upon ‘Date in Reverse, we fell in love almost instantly. Relationships and dating is part of our DNA and ‘Date in Reverse’ ticked several boxes for us. Not only does it speak to global viewers current fascination with “dating experiments” but it is also conducive to lean TV production – which is something we aim for with all of our shows.”

Louise Melzack, Senior Sales Director of APAC, Nordics, GSA, GB & Africa at Armoza Formats, “We are thrilled to be working on a South African adaptation of ‘Date in Reverse’ with our fantastic partners at VIA. Following the success of 3 seasons of ‘Marry Me Now’, VIA is a great fit for this unique dating format and we look forward to seeing many more versions around the world.”