No one could have predicted that Love Is Blind: UK would be able to show up its American predecessor so easily. Yet, after just one season of the Netflix spin-off, we can confidently say that it is better than the US version of Love Is Blind. Not only did the couples and their intentions seem more genuine, but the editing and pacing makes the storylines much more binge-worthy.
From the get go, Love Is Blind: UK is enchanting with its more chilled co-hosts, Matt and Emma Willis. Perhaps the various British accents all have a charm to the American ear. But for some reason, the conversations shown in the pods seem to have a promising authenticity. Relationships make sense and are easy to follow throughout the series, and there’s plenty more to love.
In all six seasons of the US version of Love Is Blind, there are some people who are clearly clout chasers. But in Love Is Blind UK, most of the cast members seem genuinely interested in finding love. And they have no problem calling out the fame seekers. In fact, the cast is just likable — we root for all of them in their own ways. Even the most “villainous” personality still has redeemable qualities and a complicated backstory we can root for.
In the US seasons, however, there are often more characters with very few redeeming qualities. Whether these characters don’t believe in alternate methods of contraception or they have unrealistic expectations of gender norms, these flaws are often portrayed to the max. But it’s more fun to have people whose sides we can get on, making the UK version automatically better.
In the US version, the editing has ranged from messy to confusing. Season 1 was described by critics as a “car crash” while Season 2 was a “hot mess.” As it started to find its voice by showing us the real problems couples could face in a marriage and how they handle those conflicts. But there were often loose ends, characters who fell by the wayside, and romances that never fully added up.
In the UK version, however, no stone is left unturned. Every developing relationship and breakup is properly explained with a beginning, middle, and end. We see the results of every love triangle (of which there are multiple) and can truly feel the chemistry in the various couples. That could just be the better cast, but the editing department’s finger on the storytelling in Love Is Blind UK is spot on.
It may not be fair to say that Love Is Blind UK feels like it incorporates aspects of tourism television more than the US version, but it is the truth. Even though the US seasons are based in different cities, the couples don’t often explore and take advantage of the city’s best spots during their engagement. In the UK version, however, production places them in the heart of London. The couples often go for date nights in actual bars, bowling alleys, and other London hot spots.
Not only that, but when they meet each other’s families and friends, we’re along with them for the ride. We go with Steven and Sabrina on a flight to Belfast, where he meets Sabrina’s mother. Their trip as a couple makes their relationship seem like the same sort of long-distance relationship any UK couple might have to deal with. By incorporating the setting, Love Is Blind UK secures their place as a superior “dating experiment.”
Perhaps it’s because of better casting or because of seemingly better storytelling, but Love Is Blind UK struck gold with the first season. Six couples went on vacation together after the experience in the pods, which is similar to the US version. However, three couples say “I Do” at the end, which is more than most of the US seasons. While one couple doesn’t stay together after saying yes, as revealed at the reunion, the conversations are all mostly mature, vulnerable, and authentic.
The couples talk about how the process of the show still doesn’t reflect real life, which is a surprisingly honest perspective to air. In some ways, this undermines the concept. But that’s what makes it likable. There is a self-awareness discussed and presented in Love Is Blind UK, perhaps because of the UK’s cultural pessimism, that while the cast is sometimes hopelessly romantic, they also know that it is still reality television.
