Are You My First? Looks to Refresh the Dating Genre

A brand-new show has hit the ever-popular dating genre, this time with a unique twist—virginity as a central theme. Plimsoll Productions and ITV America teamed up for Are You My First?, a format that gathers a group of virgins in a tropical paradise to give them the freedom to explore connections without judgment, which Hulu ordered to series early on for the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

“When developing dating show concepts, you need an idea that’s both distinctive and widely relatable—one that guarantees drama, emotional stakes and real jeopardy,” Karen Plumb, executive producer of the series and head of factual entertainment at Plimsoll, tells TV Formats. “With headlines noting that approximately one in four Gen Zers identifies as a virgin, it was clear this was a compelling, topical phenomenon. The concept also felt excitingly fresh—not easy to pull off in unscripted TV.”

“Virginity is typically ignored or played for laughs in dating shows, and our aim was to change that with honesty, vulnerability and nuance,” she continues. “The topic intersects with themes like self-discovery, societal pressure and personal choice, making it rich terrain for authentic storytelling.”

“Adult virginity, for varied personal reasons—religious beliefs, emotional readiness, health challenges—is a globally resonant theme,” Plumb adds. “The respectful, sex-positive framing allows viewers across cultures to empathize and relate. This is a format that definitely has global appeal, with most territories able to make their own versions.”

Casting director Doron Ofir and his team helped narrow down the first batch of applicants for the first iteration of the show before ITV America stepped in to lend its expertise, having cast for Love Island USA across seven seasons.

“From the outset, we knew we were looking for sexy, engaging and courageous ‘later-in-life’ virgins who had chosen to remain virgins—but who were open to a change in status,” Plumb says.

“One of the things I love about the series is that everyone’s reason ‘why’ [they are a virgin] is unique,” Peter Geist, showrunner and executive producer, says. “Whether it was a religious reason, a cultural reason, an intimacy reason, whatever it was, it was respected by the cast and crew. There was never pressure on someone to give up their beliefs or values to participate.”

“Cultivating a non-judgmental behind-the-scenes crew was imperative to make the series work, as was finding the right hosts,” Geist says. “I felt it was very important to have one male and one female as hosts, just in case our participants had any delicate questions to ask,” he notes. “This ended up being a very important decision.”

Colton Underwood and Kaitlyn Bristowe, both previous contestants of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette franchises, were chosen for the job. “Both have tried finding love on television themselves, and they understand how hard it is to be vulnerable in that kind of environment,” Geist explains. “Beyond that, Colton has specific personal experience, publicly revealing that he was a virgin when he first started on The Bachelorette. As hosts, they don’t just talk the talk; they walk the walk. They’ve been down this road before and can relate to each of our cast members.”

Like many dating shows before it, Are You My First? brings its participants to a tropical beach environment. “We had already disrupted genre expectations; we felt there was no need to reinvent the locale,” Plumb says of the decision to film at a resort in Costa Rica. “We wanted our later-in-life virgins to experience a setting as sexy and appealing as their non-virgin dating counterparts.”

The initial U.S. edition is now available on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.