Love is Blind, the wildly successful Netflix dating show format, is finally coming to the UK. Hosted by husband-and-wife duo Matt and Emma Willis, it sees strangers meet for dates in isolated “pods” where they cannot see each other. If they fall in love, they get engaged, and only then do they meet face-to-face for the first time.
Emma says that the show’s success is down to flipping conventional dating apps on their head, and that “to me, it’s also quite refreshing that I’ve never been on an app because we met pre-dating app.” Filming of the pod stages of the UK series took place in Sweden, while the rest of the show follows the couples as they’re tested on honeymoons, living together, and meeting each other’s families and friends.
While reality dating shows are hardly a new phenomenon on UK TV, Love is Blind’s unique premise means it stands out from the rest. According to Emma, the show’s casting is what keeps it fresh: “they have got people who genuinely want to meet their life partner and settle down.” Matt adds that other dating shows tend to view dating as secondary to celebrity, whereas Love is Blind is a “vehicle for them to fall in love.”
The success rate of the American version has been mixed, but Emma and Matt maintain that the show can and does produce genuine couples. However, with the requisite heartbreak thrown in, Emma says that “there’s drama – but it’s done in a very British way,” and “it’s just really true to our sense of humour.”
The first instalment of Love is Blind UK will be released on Netflix on 7 August
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