The Ultimatum

''The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On'' is a dating reality television series created by Chris Coelen and produced by Kinetic Content that premiered on Netflix on April 6, 2022. The show is hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey.

The series has aired for three seasons. An international version ''The Ultimatum: France'' premiered in 2022. A spin-off series '' The Ultimatum: Queer Love'' premiered in 2023.

Format

''The Ultimatum'' is a self-proclaimed social experiment that wants to see how many couples will get married when presented with ultimatums. The show features couples on the verge of marriage. Each pair has eight weeks to decide whether they want to get married or split forever. Couples will later be split up as they choose new partners from the rest of the group, and then move in with them for three weeks for a trial marriage. Then they move in with their original partners for three weeks for a second trial marriage.

Contestants

Season summary

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2023)

Season 3 (2024)

Episodes

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2023)

Season 3 (2024)

Production

Filming

Season one of the series was filmed in various locations in Austin, Texas. The first week the contestants spent dating each other was filmed at the Marriott Downtown Hotel in the city, while the rest of the series was filmed at the Aloft Austin Downtown Hotel.

Filming started in May 2021 and lasted for eight weeks with the reunion being filmed later.

Season two of the series was filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina from September 2022 to November 2022.

Season three was filmed in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

Release

A trailer was in the reunion episode of season two of '' Love Is Blind'' on March 4, 2022. It was advertised as "the next great social experiment" with the same creator as ''Love Is Blind''.

The first season consisting of eight episodes released to Netflix on April 6, 2022, and later released the final episode along with a reunion special on April 13, a week later.

The second season consisting of eight episodes released to Netflix on August 23, 2023, and later released the final episode along with a reunion special on August 30, a week later.

Reception

Viewership

Season one of the series reached number one on Netflix in television shows in the United States on April 10, 2022.

''The Ultimatum'' Season One spent four weeks in the Netflix Global Top Ten, with 43,710,000 hours watched during its first week of release, 58,470,000 during week two, 29,010,000 during week three, and 13,140,000 during week four.

With a total of 144,330,000 hours watched within its first four weeks of release, ''The Ultimatum'' Season One ranked second, after only ''Love is Blind,'' as the most watched ongoing nonscripted series on Netflix in 2022, based on a tally of all hours viewed across all programs while in the Netflix Global Top Ten.

Critical response

Daniel D'Addario of Variety writes "''Love is Blind'' and ''The Ultimatum'' are the new standard-bearers for romantic reality TV." D'Addario states ''The Ultimatum'' "inverts ''Love is Blind'''s formula to great success...(creator) Coelen's series occupy a more unsettled place, one that uses the tools of reality (big organizing ideas, people attuned to the dramatic) to create stagings that look like our world."

Jenny Singer from Glamour writes "''The Ultimatum'' on Netflix is even better than '' Love Is Blind''. Yes, really." Singer continues "''The Ultimatum'' feels like an actual attempt at partnership—love, sex, intimacy, friendship, caring for each other's dogs. The ending is insane, and so is the beginning, and the middle. That just makes it, oddly, realistic."

Alexandra Whittington at Collider says ''"The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On'' is Netflix's wildest reality series yet...If you like reality dating shows then you are going to love ''The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On''."

Grant Rindner of '' GQ'' stated "critical reception has been mixed." Sarah Manavis of ''New Statesman'' was highly critical of the show, writing, "The awfulness of marriage shows is on full display here... The premise is shoddy and unclear, especially in comparison to other dating programmes." Sophia June of ''Nylon'' wrote no one from the series should get married based on the premise and "the manipulation techniques". Morgan Smith of ''Highsnobiety'' called it the "messiest reality dating show we hate to love" and stated he loved it.

Spin-offs

The first international version of the series was released on Netflix on titled '' The Ultimatum: France''. A second international version, based in South Africa, was released on Netflix on 10 May 2024. Salamina Mosese and Tshepo Howza Mosese are the hosts. Ahead of the first-season premiere, Netflix announced a spin-off of the show that would feature an all-queer cast titled '' The Ultimatum: Queer Love''. The spin-off series premiered on and featured JoAnna Garcia Swisher as the host. A dating sim mobile game titled ''The Ultimatum: Choices'' was released in December 2024. It is free but requires an active Netflix subscription.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimatum, The
2020s American reality television series
American dating and relationship reality television series
2022 American television series debuts
American English-language television shows
Netflix original programming
Television series about marriage
Television shows filmed in Texas