Emmy-nominated casting director Donna Driscoll explains the process of casting singles in the hopes they turn into couples.
Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” has become one of the most popular reality dating shows in the world thanks largely to its irresistible concept: Couples date in “pods” where they can hear but not see each other, forming connections based truly on what’s inside and not on looks. As strong as that premise is, it’s not the only reason audiences are addicted to the show; a lot of the appeal of “Love Is Blind” comes from the emotional investment it engenders in the viewer by fulfilling the main requirement of any good romance: presenting “characters” the audience desperately wants to see end up together.
Casting director Donna Driscoll has been with “Love Is Blind” from the beginning and is responsible for finding contestants for whom the show’s experiment has the best odds at success — and given that four of the couples from Season 4 got married in the final episode, it seems that her system is working. (It’s also earned Driscoll her second Outstanding Casting for a Reality Series Emmy nomination, shared with Stephanie Lewis and Claire Loeb.) One key to Driscoll’s approach is to cast each season in one city; in the case of Season 4, it was Seattle. “We want to make sure that we’re setting the couples up for success after the cameras leave,” Driscoll told IndieWire. Finding people who live in the same city helps, as does keeping them close to friends and family. “It’s really helpful to have a support system around you when you’re in a new relationship. The more support the better.”
Each season when a city is chosen, Driscoll’s team reaches out via everything from cold calls and social media outreach to businesses, churches, and schools. “The big job for us is to make sure that everyone within a 50-mile radius is talking about the fact that ‘Love Is Blind’ is casting there,” Driscoll said, noting that “each city receives our presence in a different way.” The casting team begins narrowing down the participants via lengthy phone interviews about past relationships and marriage role models, trying to get a handle on who they are personally and professionally. “The biggest question is, ‘Why “Love Is Blind?” Why them? Why now?’ It’s always on a case-by-case basis, but what I’m looking for are single candidates who are truly ready for commitment.”
Driscoll’s staff talks to about 2,000 people for those phone interviews, then narrows the pool down to three or four hundred for Zoom interviews. In those conversations, Driscoll looks for more indicators that the applicants are ready for a committed marriage. “Those indicators would be if they’ve done the work on themselves, healed from past relationships, truly understand what the meaning of love is, or have experienced what it is to love,” she said, adding that at the Zoom stage, each applicant fills out a nearly 300-question compatibility questionnaire. “It’s very detailed, and we have a background check and psych evaluation before anyone moves forward to the pod.”
Toward the end of casting, Driscoll and the other casting directors narrow the group down to around 60 or 70 people, from whom 30 final cast members are chosen. At that point Driscoll is looking at the cast not only as individuals but as an ensemble — and as prospective couples. “Figuring out the most compatible arrangement is very, very huge,” she said, adding that she is occasionally surprised by who ends up together.
At the end of the day, each season is about finding the most compelling love stories to follow, which is why some of the 30 contestants barely register in the final edit — some of them can be seen wandering around in backgrounds but never in the pods. “The story really has to hone in on the connections or triangles that we’re going to follow, and some people don’t make a connection,” Driscoll said. “The main thing is to follow the most authentic love stories at the end of the day.”
