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The show has been praised for being less “messy” than the original U.S. series.
Though a whopping eight couples left the pods engaged on Love is Blind: Japan, the first season ended with just two weddings: Ryotaro and Motomi’s and Wataru and Midori’s. Motomi told the show’s hosts that the experience was definitely an “emotional roller coaster,” and she and Midori joked that they would never subject themselves to something like it again. But it seemed to have worked out: Both couples are still together.
Regardless of the outcome, Love is Blind seems to understand how much viewers love tuning into these kinds of social experiments. The U.S. version of Love is Blind was so popular that it was greenlit for three seasons and inspired two spinoffs in Japan and Brazil. Netflix has also been investing heavily in reality TV programming, as well as in an increasing number of Japanese titles. And viewers seemed to enjoy that Love is Blind: Japan was more grounded than the original. “It's so different from the American version. It is a lot more serious and realistic,” one Reddit user said. Another noted that “it seems less manufactured” and all the contestants “seem to speak from the heart.”
So while Netflix has yet to announce if Love is Blind: Japan will return for Season 2, a renewal seems likely. Here’s everything we know so far.
The Love is Blind: Japan Season 2 Premiere Date
During a Q&A on Reddit, a Love is Blind: Japan staffer explained that Season 1 was filmed from June to July 2021 before airing in February 2022. That’s a pretty quick turnaround for a Netflix show, as they typically take about a year to produce. (There was a two-year gap between the first and second seasons of the original Love is Blind, but that was only because the pandemic delayed filming for a year.) If this pattern holds and Love is Blind: Japan is renewed soon, we can possibly expect a new season as early as fall 2022.
The Love is Blind: Japan Season 2 Cast
The first season featured a cast with a wide variety of jobs, as well as a few people who challenged who’s typically featured on a reality show — like Nanako, who was divorced, and Shuntaro, a 56-year-old contestant. On Reddit, the staffer explained that these kinds of reality TV shows are not common in Japan, so it was a bit difficult to find people willing to be vulnerable and “negative” on camera. “I wasn’t [in the] casting department, but I heard that something about how serious they are about marriage, etc. [was] a big factor of it,” they said. They added that it was “open casting” and everyone was found through social media.
This sounds similar to the casting process for the U.S. version Love is Blind. As executive producer Chris Coelen told The Los Angeles Times, they don’t really look for a specific type of person (though the show has been criticized for not casting outside of a certain body type).“We’re not really looking for anything. We’re setting it up and following where it goes,” he said. “If people who you might conventionally think are mismatched physically fall in love, amazing. But that’s the thing: What is your perception of what the word ‘mismatch’ means?”
This post will be updated as more information about Love is Blind: Japan Season 2 become available.
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