Four New Yorkers travel across the United States to find romance, but will their dreams for true love come to fruition? Or will they end up just as single as they started?
In this innovative rom-doc dating series, our four leading cast members – Ash, Kesun, Krishnanand, and Reagan – all go on the vacation of a lifetime, abandoning the dreary dating scene in New York to hopefully find love elsewhere.
Throughout eight different U.S. cities, these single New Yorkers experience a total of 140 dates as the show’s production team swipes away on their dating apps. While most of the dates aren’t a complete compatibility match, sparks eventually fly for all four of our leads. Some even find chemistry with more than just one date, which causes some tough choices to be made.
Romance, love, and dating are all at the center of Swiping America, but the show is so much more than that. At the true heart of the series is a deep dive into the lives of our four fabulous leads, with each of them opening up to the audience in a compelling and relatable way. One is guaranteed to fall in love with all four of the show’s leading stars, and it’s the strong bond they have with each other that keeps the show fun and pulsating with energy.
Pop Crave had the chance to speak with the four leads of Max’s new dating series, Swiping America, about their texting turn-offs, what advice they took away from the show, and what they’re most excited for viewers to experience while watching. Keep reading to meet the cast!
Ash, 30, Pisces
A lot of this show involves texting romantic partners, and we learn a lot about your communication style throughout the series. What is your number one turn-off when it comes to the way someone texts you?
I feel like too much information and too little information. Like, both. I don’t need 5,000 paragraphs. I’d rather you call. I also don’t need two-word answers to things, because then it feels like you’re uninterested. There’s this medium that I feel like we all agree on that’s like, “That’s the proper amount for a text message!” I feel like when we were talking on dates and they didn’t have a lot to say, I was like, “What are we doing?” Or if they overshared, “What are we doing? I don’t know you!” Um, so yeah [laughs].
At the beginning of every episode, you’re given a self-work activity to participate in. Which one was your favorite activity to do?
I loved the game that Reagan had us do in Seattle. I think that was probably my favorite.
If Swiping America gets a Season 2, which city would you like to see the next cast visit?
I think San Diego because it’s my hometown. I think it’d be interesting… [Los Angeles] sucks. Spoiler alert! It’s the same [as New York] but different.
What’s one piece of advice about relationships that you’d say you took away from the show?
Just being aware of your biases, your type, and constantly having that honest conversation with yourself is healthy for me and something I’ve been doing forever. That was probably the best thing that I learned in the time I was there.
What are you most excited for viewers to learn about you during the show?
How much I fucking love my best friends! Honestly, I’m just so excited for people to be like, “They love each other? That’s the plot twist?”
How would you describe Kesun in three words?
I would say funny, gorgeous, and she’s just fucking brilliant!
Kesun, 35, Leo
This series was filmed in early 2022. How do you think coming off of COVID-19 and the pandemic affected your headspace going into the show?
I think for me – it was kind of like the halfway mark of COVID, I guess you wanna call it – I really started the internal conversation of, “Maybe it’s time for a new city!” Like, maybe it’s time for change. We were all itching to get on the road with each other and for this experience, but I think if it hadn’t been on the heels of COVID, the thought of leaving New York probably would’ve never crossed my mind.
A lot of this show involves texting romantic partners, and we learn a lot about your communication style throughout the series. What is your number one turn-off when it comes to the way someone texts you?
When I’m texting with a boy, I want you to flirt with me. I don’t wanna actually hear about your day. I just want you to flirt with me [laughs]! Say cute and funny things that are gonna make me smile and blush, and not be annoyed that I’m just on the phone texting incessantly.
I would like to add, because I’m also really old, I think it’s really cute when guys use the semicolon and the parentheses for a smile instead of an actual smiley face emoji, because I’m like, “Oh my gosh, maybe we’re in the same generation!” [laughs].
At the beginning of every episode, you’re given a self-work activity to participate in. Which one was your favorite activity to do?
