Four years after the original Love Is Blind shocked the world with its novel approach to dating, a UK version is now poised to take the country by storm.
Landing on Netflix in February 2020, the producers of Love Is Blind could not have known that its premise would come to resonate so deeply.
The show’s set up was prophetic: couples dated while sat in pods, unable to physically touch one another. But there was one more crucial detail: the contestants could not see one another. Speaking to each other through a wall, they would chat for hours, slowly falling in love, without ever getting a glimpse of each others’ appearance.
Without the complication of physical attraction, participants gravitated towards individuals they might not necessarily pick in the outside world.
And after agreeing to marry through the pod walls, the future husband and wife would finally come face to face. As two doors, situated either end of a corridor, slid open, some partners ran towards each other, flushed with excitement. Others were confused and unhappy, proving the limits of the phrase ‘love is blind’.
The concluding segment of the American series saw cameras follow the couples as they first ‘honeymooned’ in an exotic location, then tried to live together, meeting each other’s family. At the end, the wedding beckoned: would the couples stick with their pod-mate, or twist?
Its premise surely cements it as one of the craziest dating reality TV shows ever released, and audiences agreed, with 30 million households watching the original show in its first month.
Now, four years later, the UK is getting its own version. And with broadcaster Emma Willis, and her husband, musician Matt Willis, hosting, it's set to be another massive hit. Here’s everything to know.
When is the new season going to be released?
The new season will premiere on Netflix on August 7 with four episodes. The next five episodes will be released on August 14, and the last installment, two finale episodes, will air on August 21.
What do we know about the set up?
“While the setting, accents, and hosts might be different, the approach to finding an everlasting bond will be the same,” Netflix explains on Tudum, its official companion site.
“Love Is Blind: UK will see 30 men and women enter the pods, where they’ll meet a host of potential soulmates without the distraction of the outside world. If they get engaged, the couples will then lay their eyes on their fiancés for the very first time, and see whether their physical connection can match their emotional one.
“Once they’re back in the real world, the couples will determine once and for all whether love is truly blind, as the realities of everyday life sink in and their much-awaited wedding day finally arrives.”
Emotions are sky-high as the male and female participants, who live together in apartments of their own sex for the first part of the process, date the same people. It’s not uncommon for several individuals to fall for the same person, causing tension in the respective flats.
The dates, which start off short but sometimes end up lasting for six to eight hours at a time, continue for days, intensify the already high-stakes situation.
Who are the contestants?
The 30 contestants range in age from 27 to 38 years old, come from across the country and have massively varying jobs: there’s a rapper-turned-luxury shopping advisor from Staffordshire, a photographer from Scotland, a gym manager form Hertfordshire, a health food business owner from Dublin, a global communications director from London, a careers coordinator from Cheshire – and the list goes on.
All are search for love, but have very different ideas about what that looks like. Some want to grow a family soon, others are looking for passion. Some contestants have had bad romantic experiences in the past, and now need security above all else; others have spent years as a serial dater and are now looking to settle down.
What have the presenters said?
Introducing your hosts of Love Is Blind: UK…
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) August 24, 2023
Welcome to the pods, Emma and Matt Willis!! ❤️ Coming 2024. pic.twitter.com/3GXtDxKNuN
Broadcaster Emma Willis, 48, who has presented Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother and The Voice UK, will host Love Is Blind UK, alongside her musician husband Matt Willis, 41, the co-founder of pop-punk band Busted. Married since 2008, the couple share three children.
"I think the cast is really good,” said Emma to the BBC. “They have got people who genuinely want to meet their life partner and settle down.
“It’s just a very British version – it's quite self-deprecating," she continued. "There's a lot of humour, a lot of banter. And you can tell that when they say [things in the pods], you feel like they really mean it."
Matt added: "I think in the other TV shows maybe the dating aspect is secondary to being on telly, whereas this one feels like the telly is a vehicle for them to fall in love.”
Is there a trailer?
Yes, we’ve popped it at the top of the page.
