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Today sign of the TV apocalypse: Tinder is launching a first-person scripted series called Swipe Night that will only be available from 6 p.m. to midnight on Sundays in October, is shot in vertical format by Drake’s go-to video director, and has interactive gaming elements that will factor into your dating profile.
“The level of innovation, interactivity and immersiveness in the Swipe Night adventure is unprecedented in the dating space,” Tinder CEO Elie Seidman said in the Friday morning announcement, “and we’re excited to continue experimenting with new ways to connect on the Tinder app.”
The series comes from Karena Evans, the 23-year-old director of Drake’s “In My Feelings” and “Nice for What” music videos, and writers Nicole Delaney (Big Mouth) and Brandon Zuck (Insecure). Tinder describes the story as a group of friends facing “moral dilemmas and practical choices” through an apocalyptic adventure with the viewer as a team leader making tough calls by swiping left or right.
In the six years since Netflix premiered House of Cards, distribution platforms and original shows are evolving with increasing speed. Netflix has 152 million global subscribers, and Hulu is adding subscribers even faster domestically. Free streamers Pluto TV and Tubi are growing incredibly fast. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter all have exclusive, original shows. Apple TV+ and Disney+ launch in November. HBO Max and Peacock launch in early 2020.
Rather than a move into original content as a money-maker, Tinder is using Swipe Night as a noise-maker and value-added service to drive interest and engagement. On a much smaller scale, that exactly what Amazon is doing with Prime Video, what Apple is doing with Apple TV+ and why Comcast just made its Xfinity Flex service free to broadband subscribers.
“Dating is all about connection and conversation,” Ravi Mehta, Tinder’s chief product officer said in the announcement, “and Swipe Night felt like a way to take that to the next level. Our hope is that it will encourage new, organic conversations based on a shared content experience.”
Scott Porch writes about the TV business for Decider and is a contributing writer for The Daily Beast. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottPorch.
