What are the rules of Netflix’s The Perfect Match?

The Perfect Match is, in a nutshell, The Hunger Games of reality television. Released today on Netflix (perfect for a V-Day binge watch), the new show puts a tactical twist on the usual romantic reality show format.

The big hook? The contestants on this new show are none other than familiar faces you might recognise from other reality romps, such as Love Is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and The Ultimatum. The new series mixes these folks together under one roof like a pack of TV-star Top Trumps cards to see who can pair up to become, you guessed it, the perfect match!

Famous faces competing against each other in the name of love? Sign us up.

So while you might be gearing up to set stuck into this newest series that’s sure to bring the drama, the sun, and the bods, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know about how The Perfect Match works.

What are the rules of Netflix’s Perfect Match?

In a setting not dissimilar to Love Island, the singletons are mixed together in a picturesque Panamanian villa locale, and are aiming to couple up with someone of the opposite sex (yep, it’s all very cisgender and straight here.)

Then, once they find their match, the couples are put to the test to see which couple has the best and most meaningful connection through a series of challenges.

This is where things get really chaotic. The couple who are dubbed the ‘most compatible’ will not only win a luxury date for themselves, but they will also get the chance to bring in a new person for the contestants that they believe to be struggling with finding love. (From here on in, they are considered the ‘matchmakers’.) So, like Love Island, a new ‘bombshell’ arrives, but unlike Love Island, the winning couple get to choose the new contestant.

Working from a futuristic looking screen (which definitely gives The Hunger Games Panem vibes), they can literally click and drag players into different matches. The matchmakers will waste no time shaking things up.

After this, they can choose to break up other couples and send them on dates with the newbies that they think might suit better. Wow. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

What’s more, they can choose who the new entries are, giving the contestants a level of control in the show never before seen with the usual reality dating series format.

“The producers aren’t steering the ship,” said the series creator Chris Coelen. “If the participants choose to bring these people in or match ’em up with whoever, it’s totally up to them. That’s much more real, and it’s much more fun for them.”

Basically, the existing couples and matchmakers can utilise the format to help others find their dream match, or give into their darkest temptations and stir drama, creating a more exciting game for themselves.

How do you win The Perfect Match?

Overall, there will be 23 reality show stars who can enter the Perfect Match villa, with their entries spread out as they are brought in by the matchmakers. Any contestant that is left without a match at the end of each night will be eliminated from the show. Ouch.

But don’t forget, these contestants all have one thing in common (on top of their desire to find love). “It became very apparent that different cast members from different shows ultimately end up knowing each other,” said Coelen of the show’s concept. “They go to events together and they connect and they date, honestly. The idea was rooted in that real thing.”

The winning couple are the pair who choose to couple up on the last night, leaving whoever the remaining contestants are to leave the villa.

We can’t lie, this concept sounds primed for messy drama, and we love it.