When and Where It Premiered
Season 20 of Married at First Sight premiered July 12, 2026, exclusively on Peacock — the franchise's first full season built for streaming rather than its longtime home on Lifetime cable. New episodes are dropping weekly in multi-episode batches through an August 27 finale and reunion.
Why Seattle
The season was filmed in and around Seattle, Washington, during the late summer and autumn of 2025, capturing the Pacific Northwest's seasonal shift on camera. Fourteen new singles were matched into seven couples for the experiment.
The Expert Panel Has Completely Changed
This is one of the biggest structural changes in the show's history: the franchise's longtime experts — Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec — have all exited ahead of season 20. They've been replaced by two new matchmaking experts, Paul C. Brunson and Dr. Lisa Paz, a smaller panel than in past seasons. Producers have said the two-expert format was intentional, allowing each expert to build a more focused relationship with the couples rather than splitting attention across a larger panel.
The Largest Cast in Show History
Season 20 brings the franchise's biggest cast yet, with the season also notable for including a reality television veteran among the participants for the first time — a departure from the show's usual pool of first-time reality contestants.
What's Different About the Peacock Era
| Previous Seasons (Lifetime) | Season 20 (Peacock) | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Linear cable | Streaming, full season built for Peacock |
| Release format | Weekly single episodes | Weekly multi-episode drops |
| Expert panel | 3 experts | 2 new experts (Brunson, Paz) |
| Cast size | Standard | Largest in franchise history |
What to Expect
With a full expert overhaul, a bigger cast, and a new streaming-first release cadence, season 20 is positioned as a soft relaunch for the franchise rather than just another season — the kind of format reset that tends to define how a long-running reality show holds up over its next several years.
The New Expert Panel
Season 20's biggest change is the complete overhaul of its expert panel. The franchise's long-running experts — Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec — have all departed. In their place are two new matchmaking experts, Paul C. Brunson and Dr. Lisa Paz. Producers chose a smaller two-expert format deliberately, saying it lets each expert build a deeper relationship with the couples rather than splitting attention across a larger panel.
What's Different in the Peacock Era
| Previous seasons (Lifetime) | Season 20 (Peacock) | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Linear cable | Streaming, built for Peacock |
| Release | Weekly single episodes | Weekly multi-episode drops |
| Experts | Three | Two (Brunson, Paz) |
| Cast size | Standard | Largest in franchise history |
Why Seattle
The season was filmed in and around Seattle during late summer and autumn 2025, capturing the Pacific Northwest's seasonal shift. Fourteen singles were matched into seven couples — the largest cast the franchise has assembled — with the season also notable for including a reality-TV veteran among the participants for the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Married at First Sight season 20 premiere?
Season 20 premiered July 12, 2026, exclusively on Peacock, with weekly multi-episode drops through an August 27 finale and reunion.
Who are the new experts on MAFS season 20?
Paul C. Brunson and Dr. Lisa Paz replaced the previous panel of Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec.
Where was MAFS season 20 filmed?
In Seattle, Washington, during late summer and autumn of 2025.