Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dating Around: Brazil’ On Netflix, Which Is Just Like The American Version, But Sexier

Dating Around is in its second American season, and its appeal is obvious; we’ve all been on a million awkward first dates, some that ended well and others that ended with a hug and a cab ride. What this series does is take five of them and clip them together into a long, awkward mega-date. Now the concept has moved to São Paulo, Brazil. Will things there be any less awkward?

DATING AROUND: BRAZIL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Scenes of downtown São Paulo, then we see a woman with a fair number of tattoos sunning herself in a bathing suit.

The Gist: The woman is Elena, the first singleton to go on five first dates on Dating Around: Brazil. As we see her getting ready for the various dates, we hear voice overs from her friends saying things like “Elena is a a real show-off, and she speaks her mind”, “She doesn’t like boring relationships”, “Elena is very jealous, very possessive, but she’s afraid her crazy ways might get in her way.”

As in the American version of Dating Around: Brazil, we see the five dates Elena goes on intercut into one big, uncomfortable date, which goes from drinks to dinner to (maybe) some after-hours snogging. She picks one person with whom she goes on a second date. During the dates, they talk about which soccer team they’re fans of, and she’s very forthright about the fact that she doesn’t want someone who was already married. Despite being only 23, she’s very mature for her age, mainly because her parents had her when they were young and left her alone to fend for herself a lot during her preteen years.

She connects with three of the five guys: Gabriel, Elivelton and Roberto. Those are the three she takes to a lounge for a nightcap. But it’s fairly obvious that the connection to Roberto is the strongest, but she’s not even fazed by the fact that he’s been married twice before. When he tells her that he’s trans, she’s pleasantly surprised and intrigued, cementing the attraction even more.

Our Take: Everything we said about the American version of Dating Around when it debuted in 2019 applies to the Brazilian version (original title: O Crush Perfeito). The clipped-together dates can feel endless, with lots of uncomfortable small talk and drinking. But we loved watching which guys Elena connected with and why. And, instead of the bland guy that the American version started its series with, the Brazilian version gave us a spitfire like Elena, who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say it.

It’s interesting that, like most Brazilian versions of Netflix’s American reality shows, the people they cast are more interesting and sexier than their American counterparts, but the dates Elena went on were pretty chaste. She is looking for the right person, and she tries to corral the more aggressive of her dates, like Elivelton, who just wants to lean over and jam his tongue down her throat despite the fact that she insists on pecks only. Which is why it’s obvious that Roberto is going to get the second date, because she’s the most physical with him, especially on the car ride home.

Like with the American version, we wish we could have gotten more personal details about the people on the dates. We appreciated the fleeting moments when Elena and her dates opened up, especially when Marcus somehow managed to fit in the bomb drop that he is trans. But that’s the nature of first dates: You may open up a little bit, but most of what those dates are about is physical chemistry and common ground. Opening up is for later in the relationship.

But we’re definitely intrigued, just like we were with the American version, because we enjoy dating shows and we enjoy watching connections being made after the initial awkwardness.

Sex and Skin: Less than you’d think. First dates are not for showing off bodies. Everyone is dressed appropriately. And, like we said, Elena took pains to keep things from getting too physical.

Parting Shot: Elena meets the man she picked for a second date, waiting for him in a park. If you’ve read up to this point, you know who it likely is.

Sleeper Star: We’re happy we get to see more of São Paulo, a city we’d like to eventually visit, throughout this series.

Most Pilot-y Line: Elena tells Roberto, “You were probably gorgeous as a woman!” which we’re sure he didn’t want to hear. But he took it in stride.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Like its American version, Dating Around: Brazil should be more awkward to watch than it is. Perhaps it’s the editing, or perhaps it’s the interesting single people the producers choose. But seeing awkward first dates, in any language, is always going to be something we’re down for.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Dating Around: Brazil On Netflix