'Alphabet Soup' Review
Season One.
Aired On: Peacock.
Release Date: 06/09/25.
Genre: Documentary.
The Verdict: A Must-See
Dating. Oh, this love-bombed gargantuan creature. Something that everyone struggles with these days. But director Shannon Alexander decides to take viewers on another journey with Alphabet Soup, queer dating in New York, but not just the dating scene, but queer identity, belonging, sexuality, and community.
In a cinéma vérité, docu-fiction style, Alexander records multiple interviews with diverse queer individuals, especially BIPOC, to bring race into the mix of the many personalities he tries to capture and represent. Alexander films both sides of the dating couple. As we watch both points of view of the same situation, we are allowed into the complexity of everyday interactions and how texting can strip away the heated intimacy of subtext beyond the words. An innocent text interaction is shown to be layered with a whole other multitude of hidden feelings and preconceived judgments. It’s probably what dating shows are about, but this time, there’s no behavioral framing or a pre-arranged blueprint between the network and the participants.
This time, people are on the outside, showing who they truly are and what they like or are repulsed by. It’s a bumpy ride, but it’s worthwhile, if for anything, then for the fashion forwardness alone. Couples talk to the camera about their deepest, dirtiest, and most insecure fantasies but also recount what went on on their dates. It’s not supposed to be a surprise, but it is when each person has a different encounter in mind. It’s as if, every time, both people weren’t on the same date together. It’s both scary and alluring how two people experiencing the same event might remember it differently.
The docuseries is an eye-opener, not just into the world of queer dating and LGBTIQ identity, but into the human spirit itself. It answers questions about what it takes to be human, because Alexander treats his subjects as such, without the queer label becoming a box that traps a person. Not to mention how he interviews individuals from every variation on the gender spectrum, which works perfectly for representation of queerness on screen.
It’s not about defining someone, but about better understanding them and empathizing with them. It’s strange how some people who come off as intimidating have a bigger, softer side, and vice versa. Not to mention the judgment between couples and how every single move or text is judged; it’s very self-reflective, and you can easily see yourself in one of the interviewed young'uns in the way they assess, analyze, or ghost a relationship.
Alphabet Soup is a masterclass in characterization and people-centric TV. It’s groundbreaking in how close it gets to its subjects and how authentically it portrays them. One may think they’ve seen it all with dating-centric TV, but with this show, one ain’t seen nothin’ yet, and with season 2 on the horizon, Alexander and gang are just getting started.
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