Singles unleash their inner beast to find ‘Love in the Jungle’

Singles who have been unlucky in love resort to animal instinct to find a partner in a rather unique series currently streaming on discovery+.

On “Love in the Jungle,” 14 singles who have struck out on finding mates via conventional means head to a private eco-preserve in Colombia to try it a new way – without talking and each using a mating ritual of an animal with which they identify to hopefully entice a member of the opposite gender. So in this jungle setting, these young, attractive singletons will behave like a tiger (passionate, powerful), a koala (fun, lovable), an otter (monogamous, protective) and a peacock (showy, polygamous), among other creatures, to find love.

Narrated in the style of a nature documentary, the series is certainly outside the box and “ludicrously outrageous,” admits executive producer Todd Lubin, but he adds that it has some important themes beneath the surface.

“It has a tremendous amount of heart because we ask the real questions ...,” he says.

“Everyone who’s watched it from my world (has observed that) you just really care about the people. And that was a minor miracle of this ridiculous concept. We really ask them like, ‘What are you really looking for? And now dress like a flamingo and see if you get chosen.’ But what are you really looking for?”

As in the animal kingdom, there are battles among the males to determine alpha status. In the opening episode, two men joust on an ersatz lily pad with the one who knocks the other into the water earning the right to go on dates with two females. It is then that talking is allowed and singles find out a lot more about one another – which can be a blessing or a curse.

“You realize we all make such assumptions – and there are studies on this,” Lubin says, “within seconds of meeting someone based on the haircut and their accent, the clothes they’re wearing and the location you meet them in the first time. And so talking is like the ultimate giveaway – the accents, what they choose to say, when they first say it. And so if you take that

away, you’re sort of down to basics.”