#FIRSTLOOK: “JEWISH MATCHMAKING”

It was a total earth-shattering moment when I realized there actually is a JEWISH MATCHMAKING series coming soon to Netflix. You all know how much I love INDIAN MATCHMAKING, but is this branch of the Series a worthy successor of it’s predecessor?

We had the opportunty to preview a few episodes of JEWISH MATCHMAKING, which centers on professional Matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom, as she tries to help single Jewish men and women find love from the US to Israel. Aleeza is refreshing in that she goes by the philosophy that she doesn’t care so much that it has to be her making the match, so much as that her clients actually find love somehow. Even if it means on their own.

Along the way, we meet some singles here and more often than not they want something physical. Ori is coming off a long-term relationship but is uncompromising about wanting his partner to have good looks more than anything. And even at that he’s rather picky to boot and lacks self-awareness even though he has a good group of friends who aren’t afraid to keep him in-check.

Harmonie is in her 40s and has a big, bubbly personality. She also wants someone whom she is physically attracted to, but Aleeza makes her go outside her comfort zone, dating someone who could ground her, but is she ready for that?

Dani is particular about her partner’s eyebrows, almost to the point it is an obsession. Not only does the man she date have to be really handsome, but also possess amazing eyebrows. But of course, they can’t be better than hers!

JEWISH MATCHMAKING draws its audience in with quirks in its singles, which while not apparent to them, are plain to see for the audience. Though the Series doesn’t quite have the same charm and mysticism that INDIAN MATCHMAKING possesses, it is entertaining enough even though the singles we meet here don’t quite have the same humility we saw with Sima Aunty‘s crew.

The Show makes an intersting point of how the various divides and how religious – or “Flexodox” – these singles are, can dictate the dynamic of the relationship. Case in point – Fay and Shaya, a couple whose chemistry is absolutely off-the-charts when we meet them. So while some pairings appear somewhat successful, one partner being more religious, can sway the fate of their chemistry even when everything’s there on paper.

JEWISH MATCHMAKING arrives May 3, 2023 on Netflix.