NETFLIX SHOW FOCUSES ON COURTSHIP
ATLANTA — Reality show producers sometimes wrap their shows in more meaningful cloth by calling them “social experiments.” That has been the case with programs ranging from “Survivor” to “Naked and Afraid.”
Netflix is combining elements of “Married at First Sight,” “The Dating Game” and “The Bachelor” for a new “social experiment”style reality program called “Love Is Blind.”
The concept is simple: 30 Atlanta singles in their 20s and 30s gathered at a huge soundstage, split by gender, in October 2018. They had “dates” in two pods where they could talk but were separated by a wall so they couldn’t see each other.
The hope was that men and women would fall in love sight unseen and get engaged. Only then do they meet in person.
“There is something to be said about building a foundation of emotional connection before adding a layer of physical connection,” said Vanessa Lachey, co-host with her husband, Nick.
Chris Coelen, CEO of the show’s production company, Kinetic Content, said he wanted to put them in an environment with no access to the outside world, where they didn’t have to focus on “looks or race or age or background or social status, just who you are as a human being. What matters is what’s on the inside.”
The first five episodes debuted last Thursday, focusing on courtship and a trip to Cancun once engaged couples meet face to face. The next four episodes, to be released this Thursday, will show the couples out in the “real world” over a span of a month. The two-hour finale, to be released Feb. 27, will feature any possible weddings.
The “Love Is Blind” casting experts did a good job — after 10 days, they had more couples engaged than they could follow.
Six pairings were chosen to highlight.
Mark Anthony Cuevas, a personal fitness instructor, is one of those featured. On day one, he went through a speed-dating process, speaking with each of the 15 women for seven minutes apiece. He focused his initial questions on two topics near and dear to his heart: faith and family.
Jessica Batten was his third date, and he was smitten. Batten, on the other hand, was attracted to both Cuevas and another man named Barnett.
Cuevas and Batten had an emotional charge from the get-go, but she had a difficult time getting past one hurdle: the age difference. Cuevas was 24 at the time; she was 34.
But Cuevas was passionate for his cause. With persistence, Cuevas eventually was able to convince Batten to take a chance with him and get engaged.
And when he saw Batten in the flesh, he was blown away. “I had no doubt I made the right decision,” he said.
Unfortunately, the feeling was not mutual. He is a good-looking man, but in episode five, she said she couldn’t get into him physically, and watching happier couples around her made it worse.
Sixteen months later, for the sake of the show, Cuevas can’t say whether his relationship with Batten is still kicking. But either way, he said the “Love is Blind” experience made him a “better person and communicator. I gave it all I got. I have zero regrets.”