Netflix Reality Show is Sparking New Interest in Matchmaking

Image: Netflix

Netflix launched its latest dating reality TV show Jewish Matchmaking in May, and it’s already sparking new interest among young singles to try the age-old practice.

According to Jewish Unpacked, matchmaking is ancient but gets a fresh new look on the Netflix series, hosted by Aleeza Ben Shalom, Dating Coach and Matchmaker. One of the contestants is content creator Cindy Seni (who has also hosted videos for Unpacked), who was contacted by the production team to audition.

“I was making a lot of reels about being single,” Seni told Unpacked. “So I was sent an email, and then I just applied as a joke at the beginning, because I had just gotten out of a relationship. And I was like, Well, why not? You know, if someone’s gonna find me a husband, it’s going to be Netflix.” 

Alyssa Lezerrovici, another contestant on the show, had not considered matchmaking, but when she first heard about the show through a matchmaker who worked with Ben Shalom, her interest was piqued. 

“I never would have thought that I would do something like [using a matchmaker],” Lezerrovici told Unpacked. “But the opportunity came up and I was like, why not? I’ve been trying dating for so long, and it never works out.” She also pointed out that she’d dated for long periods of time and wouldn’t find incompatibilities until far down the line, which to her was a waste of valuable time. “So I decided to accept this unusual way of dating,” she concluded. “And I hoped for the best.”

The producers of the show were behind the hit series Indian Matchmaking.

Ben Shalom is a native of Philadelphia but now lives in Pardes Hanna, Israel. For the eight episodes of the show, she travels back and forth between the U.S. and Israel to meet with perspective clients, set up matches, and also coach them through the dating process. (Some contestants need more help than others.)

“The Jewish world, I think, is on the one hand, very small, but very interconnected – it’s a very close-knit web,” Ben Shalom told The Times of Israel.

There are varying degrees of religious devotion among contestants on the show, with some who have never dated anyone Jewish or don’t attend services regularly, to those who are Orthodox or extremely devout, and who sought advice and counsel from their rabbis before participating in the show.

According to The Times of Israel, Ben Shalom also hopes that the show will reach non-Jewish viewers, and help them see that “Jewish people, Judaism is beautiful,” and there is “something to look at, respect and feel positive towards.”