In what appears to be a mix between the hit Netflix show The Circle and the failed network series The Proposal, Love Is Blind is the next dating reality experiment trying to nudge its way into an already crowded room. Can the concept, which pulls from various elements of many other shows of its ilk, stand out enough?
The premise of Love Is Blind is not a completely novel one. Prospective lovers will engage in dialogue without seeing one another and then rush into an engagement far sooner than any human being should consider dropping down on a knee. It is similar to The Bachelor, but more akin to The Proposal - a show everyone likely already forgot about, even though it aired in 2018. In The Proposal, a man or woman meets their suitors and is expected to get engaged at the end of the hourlong episode. Love Is Blind ups the ante, where proposals arrive before the couple meets face to face. In that sense, it is like The Circle, in which contestants build relationships solely through online chat. The Circle, which was adapted from a U.K. version, was a huge hit despite being released in a three-week set on Netflix rather than on network television. Love Is Blind, which premieres on Netflix on Feb. 13, will follow the same template as the January sensation The Circle.
In a one-minute, 52-second trailer, contestants are seen in pods, where they can’t actually see their significant other. It begins with small talk and then, all of a sudden, everyone is dressed in formal wear, seemingly preparing for a proposal. The show then starts looking like 90 Day Fiancé, as two people who barely know each other have to decide whether it’s appropriate to walk down the aisle in the abbreviated time frame they are given.
It is the latest dating show to try to capture the magic of some of the more established series out there. Although The Circle’s focus wasn’t on dating, it at least proved that a reality show on Netflix can be a raging success in 2020. But Love Is Blind doesn’t have the benefit of international reputation behind it, as The Circle did with its prior release in The U.K. The show will need to be carried by a concept that enraptures an audience and a cast that leaps off the screen.
Another element that Love Is Blind should present if it hopes to find longevity in the bustling space of reality dating shows: diversity. Some of the shows that have found a foothold in this tenuous genre are the ones that showcase the kind of romance that isn’t shown on more prominent, popular shows like The Bachelor. It is important that Love Is Blind feature relationships of a wide range of races and sexual orientations because every viewer should have someone on screen to relate to. If Love Is Blind can achieve this goal, while also casting engaging people and pushing forth an idea that is different enough from those of its predecessors, it will be the show everyone is talking about in a few weeks time.
Next: The Circle’s Chris Sapphire Is As Real As it Gets
Source: Netflix
