It seems as though Netflix is trying to compete with a variety of different reality TV franchises, namely shows like The Bachelor and Love Island. 

Although I have never seen an episode of The Bachelor and barely got into Love Island before quitting, I was able to pick up the general plotline: a show about a competition to find love.

It is also clear that contestants appearances are essential in their success in the show. So, it seems as though this new Netflix reality show is attempting to “change the narrative” of dating competitions by not letting contestants see one another until one of them has proposed.

Yep, you read that correctly. The plot of Love is Blind is that the women and men are separated and only allowed to communicate with one another in pods. This means that when they meet and potentially fall in love with someone, they have no idea what they look like.

While I appreciate the show’s emphasis on personality over appearance, the entire show still reaks of traditional reality drama. For example, one of the “sob stories” of a contestant is that he is shorter than the average man, thus making him less appealing to women. Personally, I found his cocky personality to be more of a turn-off than his height. Other than that, nearly every contestant is white and all of them are straight, cisgender individuals.

I am not necessarily saying that making this show LGBTQ+ inclusive would make it better, but at least attemtping to select a more diverse group of contestants would help set this show apart from other popular reality TV shows..

To be honest I couldn’t even get through the first episode before I got too bored. Besides the fact that contestants cannot see one another, the show is still set up to be full of ridiculous twists and turns.

Not to mention, I am more than certain that contestants do see one another before the final reveal happens, because just like all reality TV, a lot of it is totally made up.

I don’t think Love is Blind is worth your free time.