Dating in the Dark USA is an American reality dating game show produced by Endemol USA along with Talpa Content and based on the original Dutch series Daten in het Donker, in which three single men and three single women move into a light-tight house, getting to know each other and forming bonds in total darkness.
The series aired in the USA on ABC from 20 July, 2009 to 13 September, 2010. There are 12 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
Dating in the Dark USA originally aired in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel from 1 September, 2011 to 6 September, 2012. It later aired on DStv's BBC Lifestyle channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Lifestyle on Sunday 7 April 2013, at 18h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are six episodes in the second and final season.
Synopsis
Is it possible to fall in love with someone you have spoken to intimately, whom you have touched, perhaps even tasted... but whom you have never actually seen?
That is the key question posed in Dating in the Dark USA, a revealing experiment in which three men and three women try to find a partner by looking with their hearts.
Never before have singles been given the opportunity of meeting and interacting for such a prolonged period without actually seeing one another.
Hosted by Rossi Morreale, Dating in the Dark USA is a sexy social experiment asking the age-old question, "Is Love Blind?"
Each week three new single men and three new single women, all looking for love, will live in separate wings of a house and remain totally sequestered from the opposite sex.
While they'll have no chance of seeing each other in the light, they will have the opportunity to date in a completely dark room. The participants won't be able to see anything, but the audience will get to see everything first hand with the help of high-tech infrared cameras.
After several days of wooing, kissing and snuggling in complete darkness, the participants will select one of their dates to be revealed in the light.
And after they see each other for the first time, they'll have to make the ultimate decision: to stay with the person they fell for in the dark, or to move on.
Seasons
Season 1 (6 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 1 Sep 2011 | Finale: 6 Oct 2011 | Thursdays, 20h00
Channel: BBC Lifestyle | Premiere: 4 Mar 2012 | Finale: 8 Apr 2012 | Sundays, 19h00
Season 2 (6 episodes)
Channel: BBC Entertainment | Premiere: 2 Aug 2012 | Finale: 6 Sep 2012 | Thursdays, 21h00
Channel: BBC Lifestyle | Premiere: 7 Apr 2013 | Finale: 12 May 2013 | Sundays, 18h00