Netflix’s Love is Blind created eight successful engagements, and two successful marriages. The show proved that people can find love if they’re willing to open themselves up, drop the distracting devices, look beyond physical appearances and lose their preconceived notions of the ideal mate.
Love is Blind attracted many viewers because it offered a different kind of dating experience. It was less about hookup culture and more about developing deep, strong bonds. This led to two successful marriages, and plenty of engagements. One reason for the show being successful is the casting team.
They made it their mission to find people ready and willing to find love. Donna Driscoll was the driving force behind the Love is Blind casting team. She acts as the head of casting for the series, and previously worked on the casting team for other successful series like Married at First Sight and The Biggest Loser. Donna took some time out of her schedule to speak to Screen Rant about plans for Love is Blind season 2, the season 1 casting process and how prospective candidates can increase their chances of being on the series.
What is it like working in reality TV production? Do any of the recruiters have previous experience with matchmaking?
Working in reality production is different every single day, and that's what most people love about it - myself included. You just walk in every single day to something new and different that is on the table. That's what it's like, for me anyway.
When we're casting for the show, the people on the casting team are not necessarily recruiters. They're casting producers and casting associate producers. And while they don't have experience matchmaking, some of them do have experience working on other shows with us, such as Married At First Sight.
How did you get involved in reality TV production?
When I first moved to LA, my first job was in post-production. Then I ended up in casting through a production assistant position with Mark Burnett.
What show was that?
The Apprentice, before it was celebrities. The OG.
What about Love Is Blind's recruiting process do you think made it so successful?
Well, thank you for saying that. That never gets old. I think we were trying to find people in Atlanta who were genuinely serious about finding love.
I honestly feel like [the contestants were] a huge factor, because if you think about it, before Love Is Blind was Love Is Blind and everybody knew what it was, we were calling people and talking to them on the phone about an experiment made for television where you would talk to somebody through a wall.
You have to understand that the people who were willing to do something like that - talking to somebody through a wall that would then be to possibly a proposal that would then lead to moving in together and then lead to a wedding, all while having your phone taken away - anyone who was willing to put themselves out there for an experiment like that in the first place had to be willing to do anything, even if it was unorthodox, to find love.
So, I do think a lot of it has to do with the intention that the candidates for the experiment went into the pods with on day one.
We've spoken to a few of the contestants from season one, and a lot of them mentioned that they were recruited via social media. How did the recruiters pick people from social media? What were they looking for and what social media platforms did they use?
You can tell a lot about a person through the content on their social media, like their personality, their goals, their interpersonal relationships. We look for a myriad of tells about who a person is on their social media, and we do outreach on a grassroots level everywhere. So, it's not just limited to that.
But when we do, we don't know if somebody's good for the experiment until we get off that first Skype with them. So, there's like a courting process, kind of. Instagram was huge for us; we used Facebook and LinkedIn. You would reach out to people and pitch them the concept for the series over the phone, and you could get a really good indication on how they responded to the creative for Love Is Blind as to whether or not they would be a good candidate for it.
Then the vetting consists of one phone call at the start, and then a casting producer interview via Skype. They would do sometimes two or three of those, it all depends on the person.
Since most of the people came from Atlanta, were there any measures taken to make sure they didn't know each other already?
Well, we knew that Jessica and Kelly went way back, which felt really harmless. That was kind of nice to have somebody in an experience like this. And we also knew that Lexie and LC went to high school together, and that also felt harmless. But we do our due diligence on the exes of all the candidates before production begins.
Did the recruiters and production team guess any of the pairs that ended up together when you were doing the initial casting, based on their personalities or things like that?
Oh, for sure. I mean, we had some really good indications of which people would be compatible based on a really lengthy questionnaire that's part of the casting and production process. But the couples connecting in the pods rely so much on individuals themselves being open. So, yeah, we had some guesses and we had some good indications. But you never really know.
How did you know which candidates, such as major players, to avoid? What were some of the red flags that got prospective candidates removed from the list?
Well, for guys and girls alike, we're always looking for people who are marriage-minded and we don't want players. You can tell that about somebody from the first phone conversation, usually, especially if you've been in casting for a long time for a reality or docuseries. You just have a good sense. And we asked a lot of questions that were pretty good tells about that.
I feel like when people were in, they were all in because they truly wanted it no matter how. So, I feel like some of the things that might have gotten them taken off from being a prospective candidate would be maybe if they didn't take the experiment seriously, or if they seemed like they weren't in it for the right reason. Or if they came across really inauthentic. If someone was asking ‘how much money am I going to get paid. You know those things. Love has to be paramount, but there are so many red flags we look for.
