It was first sold to dating show devotees as a middle-aged Love Island, with casting calls back in January seeking over-40s for a second crack at love on camera. But reducing ITV's new dating show to a spin-off would be doing it a disservice.
Masked Singer and Big Brother presenter Davina McCall was appointed to the helm of the then-titled The Romance Retreat in March, though it turns out her involvement with the show goes a lot further than just hosting duties.
Herself familiar with second-time love, Davina revealed she "manifested" and personally pitched to bosses the idea of a mature dating show.
"It was my fault that it got called mid-life Love Island because that's what I called it in the email," she admits. "We've been trying to burn that name ever since."
The re-titled My Mum, Your Dad – arriving on screens tonight – has a different format to Love Island, which has already achieved success overseas in Australia, America and Germany. Yet it's hard not to compare it to the iconic island show, with the two sharing the same subject matter (love) and network home (ITV).
Episode one of My Mum, Your Dad sees eight single parents gather at a picturesque English country manor, ready to cohabitate, date and find a life mate. But there's a twist involving the very people who nominated them for another chance at love.
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The contestants' children are revealed as playing matchmaker to their respective mums and dads, watching the adults from a secret, separate surveillance room and making their parents' romantic decisions in the retreat without their knowledge.
While love is on the cards, episode one establishes quite quickly that the My Mum, Your Dad cast are worlds away from a Love Island line-up (and we're not just talking about age). The host of hopeful romantics seem to be exactly that: authentic and looking for long-term love.
"I just want someone to come home to every day, that's what I'm missing," says 47-year-old Paul, nominated by his daughter Mazey. Meanwhile, unlucky-in-love Sharon, 53, just wants her happy ending after a "bad track record" of relationships.
Loyal Love Island fans tuning in will find it refreshing to see genuine characters back on screens, reminiscent of the early series when fame, followers and a lucrative clothing deal weren't a given.
The casting directors have pulled off a coup with a crop of contestants who are as relatable as The Traitors UK cast (who essentially ensured the show's success). Similarly, the country home setting – likened to Bridgerton by single mum Caroline – is more Traitors, less Love Island, with the middle-aged mums and dads preferring a cuppa and sofa chat over a party.
This lower energy is representative of the overall show tone. My Mum Your Dad features less drama and more trauma, which might not necessarily appeal to the existing Love Island audience.
The opening episode sees two contestants tear up when discussing past relationships. Then there's newly single Roger, a widower, who is trying to move forward following the tragic death of his wife 18 months earlier.
Based on the show premiere alone, viewers shouldn't expect wacky challenges, explosive rows or contestants in compromising situations.
"There are no cameras in the bedrooms," host Davina confirms. "People come and go, there's no evictions."
In this sense, My Mum Your Dad is unlikely to dominate headlines or cue mass live-tweeting in the same way as Love Island.
The show, which was pre-recorded back in May, also has no public voting, meaning less interactivity and audience involvement. The two-week timeline, versus Love Island's eight-week extravaganza, may also mean viewers struggle to become invested in the relationships on screen.
My Mum, Your Dad producers have gone some way to address the diversity criticism long levelled at Love Island, featuring contestants from various ethnic backgrounds. However, we're still missing representation from the disabled community, and there are no plus-sized figures so far.
As the title My Mum, Your Dad suggests, the show doesn't feature any LGBTQ+ representation, a severely outdated and missed opportunity given the recent successes of BBC Three's I Kissed A Boy and Netflix's The Ultimatum: Queer Love.
All this being said, the show's depiction of middle-age dating appears real and responsible, and something to be applauded. My Mum, Your Dad shines a spotlight on those second- or third-time-at-love experiences that are commonplace in today's society and does so without relying on Love Island gimmicks for entertainment.
"This really f**king means something," Davina says. "When you see people falling and you know that this is serious. That's what makes it so lovely.
"Love Island is great, I watch it with my kids, but this is a totally different show and there is room for both."
My Mum, Your Dad starts Monday 11th September, 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. The series will run on consecutive weeknights for two weeks.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
