I heard I Kissed a Girl was queer, so I jumped right in without needing further explanations or expectations. The premise seemed simple at first: ten young women looking for love put their blind trust in the producers of a British reality show and kiss the complete stranger they have been paired up with. Only after the kiss do they exchange their hellos.
Following their initial snog, the five couples live, laugh, and love(?) in a stunning Italian masseria. However, as the season progresses, tensions rise as the women meet the other couples and confront their emotions while grappling with the consequences of their choices.
The drama intensifies during the ‘Kiss-Offs’, where the women decide whether to seal their match with a kiss or find someone else to exchange saliva with. The stakes get even higher when someone is left unkissed and, like Ariel who failed to get a kiss from her true love in three days and returned to the sea, they are booted out of the masseria. Then, new contestants enter the mix, ready to break up any already-formed couples.
Released this May, I Kissed a Girl is said to be the first British dating show to feature an exclusively queer cast of women, excluding the presenter, Dannii Minogue, younger sister of Kylie. Although Dannii, 52, identifies as straight, she embraces the queer world with enthusiasm, famously describing herself as being “queer in a weird way”.
Apart from the drama, one of the standout elements of the show is definitely its soundtrack, featuring music from queer icons like LP, Girl In Red, Renee Rapp, and Hayley Kiyoko. (Lezbehonest though the occasional appearances of the charming groundskeeper, Sara Fregosi, are definitely worth the wait and the binge).
You can watch I Kissed a Girl on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
