Meet 'Swiping America' Breakout Star Kris Kelkar

Kris Kelkar Source: Instagram

This piece is part of EDGE's 2023 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.

On "Swiping America," the upcoming "rom doc" on Max, four singles swipe their away across the country looking for love. One of them is out scientist Kris Kelkar, who is already getting attention ahead of the show's June launch.

"We love romantic comedies," says Johnnie Ingram and Stephen Warren, executive producers of Max's new reality series. And with their new series, they hope to create something unique -- what they call "a true-to-life romantic documentary... aka ROM DOC." The pair previously produced the hit HBO series "We're Here."

For their show they are focusing on "a group of diverse singles from New York City on an introspective, eight-city dating app journey, as they explore personal issues around sex, relationships, love and connection."

The show will launch on the newly-rebranded streaming service on June 15 with the first two of six episodes.

The group will visit a new American city in each episode "as producers swipe through possible matches and curate blind dates for them. The singles of 'Swiping America' include Ashleigh Warren, Reagan Baker, Kesun Lee, and Kris Kelkar."

The Max release writes that "their journey culminates in Hawaii, where they hand-pick their best match from the season and ultimately decide whether their relationship can go the distance."

Kelkar, one of the contestants, is an out man looking for relationship. In the trailer, he is seen going on a few dates with different men, which includes adult film star Diego Sans.

According to Cosmopolitan, the 30-year old's full name is Krishnanand Kelkar, "but you can call me Kris." His occupation is Data Scientist. He told the magazine he likes "photography, museums, and googling how to dye/embroider/alter my clothes...but have never followed through with that (yet!)."

He explained why he joined the show. "This show was a YOLO moment – I never thought I'd do anything like this, but I had just been through a rough break up and funnily enough the guy badly wanted to be on TV, so I was kind of feeling the cosmic irony of it all."

He's excited for viewers to see how "at some point in the season, I wear a wedding dress! I am so excited for viewers to see that."

Check out pics from Kelkar's Instagram: