8 Surprising Facts About MTV’s ‘Singled Out’
It was every college kid’s spring break fantasy (minus the sun, sand and beer kegs, of course): 50 attractive women vying for the attention of one stud, and 50 equally hot dudes falling all over themselves for one righteous babe. It was silly. It was eye-rolling. It was – dare we say – fun. It was the hit MTV dating game show known as Singled Out, which premiered 30 years ago today, on June 5, 1995.
Hosted by comedian (and future podcast star) Chris Hardwick with just the right amount of bemused detachment from the hormone-fueled chaos, Singled Out was a bonafide hit show for MTV, largely due to cohost (and breakout star) Jenny McCarthy, later to be replaced by the equally-buzzworthy Carmen Electra!)
A ratings monster from the show’s 1995 premier through its 1998 exit, let’s celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary with eight things you probably didn’t know about Singled Out!
1The show originally had a different name
Before Singled Out was finalized as the show’s title, producers floated other names like Next in Line. The idea was to emphasize the elimination process that whittled 50 contestants down to one. Eventually, Singled Out was chosen to play off the concept of isolating one winner from a crowd – thank goodness!
2Some of the contestants were looking for a big break, not love
© MTV Prod. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Despite the show’s chaotic feel, every contestant was carefully vetted beforehand. Producers held casting calls in major cities and looked for people who were photogenic, outgoing, and willing to be ridiculous on camera. Personality was often prioritized over genuine dating interest. In fact, many of the contestants were actually local actors, models, or aspiring performers from Los Angeles and New York, where talent pools were full of people looking for exposure.
3MTV kept the audience rowdy on purpose
The audience energy was a huge part of Singled Out’s appeal, and the show did everything they could to keep it as high as possible — producers used music, lights, and warm-up acts to keep the crowd hyped. Sometimes, they even planted friends of contestants in the audience to cheer and heckle. This created the illusion of spontaneous chaos, which made for great TV.
4Jenny McCarthy left to star in her own show
©MTV Prod. / Courtesy Everett Collection
By 1997, Jenny McCarthy was gaining traction as one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars. With plenty of high-profile opportunities knocking on her door, she decided to leave Singled Out in 1997 to pursue other projects, including her own sitcom, Jenny . She also landed big-screen roles in films like BASEketball and Scream 3, paving a clear path to her current role as one of the highlights of The Masked Singer.
Hardwick stayed on through the show through its end; Carmen Electra, then starring on Baywatch, showed up to replace McCarthy in the show’s second and third season.
5What happened on Singled Out stayed on Singled Out
All contestants had to sign non-disclosure agreements before appearing on the show; these NDAs forbade them from discussing how the show was made or what happened behind the scenes. This helped maintain the illusion of spontaneity and prevented leaks. Violating the NDA could result in legal action or blacklisting from future MTV appearances.
6The questions were scripted—but the responses? Not so much
All the multiple-choice questions asked during the elimination rounds were written in advance by a team of writers. However, contestants’ answers—and the reasoning behind them—were never pre-planned. This led to some genuinely hilarious or shocking moments – which, of course, is exactly what made the show so much fun to watch.
7The show almost went primetime
Due to its massive popularity, MTV briefly considered turning Singled Out into a primetime network show. One pitch involved using celebrities as contestants, which would have been a precursor to reality dating shows like Flavor of Love. However, MTV underwent a programming shift around 1998 and scrapped the idea entirely. The original series ended shortly after, leaving the spin-off unrealized. Ah, what could have been!
8The show was rebooted in 2020
After reviving the show for seven episodes on their YouTube channel in 2018, MTV partnered with the now-defunct Quibi streaming platform to reboot Singled Out in 2020. This version featured Keke Palmer and Joel Kim Booster as co-hosts and attempted to modernize the format with an attempt at social media integration. Unfortunately, the show struggled to find an audience (as did Quibi, which is why you probably don’t remember that it even existed). In fact, the platform’s quick demise sealed the fate of the reboot, which disappeared quietly after two unremarkable seasons.
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