I hadn’t heard about “The Later Daters” series on Netflix until I saw an Instagram post saying Michelle Obama was the executive producer. Naturally, if our forever first lady was involved, I had to check it out and see what the show was all about. To my delight, “The Later Daters” has been one of the most entertaining, funny, and heartfelt reality shows I have seen in a long time.
“The Later Daters” follows older singles in the “silver” years of their lives who are looking for another chance at love. Some of the daters are widows and widowers who have lost their past loves. Others are divorcees (and, in some cases, multiple divorcees) who are giving love a try again. It’s a diverse cast with silver foxes of every shade and race, although the Black singles featured on the show give new meaning to the phrase, “Black don’t crack.”
Now, what stood out to me as the most entertaining storyline was the case of a later dater named Anise. Not only does she have a remarkably fit body and a beautiful face, but Anise has survived incredible heartbreak, losing her first husband not long after giving birth to their two children decades ago. Anise went on to be what many would say is the prototype of a successful Black woman. Educated and independent, she earned her doctorate, now lives in a beautiful home, her children are doing well, and really all she needs is that missing puzzle piece of love in her life.
Unfortunately, even at 62 years old, being as fine as she is and as smart as she is, Anise is having trouble finding love. One of her dates on the show is the perfect example of what younger women are commonly going through right now — and sadly, many older women clearly are, too. You know the drill: where people objectify them, see their accomplishments and are intimidated, and therefore say the darnedest things. In this case, very grown people. In one particular scene that has now started to go viral on social media, a silver fox man, who also is grown, divorced and has children, asks Anise if all three of her children have the same “baby daddy.” He also tells her, without any irony, that he likes his women with “a little ghetto” in them. Yes, this really happened.
Now, Anise, very uncomfortably, tries to navigate this awkward conversation with grace, but dammit, at 62 years old, should she have to?! In that sense, “The Later Daters” is so relatable, because even with a generation gap, if you’re watching this show as a millennial like me, you see that there are certain aspects of dating that are just universal. But what I really love about the show is it demonstrates that we all have this universal desire for love, even later in life. Sometimes in society, we talk about seniors — or anyone over the age of 55 — as if their best days are behind them. As if they have no incentive to keep looking good and feeling good, being sexy, or wanting sex and love. This show does a great job of further humanizing and complicating what it means to be an older American at this so-called “golden” stage of life.
Other great aspects of the show are seeing the Later Daters with their children, side by side, being interviewed about everything from their first kiss to what they learned about sex, to what they’re looking for in a mate. And even with adult children, there are plenty of squeamish giggles and covering of the face as they hear about their parents’ love lives and prospective love lives. Nevertheless, there’s also bonding that happens as the children provide perspective on their own parents and what they feel they should know about what they have to offer, and about what they deserve in their next relationship.
“The Later Daters” is must-watch TV, especially for intergenerational bonding. I have been texting and kiki-ing with my mother all week long as we laugh over some of the crazy scenes and funny conversations, and who we think is going to end up with who in the show. But also, it made me smile to think that even at 38 years old, where many days I start to feel older than my age, raising a toddler, running around, maintaining a household and a relationship, there is still so much to look forward to in life and love.
Seeing some of the love stories these Later Daters have been blessed with — and even the unfortunate losses — reminds you that life is worth living. Michelle Obama, the show’s executive producer, did a great job with this series and did a service to the public by not just letting her and Barack’s love story be the end of her storytelling, but being vocal and honest about the complexities of mature love. “The Later Daters” is highly bingeable and very easy to watch, with just a quick eight episodes that you can get through in a night or a week if you want to. It’s a great reminder that we can get better with age — and sometimes, love can too.
