SudburyThe upcoming show Rezervations for Two puts a new spin on reality TV dating shows with a focus on Indigenous contestants and culture.‘Rezervations for Two’ premieres on CBC Gem and APTN Lumi in June CBC News · Posted: Sep 10, 2025 2:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoScott Wabano, left, and Kairyn Potts, right, co-host the ‘Rezervations for Two’ reality dating show. (Submitted by Scott Wabano)The upcoming show Rezervations for Two puts a new spin on reality TV dating shows with a focus on Indigenous contestants and culture.”It’s the first ever, I guess you could say Indigenous-focused reality dating show where people are actually going on blind dates and hoping to find and secure a potential snag or a forever snag,” said co-host Scott Wabano.Wabano, a content creator and designer born and raised in the northern Ontario Cree community of Moose Factory, hosts the show with Kairyn Potts a content creator and actor born in Edmonton, who is registered in Paul First Nation and Alexis Lakota Sioux Nation.The two friends host The Real Rank Podcast, in which they dive into the issues, culture, and stories shaping Indigenous lives today.Potts said it was the podcast that landed them the gig hosting a reality dating show.The show’s production company approached the pair for an audition thanks to their chemistry on the podcast.In the show, Wabano and Potts give daters real-time advice as they watch on a tablet. (Submitted by Scott Wabano)”They just gave us some material from like early 90s to watch of like really cringy first date reality shows and more or less just wanted Scott and I to do 45 minutes of naturally reacting to that content,” Potts said.”And needless to say, we killed it because essentially all it was was just us doing a podcast episode reacting to content. It was really quite easy.”In the show, Wabano and Potts watch the dates in real-time, from the studio, and give the daters advice.Wabano said they are like “fairy god-aunties” for the contestants. The show’s contestants are generally from Winnipeg and the surrounding area. “You’re seeing every sort of gender or lack of gender that falls kind of on the spectrum or even outside of the box,” Potts said.Potts said that while reality TV has a stigma where some people see it as “trash TV” he says it’s important to have Indigenous representation in that space.”I would say that it’s bringing us forward in culture because we deserve to take up any kind of space in media and showcase all of the real beauty and the real connections and the real culture that exists within our nations and our communities,” Potts said.The show is set to premiere in June 2026 on APTN Lumi.CorrectionsA previous version of this story said the show would also be available on CBC Gem. That was incorrect.Sep 11, 2025 9:28 AM EDTWith files from Bridget Yard
Upcoming Indigenous reality dating show puts the ‘rez’ in reservations
