When it comes to love, should we trust our instincts, or is it better to let our astrological signs determine our compatibility? That’s what Prime Video‘s new dating show, Written in the Stars, wants to know. On the charming Brazilian series, a dater is matched with four people and has to decide whether to stick with the one they’re most drawn to, or the one that an astrologer says is most compatible.
Opening Shot: A montage of the show’s contestants is shown as host Ingrid Guimarães explains in a voiceover, “Have you ever listened to your heart and got it broken? Is listening to the stars the only solution?”
The Gist: In dating, most of us let our hearts lead us and see where things go. On Written In The Stars, the dating subjects are asked to put their trust in the stars and let their signs guide them instead via a synastry chart, which reveals to them how compatible they are with four potential partners of different star signs.
In every episode, a dater (in the case of the first episode, it’s Caco, who is a non-binary and bisexual Taurus) is matched with four people of different signs. After a date with each of them, which we watch play out, Caco has a conversation with host Ingrid Guimarães and the resident astrologer, Papisa, and tries to determine whether they want to follow their heart, and continue dating the person they like the most, or follow their sign and see more of the person they’re astrologically aligned with.
After Caco’s four dates, Papisa reveals the level of compatibility they have with each of the four daters and walks them through their synastry chart. Knowing who is technically the most compatible partner, Caco then has to choose who they want to continue to date. (Ultimately, they chose to stick with their heart and hold on to Diego, with whom they only had a 59% compatibility match, but who made the best impression. The heart wants what the heart wants!)
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Written in the Stars reminds me of another recent series that focused on star signs, last year’s Cosmic Love which is also on Prime Video.
Our Take: A dating show based on astrology has its good points and its bad points. On the one hand, astrology is a huge passion for many, and there’s something exciting, mystical, and romantic about the belief that our personalities are dictated by our birth charts and planetary alignment. With that said, there is a lot that goes into understanding the specifics of astrology, like what it means to have your Saturn in Sagittarius (I still don’t know!), and the show spends an inordinate amount of time listing off all the ways the daters are or are not compatible based around these terms. For the layman who only reads horoscopes or knows they might be a Fire sign and not an Air sign, it might prove confusing or too detailed.
But chances are, if you’re watching this kind of show, you’ve probably got more than just a layman’s interest in astrology and you’re interested in understanding the dynamics of star compatibility. On top of that, Guimarães, a Brazilian TV presenter and comedian, is the perfect host, a balance of comic relief and wingwoman to the main daters who offers them support and gleeful repartee. While many popular American dating shows feature hosts (your Lacheys and Taye Diggs and Tori Spelling and such) who bring star power but aren’t always integral to the action, Guimarães has a lot to do as a commentator and audience proxy, asking questions to Papisa about the signs and charts that the rest of us might be wondering about. By having a queer dater as the first contestant, the show is also not shy in its inclusivity (many of the conversations during Caco’s dates are based around the spectrum of everyone’s sexuality and how they identify) which feels more open and free than many American dating shows.
Sex and Skin: There’s a decent amount of passionate kissing, but that’s as far as it goes so far.
Parting Shot: Guimarães sits in a chair in a robe, in a setting made to look like she’s in her dressing room. She explains that astrology is tough business and often hard to understand, but she worked hard to make sure she was compatible with her crew on the show. We cut to a grumpy, tired-looking group behind the camera, to which Guimarães reacts dryly, “This isn’t me, it’s Venus in retrograde…. That’s what I’ve heard.”
Most Pilot-y Line: “Will you listen to the stars, or will you ignore them?” Ingrid asks Caco when they reveal the person with the highest percent of astrological compatibility. That’s the show right there: trusting your heart or the chart.
Our Call: Though the show can be a little hard to follow when the synastry charts come out, the general premise works: It’s fun to watch, the cast is diverse and interesting, and Guimarães is a dynamic host. STREAM IT!
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.