‘Love is Blind UK’ team on breaking ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ stereotypes

As everyone knows, most British men are painfully reserved individuals who would literally rather do anything than discuss their own emotions.

That’s what the executive producer of ‘Love is Blind UK’ feared before the contestants on the new British edition of Netflix’s popular dating show were sent to their pods to find a potential partner.

“The great thing about the American show is that people are so exuberant and very clear about how they feel,” explains Nazleen Karim, a reality TV veteran who has worked on shows like ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Made in Chelsea’ . .” “And we thought, gosh, there’s a stereotype of the British stiff upper lip. Will that be the case or will we defy the stereotype?”

To their great surprise, they did so.

Within just a few minutes of watching Love is Blind UK, it’s pretty clear that all British singletons have absolutely no problem speaking all out when it comes to their emotions (while talking to a potential husband who they actually don’t can see, or course).

“We went into the pods and thought, can we make this happen? Will we be able to do this? And then there was this magic, and it just happened after the first day and people opened up within the first 10 minutes. And we thought: what is this magic formula for the pods?

For Karim, the pods – little more than a series of small, cozy rooms equipped with a carriage, a rug and a blue wall shared with another pod – provide just the right ‘inviting, comfortable environment’ to encourage people to explore deeper than the other pods. they could be somewhere else.

“There’s something so beautiful and confrontational about the pods, they just allow you to be very vulnerable,” says Karim, so people just put their hearts and emotions on the line and the British showed their souls in a similar way to the American cast. We were so proud of the British men.”

Many viewers may see ‘Love is Blind’ as pure entertainment, but Karim suggests that the ‘social experiment’ also helps set an example for other men, showing that they can talk about their feelings while still having masculine energy .

“We love the message that our male cast did a fantastic job of conveying,” she says.

Although the format of the British show is almost identical to that of its American counterpart, which has been running for six seasons and has spawned remakes in Japan, Brazil, Mexico and Germany, there is one notable difference when it comes to the contestants: they are what older. Most are even in their thirties. And that’s a factor that editor David Cheesman says the creative team is also very proud of.

“I feel more authentic that these people are ready to take the next step in finding a life partner and a soulmate and effectively say ‘yes’ at the altar,” he says, noting that people in the U.S. tend to be younger getting married (the average age for women in the US is 28.6, while in Britain it is 30.6). “It’s not something that people in their 20s can always afford in Britain, so I think it makes our cast very believable and very relatable to people watching.”

The cast was also selected from across the UK, with a wide range of accents – some much stronger than others – meaning some US viewers may need to use subtitles. While Karim says they clearly welcome all international audiences, she claims it was created primarily with a British audience in mind, pointing out certain expressions used that only Brits could understand (and the fact that a date ended because supported the pair of rival football teams – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs).

While some may have trouble with a few of the accents, “Love is Blind” fans around the world should immediately recognize the golden cups that each cast member carries with them in the pods, a prop that has become synonymous with the show and continued with great pleasure. in the British edition (rather than something more local, such as a porcelain teacup).

But could these cups actually contain the ‘magic formula’ that helps the British open up in such an un-British way? Cheesman may be breaking another stereotype, claiming that it rarely contains alcohol.

“There’s not as much as you might think,” he says. “But there is a lot of water, a lot of tea and a lot of coffee.”