Netflix's Love is Blind Needs Corrective Action Before a New Season Premieres - Collider

The Big Picture

• The controversial dating series Love Is Blind may face permanent closure if production doesn't make immediate changes.
• The show has been plagued by production issues, including abusive filming conditions and insensitive hosts.
• The show's handling of sensitive topics, such as bisexuality and racial bias, has caused backlash and potential lawsuits.

The pods may need to close permanently on Netflix's controversial dating series, Love Is Blind if production doesn't make changes immediately. The social experiment based on testing singles' ability to fall in love solely on the tonality of a person's voice and their conversation is a long shot in today's culture, which is based heavily on physical appearance and the perception of perfection. Although most viewers would agree that they wouldn't be up for the challenge, it's entertaining to tune in and watch the train wreck of singles talking to each other through a wall and then being visually disappointed when they are introduced to their voice crush in person.

The reality of singles going into pods, talking through a wall, and ultimately proposing through a wall seems far-fetched. But, there is no shortage of singles willing to sign up for the experiment in hopes of getting TV time and becoming a trending topic on social media and blog sites before the new season is introduced. However, there have been serious issues in the past few seasons, such as casting, lack of proper mental health screenings, and alleged sexual assault that have been swept under the rug.

Love Is Blind

Release Date

February 13, 2020

Cast

Nick Lachey , vanessa lachey , Bartise Bowden , Micah Lussier

Main Genre

Reality

Rating

TV-MA

Love Is Blind's Issues Extend Beyond Production

Image via Netflix

The problems with Love is Blind are multilayered, spanning from former cast members complaining of filming conditions being mentally and emotionally abusive, to cast members' abuse towards one another, to complaints about hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey being insensitive and biased. In an embarrassing turn of events, producers tried to entice viewers with the highly anticipated reunion of season 4, almost six million viewers tuned in for a live reunion that didn't happen. Social media was ablaze with criticism from frustrated fans trying to figure out what happened to the promised LIVE reunion on an uber-popular platform known for releasing content at an advertised deadline.

Related

The 'Love is Blind' Season 5 Reunion Fell Short Without Uche Okoroha's Manipulation

Uche Okora emerged as the mentally manipulative villain of 'Love Is Blind' season 5, but his absence at the reunion made the production fall short.

Netflix's executives must've been horrified when Congressional Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez entered the Twitter complaint box tweeting, “Someone call Lucia the seamstress to fix this. I believe in her.” Netflix was forced to address the mishap, but their curated tweet intended to do damage control, did little to change the reception of the audience. "To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned," was tweeted after almost thirty minutes of silence on the platform. AOC's comment may have read comically, but it was a huge stamp of disapproval for a show that has experienced far more losses in every category than wins.

Carlton Morton's Abuse Toward Diamon Jack Was the First Sign Love Is Blind Needed a Refresh

From production to the cast, to extremely dysfunctional connections among the cast, the show needs to take a couple of seasons off to regroup; or perhaps the social experiment just isn't fit for a culture driven by social-media-edited perfection. The debut season was accompanied by red flags when Carlton Morton, one of the single men, proposed to former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader Diamond Jack. After she accepted his proposal and the couple were vacationing in bliss, revealed his bi-sexual status. Production irresponsibly focused on the "wow" moment, ignoring the sensitivity of the subject and the fact that not only Carlton and Diamond would be affected, but an entire community would take issue with the way the disagreement was handled.

The result was Diamond receiving death threats and being labeled homophobic when she decided she no longer wanted to be engaged. Carlton also complained of suffering emotional abuse after allegedly being coached to share something publicly he preferred to do privately.

Producers Are Accused of Ignoring Mental Health Issues and Being Biased

Image via Netflix

Production company Kinetic Connection has been under fire for treatment of the cast during their time in the pods. According to a report from Business Insider, several contestants from previous seasons alleged that filming the show was a traumatic experience that included high levels of exhaustion, insufficient meals, lack of sunlight, and panic attacks they say producers took advantage of, so they could film. Season 2 contestant Danielle Ruhl says producers pressured her to stay on the show, despite her vocalizing suicidal thoughts.

If those allegations have you cringing, fans had another social media upset when Vanessa Lachey was notably less than objective with Paul Peden when he was honest about not seeing his pod crush Micah Lussier as a possible mother. Viewers were in full support of Paul, who shared with People Magazine that he felt attacked by Vanessa during his segment on the reunion. "I thought that I detected a little bit of personal bias there. And I guess she [Vanessa]’s within her right to drill on personal bias, but she shouldn’t present as being an objective neutral party if that’s the case. Vanessa later apologized and sent Paul flowers, but it wasn't enough for fans of the show to start a petition in hopes of having the husband and wife co-hosts Nick and Vanessa removed from the show.

Love is Blind has also spurned negative conversations about colorism and racial bias, with singles sharing insensitive intra-racial preferences on camera to the dismay of the audience. Several African American bachelors have voiced their preferences against women of color, causing blogs to respond in outrage that has gone unrequited by production.

With abusive conditions being reported by cast members and continuous antipathetic commentary being accepted and promoted by production, Love is Blind or perhaps Kenetic Connection needs a Human Resources consultation on how to ensure contestants don't leave the experiment mentally and emotionally scarred, which trickles down to the reception of the audience. Sexual and racial biases are hot-button issues that other production companies and networks have taken action against to respect their audiences. Love is Blind appears to violate social and civil rights for its stars and the show is also irresponsible with the content created for its somewhat loyal audience. Besides the social issues, the huge mistake with the live reunion in season four proves the team running the show is less than competent, or at least has been in previous seasons.

With the popularity of trendy dating shows, the mistakes made with Love may be Blind could result in the show being canceled or losing its audience. Even worse, if the production crew continues moving in such a reckless way during filming, it's possible that Kinetic Connection could face another lawsuit. The concept of love being blind is arguable, but it's certainly not worth a lawsuit or social media standoff.

All five seasons of Love Is Blind are available to stream on Netflix. Season 7 will premiere on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2024.

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2023-12-25 15:00:00Z

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