Do recruiters factor in personality or appearance more?
Personality is huge, especially in an experiment like this. I know I sound repetitive, but I can’t say this enough the most important details to all of this is if they’re genuinely ready for a serious relationship and looking for a life partner, but personality is huge for sure, especially if you’re talking to someone through a wall, you want to have a dynamic personality.
Was income and age used as a factor when considering candidates?
We had what “do you do for a living” (questions) and all of that, but age wasn’t really something we considered because it’s love is blind, so we were trying to keep it open, and also open to all socioeconomic levels.
How long will the second season of Love is Blind going on for?
It’s hard to say given the current state of things. It usually takes a few months,like three or four months.
How soon after season 2 casting will you start season 3 casting?
I don’t know yet. We haven’t started season two, so I’m not sure when that will start.
What are some of the things that someone can do on their audition or application to stand out?
Well. I think that they’re genuine. If they are excited about the opportunity. if that can come across someway and if a lot of their answers lead with love.
Why was Chicago selected as the city to hold auditions this year?
Well there are a lot of articles out there talking about why dating in Chicago is so difficult, and it’s an amazing city with such a huge, diverse population of young professionals looking for love.
How will the recruiting process change this year compared to last year?
The only thing that’s different really is the city. Honestly, we’re going to be doing everything the same way as we did it before anyone knew what Love is Blind was, but a little bit more diligent in finding people who are in it for the right reasons.
How are you going to make sure that people are really in it for love and not trying to get fame from the series?
Well see this has been one of my biggest challenges before we even got picked up. When I saw the success of the show, I was like ‘Wow, we’re going to have to be really diligent about casting next season.’ And I feel like we’re still having a lot of conversations about that, but I feel like at that point, we’re going to have to incorporate people who are close to the candidates in their everyday life into the conversation at a certain point.
Are there any noticeable differences between Chicago and Atlanta’s dating culture?
I think it’s too soon to tell, since we haven’t started, but I imagine there will be some (differences) eventually down the line, but so far, I haven’t encountered any.
If Love is Blind has the same couple and engagement success rate as season 1, have adjustments been put in place to accommodate more couple’s stories being shown?
Yeah...that’s more of a production question, but I do love the idea of having too many proposals to follow. That would be awesome.
On the questionnaire, why are there deal breaker questions about ethnicity, religion, and cultural differences, but there aren’t any about political beliefs?
We use the questionnaire to determine who someone is on a very basic level, and it’s the first step in a conversation starter, so I would love for the application to have a hundred questions, but we use that application as the entry point to go into a Skype interview, where we dig a lot deeper. The Skype interviews will be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, some even go longer than that.
There are reports about sexuality being a question on the application. Is this as a result of the Diamond Jack and Carlton Morton situation? And will Love is Blind only focus on heterosexual couples?
No, that question wasn’t added because of Carlton and Diamond. Carlton was forthcoming with us from the get go that he was fluid but he was only interested in the experiment for a wife. I can’t answer that question right now. All I can say is that we’re casting for amazing personalities that are marriage minded, and are looking at every single application.
Giannina Gibelli said that there was a contestant named John that made some of the women uncomfortable, is the crew trying to avoid contestants like this in season 2?
We always want to make people feel comfortable and we never want anyone to feel uncomfortable, so the answer is definitely yes.
What do you think Love is Blind did differently than other dating reality shows to make it have such a huge success rate with couples?
What I think Love is Blind did differently is that it gave people what they’ve been wanting: an experiment to find love with substance. So I have tons of single friends who are invested in Love is Blind, from single moms to a recent widow nearing 70. So everyone is looking for love and wants to be loved for who they are on the inside, and have the ability and freedom to truly be themselves, and I think that’s why Love is Blind is different.
There was a 31-year old virgin on the show: would you be more open to having virgins on the show and what happened to that guy?
I think that virgins need love too. I can’t comment on what happened with him, but he’s still doing well, loving life and living in Atlanta.
Is there anything you want to tell Screen Rant’s readers about the application process?
If I could inform people to truly be themselves on the application online. Have a good sense of self and what they want out of life and a partner goes a long way for us. So it’s important to know what you do want and not just what you don’t want. And if they’re single and local to Chicago--that’s another thing people don’t understand why people need to be living in the city we’re casting in. I think it’s important for people to know that where we go in the future relies greatly on how many applications we get from certain cities all over the US. Even if we’re not in their city this season, they should still apply, because we could very much be headed that way for season 3.
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