In an already crowded sea of reality TV dating shows, has Netflix’s new series Love Is Blind found a way to improve on the traditional format? With the feel of online dating minus the photoshopped pictures, is this the start of a new era of dating shows?
After the buzz around the recent release of The Circle on Netflix, fans were cautiously optimistic about the announcement of yet another reality dating show. The Bachelor has a tried and true format, which has resulted in various successful spin-off series, most notably The Bachelorette. Love Island proved a runaway hit the UK had never seen the likes of in reality TV. Flirty Dancing looked to make connections through dance and is already appearing on multiple continents. The one thing that is undeniable is people love to watch people trying to find love. The other thing that is undeniable is they are always looking for new ways to see that happen.
Love is Blind has thrown out the rule book and started over. In a world full of people who are exhausted from swiping right or waiting to be swiped on, Love is Blind has taken a chance on proving that real connections are based on more than physical appearance. Even more than that, they have realized that people need time away from the distractions of life to really get to know one another. There is no better proof of this than the show Big Brother. Despite not being a dating show at all it has one of the highest success rates with couples who have gone on to marry and/or have children and remain in long-standing successful relationships. In interviews, the one thing most of those couples have said is that when you’re stuck together with no phones or television or other distractions, you get to know people in a very accelerated and deeper way. Netflix improved on that by also taking appearance out of it.
While other shows have tried one of these things, no one has put them together until Love is Blind. Love Island leaves the singles alone together without devices or distractions, but it is undeniable from the first episode that it is based heavily on appearances. Married at First Sight takes appearances out of it but it also takes out the component of allowing the couple to decide for themselves and develop a bond naturally. Another thing Love is Blind does is takes the pressure off a bit. Yes, all the singles are hoping to find a soulmate and end up married, but if they don’t make a connection, they just don’t move on. Unlike some dating shows that feel like a roller coaster the contestant is strapped into and must ride until the end, Love is Blind is about letting the couples find each other or not. Spoiler alert: not everyone finds their match in the pods. And that’s OK.
In a world full of Tinder and Bumble and shows where beautiful people line up and get chosen based solely on their appearance, this show feels like a nice change of pace. In the pods where they can’t be seen the singles can be themselves. I mean let’s be honest, it’s much easier to be your wittiest self in sweats alone in a room rather than in a room high heels and a ball gown that you can’t breathe in. However, the show has just started. We’ve yet to see the final outcome so we aren’t sure if this new approach works or not but one thing is for certain fans will be tuning in. Love it or hate it, people are all talking about Love is Blind.
