‘The Courtship’ Premiere: Nicole Rémy Fills Her Dance Card (RECAP)

Nicole Rémy is looking for love, and The Courtship is helping her find it.

NBC’s newest reality dating series debuted Sunday, March 6, hoping to win the hearts of fans of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, Love Is Blind, and more. The Courtship sets itself apart with its Regency-era setting, saying goodbye to modern dating and returning to the courting lifestyle of Jane Austen novels.

The show was originally titled Pride & Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance. And it uses every opportunity to incorporate period-appropriate details.

Here’s everything you need to know about how The Courtship works and what happened in the dramatic fairytale of a series premiere.

How The Courtship works

The Courtship is hosted and narrated by Rick Edwards — an English TV presenter, journalist, and author. He’s the go-to source for Regency-era etiquette and all things The Courtship.

Imagine Rémy as the daughter of a noble family who are eager to see her happily married. Imagine her suitors as noblemen like Bridgerton‘s Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings. (OK, maybe not exactly like him. Not everyone can be Regé-Jean Page.)

The episode starts off with Rémy and her court arriving to Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, England. (Yes, it looks very similar to Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley in both the 2005 and BBC adaptations of Pride & Prejudice.) In Rémy’s court are her parents, Dr. Claire Spain-Rémy and Claude Rémy, her sister, Danie Baker, and her best friend, Tessa Cleary.

The court is The Courtship‘s most unique feature. Unlike other dating shows, where contestants meet the family near the end of the competition, Rémy’s court is involved from day one. And they play an active role in Rémy’s quest for love. Rather than be isolated from her family and friends, Rémy gets to have them by her side — occasionally choosing her date companions — while being courted.

Every week, Rémy and the suitors will take part in Regency-era activities: balls, archery, picturesque boat rides, the works. And every week, Rémy will send suitors home until there’s one man standing. Oh, and everyone is referred to as “Ms. Rémy,” Ms. Clearly,” etc. Because we’re proper in this castle.

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Letters from Suitors

After the show’s format was explained, it was time to read the letters from the suitors. Rémy gathered her court in one of the drawing rooms of Castle Howard to read the handwritten notes from the 16 eligible bachelors. In true commitment to the cause, the series made every suitor take calligraphy lessons (though it seems some of the lessons didn’t take…).

Christian Lee Cones’ letter stood out the most to Rémy and her family. Mainly for its emotional, heartfelt content, but also for the romantic (read: hot) addition of him scenting the page with his cologne and telling Rémy to search for the scent during the ball so they could meet.

Another letter stood out, but not for more awkward reasons. Unfortunately for Captain Danny Kim, Rémy’s mother read his letter aloud, including his note about hoping for “sexual tension.” Rotten luck, buddy.

Suitor Arrivals

With all the letters read, it was time to meet the gentlemen. The suitors arrived via horse-drawn carriage and greeted Edwards at the entrance. There is no shortage of awkward first-meeting gimmicks like in The Bachelorette in this section. Luckily for these men, Rémy wasn’t present.

The First Ball

And now, for the main event. The first ball of the season began with the suitors and court mingling in the ballroom. This was the suitors’ first chance to make a good first impression with Team Rémy. Some of the standout sweethearts are Cones, Lewis Echavarria, and Daniel Bochicchio. Dr. Jarrett Schanzer stood out to Rémy’s mother, as she’s also a doctor.

Sean Gleason/NBC

Rémy then made her grand entrance, which was grand indeed. Entering the ballroom in a beautiful red gown, large sparkling stars clipped into her hair, Rémy greeted her suitors for the very first time. And they all swooned.

Rémy had good first interactions with lots of the suitors, but the first bachelor she didn’t get a good vibe from was Caleb Ward. She felt he diverted conversation back to himself too often.

First Dates

Throughout the mingling and drinks and dancing, the inevitable occurs: the “can I steal her for a secs.” (We all knew this was coming.) One by one, the men tried to get solo time with Rémy, and not everyone was successful.

Halfway through the ball, it was already time for the first group date. But plot twist: the court chose the six men. And then off they went into a drawing room, where Rémy teased Kim about the sexual tension comment. In the ballroom, Rémy’s parents assured the remaining men that just because they weren’t selected for the first group date, doesn’t mean they don’t like them.

More dancing commenced when the heroine and six suitors returned to the ballroom. And then, it was time for Rémy to choose the first suitor to receive a one-on-one date. Her choice: Mr. Bochicchio, a 31-year-old New York real estate agent.

They settled down on a chaise in front of a glorious fountain outside of the castle entrance. And the chemistry? It was felt! Rémy and Bochicchio had their first kiss under a blanket of fireworks. Talk about a fairytale.

Sean Gleason/NBC

Eliminations

Rémy and Bochicchio returned for the ball, where it was time to eliminate the first three suitors. In a very “lip-sync for your life” moment, Rémy filled her dance card (literally) with the names of six suitors she wasn’t sure about. They get one last dance with the heroine to convince her to let them stay. Of those six, three will be sent home.

Echavarria, Chandler Luxe, Kim, Peter Saffa, Ward, and Schanzer were on the chopping block. While they danced, Rémy explained her reasoning for adding them to her dance card. Her biggest concerns were lack of chemistry, doubting intentions, and lack of emotional vulnerability. She stressed how little time they have to build a relationship on the show.

Notably, the court hoped Luxe would stay. Luckily for them, he was able to convince Rémy to give him another chance. Kim also got to stay. Ward was the first person eliminated. A beautiful, heartfelt, plea from Echavarria wasn’t enough to keep him safe. Rémy cried as she told him she didn’t feel enough of an attraction to keep him there, despite his genuinely sweet nature.

Saffa and Schanzer were left. Saffa gave close to no emotional honesty when asking to stay. His lack of vulnerability is noteworthy. Plus, he’s one of the youngest in the group and it shows. Schanzer made a grand gesture by quoting Austen and gifting Rémy with a rose quartz necklace in a wooden jewelry box to “open up her love chakra.” (Honestly, it was cringe.)

But Rémy was steadfast in her feelings that the doctor’s humor crossed the line into unattractive cockiness. His response to Rémy’s difficult, but kind rejection was to challenge her and get defensive. Not a cute look. His attitude, unsurprisingly, did not save him. Schanzer was sent home confused, but viewers probably aren’t.

The Courtship‘s farewell is “your carriage awaits.” The drama of it all.

There are 13 suitors left. Tune in Sundays to find out which nobleman snags the noblewoman’s heart.

What do you think of ‘The Courtship’s Regency-era format? Sound off in the comments below.

The Courtship, Sundays, 8/7c, NBC, Next-Day Streaming on Peacock