In the early 2000s, Reality TV shows reached new heights in success and have only grown in number and popularity since. A genre of reality TV that has come to the center of many people’s attention in recent years focuses on dating or romance, such as “The Bachelor”.
“Love is Blind”, a reality TV show often referred to as an experiment, is one of these romantic reality shows. The premise of the show is having people form relationships by talking to each other through a wall. The rooms are referred to as pods and the couples that form are not permitted to see what the other looks like until after they are engaged. The experiment is meant to see what happens when the relationship is based solely on personalities and not on looks.
This show is based out of a different city each season it airs. The most recent season, season eight, consists of people from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The ages of participants often range from mid-20s to mid-30s.
However, Love is Blind has expressed interest in branching out–to colleges and universities. This stems from an effort to expand their experiment and get more data on different age groups. After taking time to gauge interest from both potential viewers and potential participants, producers have decided to pursue the change in the age group of participants.
In exciting news for Eastern students, their next season will be shot in the Philadelphia area. While Eastern is not in the city, it is on the list of universities the show is accepting applications from.
The show has yet to make an official announcement, and there has been no marketing to garner interest, but the news has been slowly spreading across local campuses. Many students have expressed excitement for the change. Some show interest in being on the show, others are just excited to watch it.
A student from an undisclosed university shared their excitement online saying, “I’ve been addicted to this show for years, but now? The drama? The romance? I can’t wait to see people from my school on here.” Another student expressed a newfound interest in the show sharing, “I’ve never even heard of this show, and I hate reality TV, but I’m totally bingeing this when it comes out.”
However, others have used social media to express their concerns. One person shared on Instagram, “These shows do nothing but make people look stupid,” and “Who in their right mind wants to sign up for this?” Someone took to TikTok to share a similar sentiment, “These shows never work in the first place, but now you’re asking college students to get married after knowing each other for like, what, a month?”
It’s unclear at this time how the student body at Eastern University feels about this new opportunity, as it has yet to become common knowledge. Of the students who are aware of it, there seems to be mixed reactions. Some are excited to apply for the show, others are excited to watch it, and the rest express concern about how the show goes against what Eastern stands for.
One student shared their disapproval with the show saying, “These shows are bad in the first place. Sure they’re entertaining but what else do they have? Sexism? Bad representations of love and relationships? We’re a Christ-centered school.” Another student, though, shared their excitement, “I love watching these shows with my friends. They’re entertaining and filled with drama. Who cares if the relationships are unhealthy? We all know it–that’s what makes it good TV.”
With the eighth season of Love is Blind’s wrapping up, more news for the Philadelphia-based season should be coming soon. Whether you are interested in applying, ready to watch the drama unfold, or are armed with complaints and concerns for the next season’s twist, I think it’s safe to say that “Love is Blind” at least did one thing successfully with this change–they have everyone talking about their show.
Colin Tomczak 
Eva Whited