Warning: Spoilers ahead! Jewish Matchmaking — like its Netflix original counterpart Indian Matchmaking — doesn’t result in any prospective matches making it past a few dates. The record of success is as abysmal as the original show about professional matchmaking as well as Netflix’s ironically named dating show Perfect Match. It’s left fans wondering just how real Netflix’s latest reality TV show is. Is Jewish Matchmaking fake? Here are all the clues the show isn’t as kosher as it portrays itself. There are definitely some staged and scripted aspects to the show to unravel.
Is Jewish Matchmaking Fake? Story Writers & Editors Point To Show’s Scripted & Staged Side
A simple way to check if a reality TV show is partially scripted is to look at the credits at the end of an episode. In the case of Jewish Matchmaking, three story producers and a story associate producer worked on shaping the narratives of the show. On top of that, seven editors worked on cutting the footage to tell certain storylines from each date.
On top of that, casting company Novel Casting House received sole credit for picking the cast of Jewish Matchmaking. Whether some of matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom‘s own organic clients also appeared on the show doesn’t remain clear. But Novel Casting House finding cast members means the authenticity of some singles is lost. When individuals are approached to be on a reality TV show their motivations for starring on the show may be to clout chasing over truly wanting to find love.
A suggestion for producers: pick current clients who already hired Aleeza or other matchmakers in order to get people sincerely devoted to the process. TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé — at least in the first seasons of the show — picked romantic couples already looking for nonimmigrant visas for fiancés. Sure, some 90 Day Fiancé couples ended in trainwrecks, but at least the show has some successful couples. Furthermore, if Jewish Matchmaking participants don’t have to pay Aleeza’s matchmaking fees, like they don’t have to pay Sima Taparia’s fees on Indian Matchmaking, they aren’t financially invested either. Another sign they don’t care about the supposedly desired outcome of finding a soulmate.
Also, stop constantly setting up singles who live thousands of miles away from each other!
Noah responding to a question about if he’d go back on Jewish Matchmaking again (Instagram).
Clues Some Jewish Matchmaking Cast Members Likely Signed Up To Clout Chase
Criticism here doesn’t mean Jewish Matchmaking isn’t also partly real. Some cast members were earnest in trying to find the one. Noah Dreyfuss comes to mind. “I’m not seeking fame or to be an actor. I’m usually a private person,” he said on Instagram. Noah’s not sure if he’d go on the show again, and mentioned a lot gets edited out.
Noah saying the show is heavily edited (Instagram).
That said, some cast members didn’t look to be taking the process seriously, at all. Marketing professional and entrepreneur Harmonie Krieger looked to love the lime light. She didn’t really give her suitors much of a chance despite wanting to get pregnant in her mid forties. She also didn’t follow any of Aleeza’s guidance. To be fair, though, the guys she got set up with weren’t her typical unrealistic-in-a-life-partner type.
Then there was Dani Berger promoting her Hectic hat line on the show. Although she seemed a lot more serious than her dating partner David Behar. The fact he asked her for some pre-shabbat action on camera alone suggests it was a canned line for the show. Dani’s on-camera obliviousness to the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews also looked staged for a gentile audience.
Cast member Ori Basly’s shallowness also landed him in the unserious category of Jewish Matchmaking cast.
Ok so I like Jewish matchmaking but *realistically* as an Israeli-American who is fully and completely bilingual I would never speak English if I were on a date with an Israeli. It would just feel unnatural. So I can tell that Ori’s date is staged for the purpose of the show
— daniel ????? ?????? ? (@danielmatthew97) May 5, 2023
Jewish writers were also disappointed with how much of the show’s Judaism was glossed over. Hebrew terms like minyan, daven maariv, mezuzah, tfilllin, High Holidays, shabbat and kosher were never explained adequately.
Let’s hope Netflix makes some changes to weed out unserious cast member candidates for Jewish Matchmaking season 2. Fans will then stop questioning if Jewish Matchmaking is fake. Hey, maybe fans will even get to root for a couple that makes it to the chuppah.
