It’s a question that’s as expected and as traditional to single women as the turkey-anchored feast and assortment of relatives crowded around it: “Baby,” an elder relative asks with kindness and concern, “why do you keep coming alone to Thanksgiving every year? When are you gonna settle down and find yourself a husband?”

The table chatter grows silent, indigestion devlops and the interrogation begins. Cousin Trish got married right after college and Lil’ Sister BeBe just got engaged a month ago, what could be the holdup?

Instead of cringing around a mouthful of mashed potatoes or making a hasty exit for the living room, five single women decided to switch up their techniques by particpating in a brand-new reality show experiment entitled Black Love, which premiering Dec. 8 on A&E’s FYI channel.

With the help of relationship experts Damona Hoffman and Jack Daniels, cast members Jamil “Jae” Eady, Tennesha Wood, Laree “LA” Thomas, Cynthia Branch and Monet Bell all explore their previous relationships, discover what they desire in a partner and date while devising strategies to become as successful in their love lives as they are with their careers and educational paths.

Bell, who divorced her selected spouse in the first season of FYI’s Married At First Sight, said during a conference call that she considers Black Love as more of a documentary series than a reality show. “I equate the show to a Sex In The City where everybody is in therapy,” she said. “There will be no times where viewers will see fabricated drama—we’re a bunch of girlfriends who drink a lot of wine, have fun and go through some heavy stuff. I just hope viewers will take the opportunity to step into another world with us.”

Finding out what matters and searching for that special someone is a trial-and-error process that evolves as often as the women do, and along the way Hoffman and Daniels offer their own insights into the dating patterns of the cast as well as provocative topics like colorism, interracial dating, the size of the dating pool and ways that all singles can sabotage themselves, including settling for less than what they want out of desperation and having unrealistic ideas about what love is….or isn’t.

So when it comes to friends, family and society at large, maybe the expectation that jumping the broom with Mr. Right should happen a certain way within a certain time frame is part of the issue. No one would expect or feel comfortable throwing together the holiday feast at the last minute, for example, since that could lead to disaster. Why can’t that methodical mind-set also apply to love?

The slow and steady approach might not be a glamorous one, but like that well-planned meal, satisfaction from taking one’s time feels a lot better than the resulting heartburn that comes from being rushed.