Kate Gosselin will return to TLC, the network that aired multiple seasons of her first show Jon & Kate Plus Eight, in June. But instead of focusing on her children and her parenting, Gosselin’s new show will re-introduce her to viewers as a single mom who is ready to date again.
Kate Plus Date kicks off as Gosselin’s oldest girls, twins Mady and Cara, are headed to college this fall, and the sextuplets are now full-fledged teenagers. “Over the years on TLC, viewers have seen Kate as a mom of eight,” the press release says, per CNN. But in fact, “moms deserve the chance to find love too!” (Who would have thought?)
With the help of two matchmakers, Gosselin will re-enter the “new” and “awkward” world of dating, almost exactly 10 years after she and ex-husband Jon Gosselin announced they were divorcing. (TLC later simply renamed the show Kate Plus 8). The two have been fighting over custody of their children for years.
On its face, Kate Plus Date sounds an awful lot like a condensed version of The Bachelorette wherein Gosselin dates several prospective suitors at a time with the challenge of picking one of them by the end of the show. Fun dates and steamy dates are planned:
On the new show, the matchmakers will set Kate Gosselin up on dates with 10 bachelors over the course of the series.
The dates will be composed of two activities: one that’s fun and interactive, and another that’s more intimate where the pair can really see if there’s a spark.
This show sounds like it’ll almost definitely be awkward, not because I believe Gosselin herself may be “rusty” (as the press release proposes), but because all dating shows are inherently full of artifice, and Gosselin strikes me as more self-aware than that (although, perhaps the whole show was her idea). The project of dating in general, whether televised or not, can be a nightmare, so I commend her for trying.