Associated Press
[Source: AP]
The just-wrapped Denver season of “Love Is Blind” may be the first time the show explored the Mountain West, but the Netflix reality dating show franchise is already a well-seasoned globe-trotter.
In just five years, the show has aired seasons from nine different U.S. cities and spawned nearly a dozen international adaptations. Premised on challenging traditional ideas of love by focusing on emotional connections over physical appearance, each season reflects the cultural nuances of its environs — be that Dallas or Japan.
Romance aside, the show hasn’t been received purely as a fairytale. It’s been subject to lawsuits over treatment of contestants and fans and critics alike note that internalized biases cannot be ignored — something that often rears its head when the engaged pairs finally meet each other, as what seemed to happen with one ruptured engagement on the most recent season.
Still, with international versions in Brazil, Japan, Sweden, the U.K., Mexico, the Middle East, Germany, Argentina and France — and Italy and the Netherlands to come — the show has found a formula to showcase different cultural norms and the many types of love that exist.
“The duality — local authenticity plus global relatability — has allowed ‘Love Is Blind’ to not just entertain, but to subtly shape how audiences think about love across the globe,” says Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports.
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