Love Is Blind shows us the attraction of dating shows with a difference
The weirder the better, says Helen Daly
Love Is Blind became the unexpected TV hit of early 2020 as Netflix showed six couples on a journey to their wedding day. But it wasn't as simple as that – these couples had never met each other before and set about getting to know one another in isolated pods, never actually seeing their date.
After five days, some were engaged - at which point they can finally meet in person - and it wasn't soon before the other couples followed suit and tried to see if they could make it work in the real world (a luxury Mexico break), before getting married the following month.
Unsurprisingly, those who watched Love Is Blind immediately flocked to Twitter to comment on the bizarre nature of it all. People had questions – and lots of them. Many were confused. But everyone loved it.
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In these divisive times, one thing brought us all together - a baffling dating show and Jessica Batten memes.
Over the course of just a few weeks, we've come to love these contestants in a meta kind-of-blind way. From Cameron and Lauren's goal-worthy relationship, to Jessica getting completely wasted at her own hen-do and probably living to regret the whole thing, the wild ride has been enjoyable and unpredictable at every turn.
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Sweet moments mixed in with genuine shock and explosive fights makes it one of the most exciting reality shows to ever exist - and giving it a Netflix audience can only have helped the popularity and viral nature of the show to ensure it flew.
But Love Is Blind isn't the only unusual dating show to really take off. The rise of the abnormal method of finding The One has been prominent over the past couple of years, with shows such as 90 Day Fiancé and Naked Attraction proving the Love Islands of this world simply won't cut it.
Perhaps it's the drama of it all that has kept us hooked over the past couple of weeks, but Love Is Blind started from an honest place - do you really have to see someone to fall in love with them? Take a look at Naked Attraction too, which flipped the question completely and asked if you even need to see all of someone to find your soul mate?
In Love Island, couples have time to bond and form a relationship, with tests being thrown in across the six to eight week-long series. It's a slog and viewers, perhaps expectedly, have started to switch off.
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Enter short, sharp series Love Is Blind. It's changed the dating scene forever. Give me pods, give me engagements after five days, give me insanely unexpected arguments - I don't have time for a slow burn, I want to know ASAP whether they make it down the aisle and I need it to be weird and explosive.
We live in an era where if you're not gripped from the first 10 minutes, you're out. And thankfully, Love Is Blind nailed the elevator pitch perfectly. The trailers, the marketing, the soap opera drama... all of it gave me a quick fix of television goodness and I need more immediately.
Thanks Love Is Blind! Now, when's season two?
Love Is Blind is available to stream on Netflix now
