Netflix Reality Endgame: ‘Perfect Match’ Cast Reflects on Every Major Moment That Paved the Way for the Ultimate Dating Show

Premiere Date: January 1, 2020
First Appearance: Joey Sasso
Major Moment(s): We see some of Joey’s game when blocked player Miranda pays him a visit on her way out. (Episode 8)

Joey Sasso: “I went into The Circle not even knowing how the game works. I was just like, ‘I’m just gonna be myself and see what happens.’ And with [Perfect Match] as well I was just like, ‘I’m gonna just go be myself, see what happens.'”

Premiere Date: February 13, 2020
First Appearance: Damian Powers, Diamond Jack, Lauren “LC” Chamblin
Major Moment(s): Barnett breaks things off with LC, Damian proposes to Giannina, and Diamond learns something about her fiancé (Episode 3) that leads to the most explosive breakup in Netflix reality up to that point (Episode 4). Not to be outdone, Giannina calls Damian bad in bed while being filmed for a Netflix television show (Episode 7).

Nick Lachey (host of Love Is Blind, The Ultimatum, Perfect Match): “I think what really appealed to me right out of the gate with Perfect Match was how different the show was from Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum. The sensibility of [Perfect Match] was so completely different. I won’t say there aren’t stakes, because there are big stakes, but you’re not standing at the altar at the end of it with friends and family waiting to see if you say, ‘I do.’ That’s a very different kind of show.”

Premiere Date: April 9, 2020
First Appearance: Ines Tazi
Major Moment(s): After landing in the Influencer spot yet again, Ines must decide who to block — and her decision will have major repercussions (Episode 8).

Premiere Date: April 17, 2020
First Appearance: Francesca Farago, Chloe Veitch
Major Moment(s): Chloe gets setup on a chaste date by a talking cone while Francesca breaks the rules by kissing Harry and Haley (Episode 2). Later, Francesca makes the most egregious rule break of the season, also with Harry (Episode 6).

Chloe Veitch: “Lana still had her hooks in us [while filming Perfect Match]. She’s traumatized us.”

Francesca Farago: “I think some of us went a little crazier [on Perfect Match]. The Too Hot to Handle crew kind of, you know…”

Chloe: “The money would have been lost on this show, for sure. No prize fund… I think the biggest thing on [Perfect Match] for me was choosing myself and putting myself first because that’s all you have to do in life, as long as you’re not hurting anyone else. In terms of love, someone’s always gonna get hurt but it’s how you handle it, and Perfect Match really strengthened my backbone to push me in competing in love but then also being a nice person about it and following my heart.”

Premiere Date: April 14, 2021
First Appearance: Mitchell Eason, Savannah Palacio
Return Appearance: Chloe Veitch
Major Moment(s): Savannah throws down with Terilisha (Episode 3), and Chloe and Mitchell strike up a digital flirtation that will eventually lead to a real relationship (Episode 6).

Chloe: “I was I was shocked to see Mitchell in the villa [on Perfect Match], especially when I was kind of in the dating scene with other guys on the show. But out of all my exes, I’m glad that Mitchell was on the show and we got to kind of tie up some loose ends.”

Mitchell Eason: “I went into [Perfect Match] like, ‘I’m just gonna be myself open the heart up and see what happens.’ I don’t know if that was the best game plan for this show, but I think it was the best game plan for myself in my life and my heart, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Premiere Date: June 30, 2021
First Appearance: Chase DeMoor
Major Moment(s): Right as he’s on the verge of an mature, emotional breakthrough, a cockroach lands on Chase’s forehead (Episode 4).

Premiere Date: July 21, 2021
First Appearance: Kariselle Snow
Major Moment(s): Kariselle the Panda tries to find love… while… wearing elaborate panda makeup (Episode 3). BTW — did y’all know that Joey and Kariselle dated for a minute prior to appearing together on Perfect Match?

Joey (re: Kariselle) “It was lovely to have old connections come back into your life and say, ‘I’m just gonna trust my heart, see where this takes me’ — and it was a wild ride, man. It’s a very wild ride.”

Premiere Date: July 28, 2021
Return Appearance: Damian Powers, Francesca Farago, Lauren “LC” Chamblin, Diamond Jack
Major Moment(s): Damian brings his new “friend” (?) Francesa to an anniversary party as a date while he’s still kind of with Giannina (?!) and also LC gets into a fight with Amber about COVID safety (Love Is Blind Season 1, Episode 13).

Francesca: “I did not know for sure that [Damian] was going to be [on Perfect Match], but I had a feeling that one person that I had dated was going to be there. I’m just really thankful that it wasn’t my more serious ex because I was sweating when I thought it was going to be him. So I’m glad it was Damian, to be honest.”

Premiere Date: September 8, 2021
First Appearance: Nick Uhlenhuth, Calvin Crooks
Major Moment(s): “Daddy Nick” flirts with Ashley (Episode 4). Upon his exit, blocked player Calvin bestows a special ability on his Circle ally Nick. It involves a ghost hunter (Episode 7).

Premiere Date: December 10, 2021
First Appearance: Abbey Humphreys
Major Moment(s): Abbey confronts Kamari about making out with someone in front of her after they hooked up (Episode 5). Later, Abbey confronts Kamari again (even though she ended their friends with benefits thing) and explores her bisexuality (Episode 11).