I think looking back on it, the ice bath was really cool. In the moment while it was happening, we were all like, “What the hell is the point of this?” But looking back on it, it was definitely a cool way to start the entire adventure. First of all, we got into our bathing suits on the first day of filming which was like, “Okay, let’s just rip that Band-Aid off!” Second of all, it was an experience that none of us had done before, so that was really cool to have a shared first experience.
If Swiping America gets a Season 2, which city would you like to see the next cast visit?
LA. I think there is such a harsh difference between LA and New York City, and it’s something that’s talked about quite often. It would be kind of funny to see New Yorkers trying to date in LA.
What’s one piece of advice about relationships that you’d say you took away from the show?
I would say trying your best to take the ego out of the whole thing. I think that applies to romantic relationships, friendships, and professional relationships. I think that’s the hardest thing to do naturally, but it’s probably the most important.
What are you most excited for viewers to learn about you during the show?
I’m so excited to just brag about these three people for the rest of my life, and I’m so happy that this is where it starts.
How would you describe Krishnanand in three words?
Ooh, Kris! I would describe him as sweet, number one. I don’t want to repeat Ash’s words, but brilliant also comes to mind. Trusting, I would say, as number three.
Krishnanand, 29, Leo
A lot of this show involves texting romantic partners, and we learn a lot about your communication style throughout the series. What is your number one turn-off when it comes to the way someone texts you?
For me, I really hate impatience. So many guys will text you a lot of things constantly, and if you don’t get back to them in three hours, they go all sour grapes. You think you’re entitled to my attention and my time just ‘cause we’re texting, and I have a life! That’s my take on texting [laughs].
At the beginning of every episode, you’re given a self-work activity to participate in. Which one was your favorite activity to do?
Well, obviously the wedding dresses! I just floated in that gown [laughs]. I had so much fun!
Going on 140 dates means there’s a lot of opportunities to try new food! What was your favorite meal you had on the show, and what city was it in?
Seattle! We had an amazing home-cooked meal [made by Ash]. I watched the episode and was like, “Damn! That’s some Food Network quality shit!”
If Swiping America gets a Season 2, which city would you like to see the next cast visit?
LA. I’m from LA. I would’ve loved to have gone home and seen my family.
What’s one piece of advice about relationships that you’d say you took away from the show?
I’d say that my lesson is to probably just have more fun! I think life is better if you don’t take it as seriously.
What are you most excited for viewers to learn about you during the show?
I’m just excited to be like, “Yeah, those are my friends! Aren’t they cool? I know her!”
How would you describe Reagan in three words?
For Reagan, I would describe her as a self-starter. The worst part was that I was going to say brilliant for everyone [laughs]! We’re brilliant, we’re all brilliant! And I would say creative. She’s such a creative leader.
Reagan, 37, Aquarius
This series was filmed in early 2022. How do you think coming off of COVID-19 and the pandemic affected your headspace going into the show?
It felt like a little bit of lockdown again, because we were really only socializing together.
A lot of this show involves texting romantic partners, and we learn a lot about your communication style throughout the series. What is your number one turn-off when it comes to the way someone texts you?
First of all, I love leaving people on read [laughs]. It’s my favorite thing, but I also require that you don’t text too much, don’t text too little, and you have to keep me engaged. You can’t just say “woah” or something. It needs to be thoughtful.
At the beginning of every episode, you’re given a self-work activity to participate in. Which one was your favorite activity to do?
I loved drawing the dick [laughs]! [Also], the guy was really cool that ran the ice bath thing. We all felt a really strong connection. He was just so genuine… The ice bath is my second favorite after the dick!
If Swiping America gets a Season 2, which city would you like to see the next cast visit?
Salt Lake City!
What’s one piece of advice about relationships that you’d say you took away from the show?
I learned that for me, it’s not a numbers game. It’s not about how many people I’m seeing, meeting, or going out with. It’s really a deep connection that I long for.
What are you most excited for viewers to learn about you during the show?
I can’t wait for everyone to see the looks that we wear!
How would you describe Ash in three words?
Ash is a superstar, boss, and kindhearted!
The first two episodes of Swiping America are now streaming on Max.
