'Couple to Throuple' Season 2: Host Scott Evans shares what he would change about reality dating show
"I think the first time around, you've got to make people comfortable immediately," Evans said
When Couple to Throuple premiered it was met with excitement, curiosity and some criticism of its depiction of polyamorous dating. Looking back at the first season, host Scott Evans has a wish list of things he'd like to see if there's a Season 2.
"I think the first time around, you've got to make people comfortable immediately, and if you're calling the show Couple to Throuple, they want to see couples that look like them," Evans told Yahoo Canada. "I would love to see more couples that resemble even my friend group. I would love to see more couples that resemble even my community."
Catch up on the full season of Couple to Throuple on Hayu in Canada with 1 week free, then $6.99.month
"Being a Black man and in southern California, I would love to see more individuals who are gender nonconforming or non-binary. I would love to see more same-sex couples be a part of this."
Evans added that he specifically wants to be able to spend more time with the singles who participate in the show.
"I would love to hear more from our singles who are in this experience and what their past experiences have been, what informs their choices to be a part of a dynamic like this," he stressed.
"I think there's so much more to do with another season of this show. I am so excited to be able to get to that work, when that's permitted. I just feel like this is fertile, fertile ground for real discovery."
What is 'Couple to Throuple'
The reality show premiered in February with Evans and sex and relationship expert Shamyra Howard guiding a group of four couples and 14 singles through a polyamorous TV dating experience.
It takes place at a tropical destination where the couples and singles get to know each other, and as throuples form, they stay together at the resort. At the end of the season, the original four couples decide whether polyamory is their path forward, or if they go back to monogamy.
"I had dreamed of being a part of that destination dating show format. I watch them, I'm curious about them, I was curious about how they were made, and I wanted to be a part of of that process," Evans said about what drew him to hosting the show. "I also wanted to be a part of that process in a group that felt culturally and ethnically diverse, that felt diverse in in as many aspects as it could be, both in front of the camera and behind the camera. I wanted to be a part of something that also inherently felt queer, ... where queer stories and experiences were centred."
"It was also really exciting to me that there was an opportunity to talk about polyamory and actually, more specifically even, to talk about non-monogamy, and how it can be a positive experience for couples, how it can be a positive experience for ... [throuples]. But how an individual could benefit from the process of being able to share a curiosity, or a desire, and whether or not that curiosity is carried out, that their partner be willing to accept that, to receive that warmly, and maybe even enthusiastically."
'What would you do in this scenario?'
With all reality dating shows, there's often an expectation of lots drama and sex, but for Couple to Throuple, being the first reality dating show to put polyamory at the forefront of its concept, it also took on the obligation of accurately showing non-monogamy on a mass scale. Some were quick to call out the show for missing the mark, in some respects, including having the couples be the prioritized connection, over the singles.
But Evans shared that he's been pleased by much of the response from fans who watched the whole season.
"I was very surprised by the response to the show," Evans said. "There was a heavy critique of the show, from the trailer, ... a lot of people who jumped on with a lot of assumptions about what they thought the show was and what it should be."
"The cool thing to me is that a lot of those people who actually watched the show, their minds were changed, not necessarily about what polyamory is, or anything like that, but about what they thought this was going to be, ... and what level of of mess might also be around a level of authentic discovery."
Catch up on the full season of Couple to Throuple on Hayu in Canada with 1 week free, then $6.99.month
Evans added that he's also gotten feedback from fans about the conversations that Couple to Throuple has sparked in their own lives.
"I was really encouraged by the amount of people who are like, still to me to this day, walking up to me like, 'This Couple to Throuple has caused so many conversations and our house,'" he shared. "Those interactions to me mean so much."
"The idea that individuals in relationships are able to point to something and say, 'What would you do in this scenario?' As a way of maybe getting closer to being able to share parts of themselves they've never shared with their partner, is very exciting to me."
