TV-MA, 2022
WISE Score
A relationship-wrecking ball disguised as a social experiment where couples date other people to 'save' their romance. Spoiler: it’s a mess.
This show is a absolute bin fire. It takes fragile, strained relationships and throws them into a meat grinder of jealousy and 'trial marriages' for the sake of Netflix engagement numbers.
It’s not just bad TV; it’s actively stressful to watch. If you’re looking for something that actually explores love or human connection, look literally anywhere else. This is the definition of bottom-tier reality content.
This is strictly for older teens and adults who have the media literacy to recognize this is scripted, exploitative junk. Anyone younger will just be confused or distressed by the toxicity.
The entire premise is built on emotional instability, jealousy, and testing partners by encouraging them to date and live with other people. It's the opposite of emotionally healthy.
It follows the standard, tired reality TV dating formula. There is zero creative exploration or originality here—just recycled drama tropes.
While not 'dangerous' for adults, it features heavy alcohol use, sexual tension, and toxic emotional outbursts. It’s definitely not something you want a kid stumbling upon.
It offers very little in the way of ethical or personal growth. It’s essentially 'brain rot' that prioritizes exploitation over insight.
The Ultimatum is what happens when a streaming giant realizes that watching people fall in love is fine, but watching them implode is profitable. This isn't a dating show. It is a hostage situation where the ransom is a wedding ring. If you thought the "social experiment" veneer of other reality hits was thin, this show rips it off entirely.
The hook here is uniquely cruel. Couples who are already on the rocks split up, date other people from a pool of equally miserable strangers, and then move in with one of them for three weeks. The show calls this a "trial marriage," but it’s actually a choreographed way to trigger every attachment insecurity a person can have.
The 5.5 IMDb score is actually generous. Most of the runtime consists of people sitting in staged apartments, drinking out of those omnipresent cups, and trying to convince themselves that flirting with a stranger is the best way to save a five-year relationship. It is exhausting to watch. Critics gave it a 34 on Metacritic for a reason: there is no "journey" here, just a 10-part bin fire.
This series comes from the same production team behind the Love Is Blind guide, but it lacks that show’s (admittedly tiny) kernel of optimism. While the pod show at least pretends to care about soulmates, The Ultimatum is built on the idea that everyone is replaceable.
If your teen is already deep into the Netflix reality ecosystem, they’re going to find this eventually. The best way to handle it isn't to ban it, but to treat it like a forensic study of red flags. You aren't watching for the romance; you're watching to spot the gaslighting, the emotional manipulation, and the total lack of boundaries.
If you end up watching this with an older teen, play "Red Flag Bingo." The show is a goldmine for identifying toxic traits in real-time.
This isn't a show about finding "the one." It is a show about people who aren't ready for marriage being forced into a pressure cooker for our entertainment. As long as your teen knows that this is the absolute bottom of the barrel for human interaction, it’s a fascinating, if depressing, watch.
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