YouTuber and entrepreneur Joe Sugg’s company Final Straw Productions has launched the “world’s most honest dating show” in association with BBC Studios. Date Me At My Worst premiered on the production company’s YouTube channel in July and includes two 30-minute pilot episodes hosted by TikToker Max Balegde.
Speaking to CORQ, Sugg said: “I’ve done some really, really cool stuff in my career that I’ve been buzzing about for ages after but when we finished the shoot [for the show], I was riding a high for days afterwards.”
BBC Studios announced its partnership with Sugg’s production company in 2022. BBC Studios’ Sacha Grimsditch is the development executive for Final Straw Productions and he told CORQ that Date Me At My Worst had been in the pipeline for roughly 18 months before it premiered.
The idea was inspired by a survey about relationship cycles that explored what happens after the honeymoon phase. As part of Date Me At My Worst, single people participate in a group date and learn the best and worst qualities (called “reveals”) about each other so that there are no surprises if they decide to pair up. The reveals included one person spending £2,000 on LEGO and another being a “part-time witch”.
Grimsditch and Sugg work as a team of two and were involved throughout the entire process. The development executive made the table for the singletons to sit around while the YouTuber edited the first episode and purchased the background lights. Grimsditch said: “This has Joe’s DNA all over it. He’s absolutely at the heart of shaping it all.”
Sugg also selected Balegde – his friend and a popular creator who wants to pursue a career as a TV presenter – as the host. “He’s edgy but he’s also brand safe. For me, he was perfect for this role.”
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From a £1.2 million budget to £15,000
Date Me At My Worst’s format has changed and evolved since conception. The final show is a stripped-back version of the initial idea, which posed a larger production with a £1.2 million budget that took place at a hotel.
In this version, single people would go on separate nights out with their friends and then go on a date the next day. Sugg explained: “They come back to the hotel, they get into bed, they go to sleep, but then it’s 6am the next morning, a giant alarm goes off, the wall actually lifts up and beds are put together, and the date begins there and then.”
Grimsditch said E4 (owned and operated by Channel 4) and a dating brand were interested in this version of the show. However, when the dating company pitched the idea to its US team, the production fell apart because there was concern regarding the tone and humour of the content.
The pilot that aired on Final Straw Productions’ channel had a budget of approximately £15,000 for two episodes. Sugg said: “We had to balance this middle ground where it has the production of television to a degree, but it also still feels YouTube-y and can connect with an audience and feel slightly homemade.”
Sugg noted that a major benefit of the programme airing on YouTube is that the pair can receive instant feedback from viewers and also use the platform’s analytics to learn about their audience’s demographic. The first episode has had more than 16,000 views, 600 likes and 41 comments, and the second video has had more than 5,500 views, 280 likes and 36 comments.
Future plans for Date Me At My Worst and TV aspirations
Final Straw Productions’ YouTube bio states that the channel is a testbed for Sugg and other creators to try new entertainment formats and ideas. Grimsditch explained: “Trying to get stuff on TV at the moment is very difficult. This is a really innovative way of using what I know, but also mainly utilising Joe’s expertise.”
Now that the series has aired, Sugg and Grimsditch hope to pitch it to brands and media companies to make a larger version of the programme. They may continue making a YouTube version but create themed episodes where, for example, the cast are all dancers or all students. Outside of pitching Date Me At My Worst, Sugg would love to try different content genres and work with more creators on shows to help them pursue a career in TV or land brand-funded projects.
Wherever the show lands, it has already been a success for Sugg. “Our whole thing with Date My At My Worst was to never let this idea just get shelved. There were so many times in this process where we could have said, ‘Look, you know what? Let’s just park it here and let’s just give up on it’. But we were both like, ‘No, we want to prove to us and other people that if you have an idea, you can find a place for it’.”
By Caroline Edwards, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: BBC Studios
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