Watching TV & Online Dating Could Become The Same Thing

If you're already in a committed relationship with Netflix but are looking for a side piece of the human variety, the new dating site and app My Show Mate could be about to rock your (cozy, TV-watching) socks off. The concept is elegantly simple: Share your basic information (no 80-question dating profile here), location, and favorite shows, and find other singles (or friends, if that's your bag) who love the same TV. Then, chat with them in real time during your Netflix binges and Amazon marathons — and decide if their analysis of Empire is sophisticated enough for you to want to meet them in person. My Show Mate is the brainchild of entertainment journalist and self-professed "hopeless showmantic" Angela Manfredi, who dreamed of a "way to meet a great guy with whom I share a common interest" without getting off the couch. Sign us up. Although My Show Mate is still just an idea, with enough funding to its Kickstarter campaign, this Netflix-Tinder-mashup could become a reality. Activity-oriented dating services that bring people together to share specific experiences — for example, How About We or HiDine — are an attractive antidote to online-dating fatigue. One of the most difficult hurdles of Tinder and similar matchmaking sites is moving beyond that initial "Hey there" with something intriguing / humorous / not creepy. My Show Mate could make that transition smooth by doing away with the "what r u up to"s and immediately turning the conversation to Lena Dunham's turn on Scandal or how The Walking Dead's Gabriel is the actual worst. So, is there room for two in that Snuggie? Visit My Show Mate's Kickstarter for the full synopsis.