Premiere Date: December 15, 2021
First Appearance: Anne-Sophie Petit-Frere, Colony Reeves
Major Moment(s): Colony and Anne-Sophie’s friendship and professional partnership is tested by a surprising offer (Episode 3), which leads them to have a serious discussion about their dynamic. Tears are shed! (Episode 7)

Anne-Sophie Petit-Frere: “[Going from a career-focused series to a dating series] was very challenging for me. It actually pushed me a little bit and it helped me open up a different side of myself. Typically I’m a very private person, so I think the audience is going to be shocked to see another side of me. And it pushed me to be vulnerable, something that I have sometimes struggled with… Maybe [next] Netflix can give me my own version of The Bachelorette. I want all the men. I want to be able to choose from them. I don’t want to compete for the men. I want the men to compete for me.”

Premiere Date: January 19, 2022
First Appearance: Georgia Hassarati, Izzy Fairthorne
Major Moment(s): Georgia and Izzy make the first rule break of the season by sharing a kiss not even 10 minutes after learning they’re on Too Hot to Handle (Episode 1). Later, Patrick gives Georgia the best serenade in THTH history (Episode 2).

Georgia Hassarati: “I think it took a while for [the Too Hot to Handle cast] to get used to [being able to hook up on Perfect Match]. I felt like it was a little bit foreign from the first experience… I think it’s always gonna be awkward when we’re all in the one house there’s only a select amount of people to choose from to get to know. There’s always going to be some overlapping but you just kind of have to do what’s best for you in the most respectful way to everyone else, because we’re all [on Perfect Match] to find someone.”

Premiere Date: February 11, 2022
First Appearance: Shayne Jansen
Major Moment(s): Shayne and Natalie experience the highs and lows of paradise (Episode 5) and their relationship comes to an end at the altar (Episode 10).

Nick: “Obviously, you come in [to Perfect Match] with a history with some of those people, but it was equally cool to get to meet all the new people who I’d never met before. Do you secretly kind of hope that Shayne finds somebody after the way he was left at the altar? Yes. There’s probably a part of me that was secretly rooting for him, but I also don’t get involved in any of that. It was a lot of fun to see how it all played out. When you build a history with people, especially on a show like Love Is Blind, which is so emotional and has such stakes, you develop a certain fondness for them.”

Premiere Date: April 6, 2022
First Appearance: Zay Wilson
Major Moment(s): Zay and his new partner Shanique experience an entire relationship’s worth of highs and lows in one episode (Episode 5).

Premiere Date: October 7, 2022
First Appearance: Will Richardson, Dom Gabriel
Major Moment(s): Dom’s initial trust in Will is shaken by a revelation (Episode 1) and later, a mission leaves Dom with major trust issues (Episode 4). Will hints that he may actually be Thor during one of the most physically demanding challenges of the season (Episode 9).

Dom Gabriel: “My first show gave me trust issues. [Perfect Match] didn’t make it any better. It was very difficult. I think on The Mole, my strategy obviously didn’t work out. I was the naive, nice one, which I think worked to my benefit on [Perfect Match].”

Joey: “I would never do The Mole. I love watching The Mole. I would do awful on The Mole. Here’s the thing: I can show up, I can talk to people, [but] those challenges are hard. It takes a lot of skill, a lot of brainpower. I don’t have that in my wheelhouse. I’m man enough to admit it.”

Mitchell: “I think it would be so fun to do all the different challenges. I’m in sales so I feel like I’d kill the brain stuff, the mental stuff. I’d also kill the challenges and I think that if I can ferk around and do The Mole, that’s the show I would do.”

Georgia: “I feel like The Mole would be so fun. That looked really cool. They traveled to so many cool locations. I think a challenge-based show would be really cool to try.”

Premiere Date: October 19, 2022
First Appearance: Bartise Bowden
Major Moment(s): Bartise has a rough first meeting with Nancy’s family (Episode 6), Nancy has a rough first meeting with Bartise’s family (Episode 7), and then things fall apart at the altar (Episode 11).

Premiere Date: February 14, 2023
Return Appearance: 23 Netflix reality TV all stars
Major Moment(s): Uh, all of them?!

Joey: “The thing that’s been cool about being in the Netflix circle, so to speak, is we’re all pretty much friends with each other, but we didn’t know who was going to be [on Perfect Match].”

Francesca: “I definitely knew of a few people going in just by what we’re seeing on social media. I noticed Georgia in the same [kind of] hotel room as me and I was like, ‘Oh, wait, I think she’s doing it.’ But basically 80% of the cast I was super shocked about because Netflix was good at keeping it under wraps.”

Anne-Sophie: “I had did a little bit of homework and watched a few of the shows to figure out who might be on the show, and some of the guys that I did want to be on the show didn’t end up being on the show — but I’ll talk about it with Netflix later.”

Joey: “I was just so overstimulated with everyone that was there I couldn’t imagine anyone else being there besides the cast that we had. Everyone really showed up and just brought 100% of themselves.”

Nick: “[Perfect Match] definitely has a more lighthearted feel to it. We have compatibility challenges in every episode, which are a lot of fun, and the cast is just a different sensibility. I was able to be a lot more involved with the cast, which was great. There were times where I was a little bit of sounding board. Every time they’d see me, they didn’t know what I was bringing to the table in terms of a challenge or a curveball.”

Chloe: “I just want to get married! I’m done with all the dating shows. Now I just want to get married. I want to go on Love Is Blind and just pursue my career in acting and settle down.”

New episodes of Perfect Match premiere on Tuesdays on Netflix