Airdate: The Matchmakers

In February SBS will debut “a heart-warming yet confronting documentary series” profiling three of Australia’s most successful cultural matchmakers.

The Matchmakers goes behind the scenes of Australia’s traditional Jewish, Muslim and Hindu matchmakers as they help singles in the universal quest for love in contemporary Australia.

With just 0.4% of the Australian population identifying as Jewish, Sydney matchmaker Toby Lieder uses her global expertise to match hopeful singles, while Sheikh Alaa Elzokm facilitates marriages in Melbourne’s growing Muslim community, and Preeti and Heena navigate the complexities of matching couples among Indian families.

With such high stakes and high divorce rates throughout Australia, the series asks can more be learned from an approach that focuses on matching a person’s values, than leaving love to chance alone?

Bernadine Lim, SBS Senior Commissioning Editor for Documentaries, said: “SBS is known for exploring contemporary Australia in a unique and entertaining way and in The Matchmakers, the mysterious world of matchmaking offers an intriguing, rich insight into the universal questions around love, family and marriage in modern multicultural Australia.”

Kylie Washington, General Manager and Creative Director, BBC Studios Productions Australia, said: “This show explores love, family expectations and life ambitions against a backdrop of cultural expectations. With high rates of marriage failure in Australia, can more be learned from an approach that refuses to leave love to chance alone?”

Head of Screen NSW, Kyas Hepworth said: “Screen NSW continues to support the telling of new and intriguing stories from communities across NSW, and this observational documentary will offer audiences a unique glimpse into the traditions and culture of matchmaking.”

The Matchmakers is a BBC Studios Productions Australia series for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen NSW in association with SBS.

The Matchmakers will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in eight languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Punjabi and Hindi. The series will also be available with audio description for blind and low vision audiences.

Weekly at 8.40pm from Wednesday 14 February on SBS (all episodes on SBS on Demand)