“Are You the One?”

The host called it the most ambitious dating show ever attempted. MTV premiered its new dating show “Are you the one” Tuesday, mixing “The Real World” with ABC’s “The Bachelor.” MTV is offering one million dollars to the winners, the biggest cash prize the network has ever offered. Ten women and ten men, who have been unlucky in love on their own, are perfectly matched through a series of compatibility tests. However, they are not told who their match is. If they can all find their matches before the end, they will win the money and perhaps find love.

Many connections were made the first and second nights, bringing couples closer than friends rather quickly. As with many of the reality shows that the network hosts, fights and drama were just as prevalent as love connections.  There was one twist to get the group comfortable with one another – the house only had one giant bed for all 20 members, ensuring a healthy level of awkwardness before the first night ended.

The first day’s challenge included selfies and snapshots introducing the more tech savvy aspects of the show to their viewers. It was a more high tech show than I had ever seen on MTV before, with its use of scanners, high-powered beams of light and fingerprinting. It appears MTV has spared no expense in hopes of wowing the viewers with these flashy items while giving them the well-known trash talking and drama.

The men and women on the show seemed to be from all walks of life. However, as they got to know each other, it was clear the one thing they had in common was the lack of know-how when it came to relationships with backgrounds from D.C. to North Dakota. The contestants remained in the dark about their true match and got no further as time went on.

When the dates were set, the host revealed the truth booth, throwing a wrench in would be lover’s plans for a swift ending. When dates are chosen beyond chemistry, the group can truly determine if the pair is a match by sending them to the booth. Then both the pair and the group can see if the relationship is a moneymaker. While this sounds foolproof, connections made before quickly turn into jealousy and anger when a pair is not a match and the group pressures the two apart for the good of the group.

Finally, the matching ceremony allowed the men and women to see how far they had gotten to the 1 million and true love. The new series left me wanting more. Teaching them to look past their general types, likes, and dislikes in order to find true love, MTV has raised the bar for dating in the new age. “Are you the one?” comes on every Tuesday at 10 pm.