The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On

Last updated
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On
The Ultimatum Marry or Move On title card.jpg
Genre Reality
Created byChris Coelen
Presented by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producers
  • Chris Coelen
  • Chris Cullen
  • Eric Detwiler
  • Sarah Dillistone
  • Kelly Montalvo
  • Stephanie Boyriven
  • James Smith-Hill
Running time35–58 minutes
Production company Kinetic Content
Original release
Network Netflix
ReleaseApril 6, 2022 (2022-04-06) 
present (present)
Related
The Ultimatum: Queer Love

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On is a dating reality television series created by Chris Coelen and produced by Kinetic Content [1] that premiered on Netflix on April 6, 2022. The show is hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey.

Contents

The series has aired for two 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. [2] 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.

Contestants

Season 1 (2022) [3]
Issuing ultimatumAgePartnerAge
April Marie23Jake Cunningham26
Colby Kissinger25Madlyn Ballatori24
Rae Williams24Zay Wilson25
Shanique Imari24Randall Griffen26
Alexis Maloney25Hunter Parr28
Nate Ruggles30Lauren Pounds29
Season 2 (2023) [4] [5] [6]
Issuing ultimatumAgePartnerAge
Antonio Mattei30Roxanne Kaiser31
Lisa Horne32Brian Okoye29
Ryann McCracken24James Morris24
Trey Brunson29Riah Nyree25
Kat Shelton28Alex Chapman32

Season summary

Season 1 (2022)

Trial marriages
ContestantsResult
Jake and RaeRelationship [lower-alpha 1]
Colby and AprilSplit
Zay and ShaniqueSplit
Randall and MadlynSplit
Overview
Original coupleResult [7] [8] Status [7] [8]
April and JakeSplitSplit
Colby and MadlynMarriedMarried
Rae and ZaySplitSplit
Shanique and RandallEngagedEngaged [9]
Alexis and HunterEngaged [lower-alpha 2] Married [10]
Nate and LaurenEngaged [lower-alpha 2] Married [11]

Season 2 (2023)

Trial marriages
ContestantsResult
Antonio and Katsplit
James and RiahSplit
Trey and RyannSplit
Alex and RoxanneSplit
Overview
Original coupleResult [5] Status [5]
Antonio and RoxanneEngagedEngaged [12]
Lisa and BrianRelationship [lower-alpha 3] Relationship
Ryann and JamesEngagedMarried
Trey and RiahEngagedEngaged
Kat and AlexEngagedEngaged

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1 10April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)April 13, 2022 (2022-04-13)
2 10August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)August 30, 2023 (2023-08-30)

Season 1 (2022)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [13] Original release date [13]
11"The Split"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
22"The Choice"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
33"New Bed, New Partner"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
44"Girls & Guys Night Out"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
55"Pushing Boundaries"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
66"The Changeover"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
77"Back to Reality"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
88"Time to Answer the Ultimatum"April 6, 2022 (2022-04-06)
99"Ultimatum Day"April 13, 2022 (2022-04-13)
Special
1010"The Reunion"April 13, 2022 (2022-04-13)

Season 2 (2023)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [6] Original release date [6]
111"The Split"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
122"Unexpected Revelations"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
133"The Choice"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
144"Catching Feelings"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
155"Are You The One?"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
166"The Changeover"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
177"Change of Heart"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
188"Time to Answer the Ultimatum"August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
199"Ultimatum Day"August 30, 2023 (2023-08-30)
Special
2010"The Reunion"August 30, 2023 (2023-08-30)

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. [14]

Filming started in May 2021 and lasted for eight weeks with the reunion being filmed later. [15]

Season two of the series was filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina from September 2022 to November 2022. [16]

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. [2]

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. [13]

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. [6]

Reception

Viewership

Season one of the series reached number one on Netflix in television shows in the United States on April 10, 2022. [17]

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, [18] 58,470,000 during week two, [19] 29,010,000 during week three, [20] and 13,140,000 during week four. [21]

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. [22]

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." [23]

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." [24]

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." [25]

Grant Rindner of GQ stated "critical reception has been mixed." [26] 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." [27] Sophia June of Nylon wrote no one from the series should get married based on the premise and "the manipulation techniques". [28] Morgan Smith of Highsnobiety called it the "messiest reality dating show we hate to love" and stated he loved it. [29]

Spin-offs

An international version of the series was released on Netflix on December 30, 2022 titled The Ultimatum: France . [30]

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 . [31] The spin-off series premiered on May 24, 2023 and featured JoAnna Garcia Swisher as the host. [32] [33]

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References

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  11. Grant, Tamara (16 October 2022). "'The Ultimatum': Lauren Pounds and Nate Ruggles Are Married". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
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  1. The couple split after leaving the show.
  2. 1 2 The couple left the show early after they got engaged in Episode 3.
  3. The couple left the show early in Episode 3.