Winter is quickly approaching here in the United States, but that’s not stopping what might be the hottest new dating show from landing on our shores.
A new Hong Kong TV show will chronicle 10 men in their 20s and 30s from a variety of professional backgrounds vying for love, according to Singapore newspaper The Straits Times. The show is called Boyscation, and it will air in November on TVB’s J2 channel. Filming has reportedly begun, and Vinci Wong, an actor and LGBTQ+ advocate, is set to host and produce the series.
Wong, who appeared in the 2015 same-sex romance Utopia, came out in 2013 before marrying his long-term boyfriend three years later. The 51-year-old hopes Boyscation will send a positive message to Hong Kong’s LGBTQ+ community, which often struggles for visibility.
“I hope there will be more channels for the younger generation to express themselves and that more people will understand the community,” Wong told the Chinese-language newspaper Oriental Daily News, in comments cited by The Straits Times. “I hope to do my part to help the community since I have the opportunity, experience, time and resources.”
Boyscation is part of a notable push for LGBTQ+ focused dating shows in recent years. Among the first was Bravo’s Boy Meets Boy, which aired in 2003 and drew controversy for its twist: Of the 15 potential suitors, the pool included both straight and gay men, unbeknownst to its leading man. The years since have seen LOGO’s Finding Prince Charming and Netflix’s Dating Around.
Although these shows have found some success, adding LGBTQ+ contestants to an already existing dating show has proven a harder sell. In June, a representative for the production company behind Love Island said having queer castmembers would cause “logistical difficulties” for the popular British reality show.
“[A]lthough Islanders don’t have to be 100% straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up,” Amanda Stavri, commissioner of Independent Television, the company producing Love Island, told Radio Times.
Stavri added that other shows with less “restrictions” allow for greater LGBTQ+ representation in the potential dating pool.
Back stateside, one such example is MTV’s Are You the One?, which featured its first season with an LGBTQ+ and sexually fluid cast in 2019. The show received a largely positive response, particularly for modernizing queer dating shows to showcase more members of the community than just cis gay men.
It’s unclear what to expect from Boyscation: Will it be a just gay version of The Bachelor or will it continue to revolutionize the genre? Here’s hoping the show will heat things up just in time for winter.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for them.’s weekly newsletter here.
