Matt Wurnig, who went viral for his ”50 Dates 50 States“ series, drew 10,000 prospective love matches for Season 2
“What I’m doing is just different,” the 25-year-old Montana native told , adding that, unlike traditional linear television, his following (474,000 and counting on TikTok) doesn’t come close to describing how many people he’s reached with his web series. With the way that TikTok’s “for you page” functions, his videos can be seen by virtually any of the platform’s 1 Billion active monthly usersAnytime.
Was it originally a way to communicate with people during COVID-19 lockdowns? Wurnig now has a social media franchise. Was a baseball umpire for the Bismarck Larks.When he started to create Tinder dates for women in the country during peak-pandemic 2019, he was part of a team. He set off on a road trip in 2021 to meet one woman from each state. The adventure was documented on TikTok.
He confesses that he was relatively new to reality dating. “The most I’ve ever watched is one full season of ‘The Bachelor’ a couple of years ago,”He stated. “I don’t pay too close attention to them, but they inspire me in terms of I want ’50 Dates 50 States’ to be — the next ‘Bachelor.’ I do want it to be that next thing where people are like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s really cool.’”
The high concept is key to the show’s success. “The cool value behind it is that if it involves someone from every single state, it’s not as selective as a lot of dating shows are,”He stated. “So it’s almost like you combine ‘Miss America’ and ‘The Bachelor.’”
Over the course of Season 1, Wurnig’s series garnered 70 million views and over 12 million likes. His videos now have nearly 23 million likes. He can easily rack up 1 million views per TikTok. The “50 Dates 50 States”Hashtag has been viewed 180 million times.
Wurnig and his staff declined to reveal the cost of producing the second season. “50 Dates 50 States,” but it’s no doubt less than the millions that ABC pours into one of its longest-running and most popular franchises each season. While Wurnig was basically on his own last season, he’s now been able to secure sponsorships and investors to help fund Season 2. He also earns money through social media revenues, including brand partnership.
“I remember Season 1, I was working at my full-time job. And I didn’t have a sponsor at all, but I had like this feeling,”He stated. “I was like, I know that sponsors will come and brands will come and so I quit my full-time job and I didn’t have a sponsor before quitting, but then after I quit, the sponsors started rolling in. So I’m really glad I took that leap of faith.”
Wurnig is one example of how TikTok influencers are becoming more important in the media industry. The rapid rise in short-form video content has completely transformed the creator economy and led to ByteDance’s app. This app is now used by many production houses as well as advertisers.
YouTube remains the most popular platform to monetize social videos, but TikTok has the potential to challenge them as advertisers start to capitalize on the popularity of short-form video. Shorter ads already make up the majority of ad spending, and other tech companies are following in TikTok’s footsteps. Meta previously announced a Feeds tab similar to TikTok for Facebook and attempted to shift Instagram’s content to be more video-centric, although the company walked back those plans following criticism.
The recent surge in creator fund spending reflects a shift of how platforms and content-makers do their business. TikTok invested $200 million in content creators in 2020. Snapchat was founded in the following year.$250 millioninto its Spotlight fund, YouTube spent $100 million on its Shorts fund and Meta started doling out gamified cash bonuses via Instagram Reels.
For “50 Dates 50 States,”Wurnig was able to take advantage of all the above to help him monetize his platform. This season, he told , he’s on a mission to find true love. The women who make it to his top 10 will be brought to Miami to continue to get to know Wurnig, before he picks one woman with whom he’d like to spend four nights in Puerto Rico.
He has had many candidates to choose from. Wurnig received 10,000 dates applications within two months after the Season 2 announcement. This was a testament to how women were eager to be a part the next installment. If all works out, Wurnig will be off the market by the end of the season — but he’s already planned for how “50 Dates 50 States” can continue even if he’s off the dating market. “I can probably bring someone else new,”He stated. “Now that I have it lined out and have some structure to it, [I can] keep it fresh and relevant.”
While he’s finding success on social media, Wurnig hopes to find a home for the series on a streaming platform. He is currently a freelance writer. Creates episodes for YouTubeTikTok will recap them. “If I can get this to a higher platform, and people can look into it and go, ‘Oh, this [series was created by] a kid from a small town in Montana.’ That’s pretty cool. ‘If he can do it? Why can’t I?’ So yeah, it’s creating opportunities and inspiring people, that’s basically what I hope to continue to accomplish.”
Additional reporting by Antoinette SUI.
