Why “dating” reality shows make us so crazy

• Season 3 of the reality show

  Love Is Blind

  is back on Netflix.

  The most famous of

  dating shows

  , as programs centered on romantic-love encounters are called, intends to hypnotize us for ten episodes.

• Codified shows, stereotyped suitors: in these shows, everything is thought out to reassure viewers

• Love as a marketing concept is not new, but it seems to be multiplying with the arrival of new and crazier concepts.

Great romantic declarations, American-style "dates", bouquets of flowers and waves of marshmallow-scented emotions: that's it, season 3 of

has been available on Netflix since October 19.

The flagship reality show from the Kinetic Content production box took the Internet by surprise during the first confinement, two years ago, with a simple principle: around thirty men and women, heterosexuals, meet during

at the blind, each talking in soundproof capsules where they can only hear the other.

The suitors only meet when they propose to each other.

Weeks of cohabitation between the newlyweds follow, up to the altar, with, in passing, arguments, slamming doors and deceptions filmed H24.

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Love Is Blind

is not the only reality show where candidates aim to find love: on television, it's a fairly old concept, as evidenced by the nostalgia for shows like

More recently, the success of

- whose seventeenth season (!) is currently being broadcast - or

on M6 have proven that programs centered on encounters (more or less) romantics had managed to make a good place for themselves in the hearts of viewers.

New concepts are still emerging.

This Wednesday,

arrives at 9:05 p.m. on TFX.

Singles will meet their suitors by only having access to the profile… of their pet.

Thirteen countries have put an option to adapt this French creation imagined by Coyote.

To these programs must be added the contribution of Netflix.

The platform has multiplied like hotcakes in our homes these programs with more or less original concepts:

... Whether the candidates come to find love or test the strength of their couple, they are sure to navigate between great moments of chill and betrayal, to pass from tears of joy to the crying of crocodiles, all to dramatic music.

It doesn't take much for us to get out our plaid and our popcorns.

Love, a marketing concept with well-defined codes

“The question of love is a television concept that works better than others.

It's like food: in both cases, these are programs that concern everyone, ”explains semiologist and media analyst Virginie Spies.

The latter speaks of these shows as the pinnacle of "telemarketing", perfect for slipping in a few pages of advertising or product placements, and for hooking viewers capable of watching the adventures of young couples for hours.

“These are models that we know well: these codes are practical for production, broadcasters and advertisers.

They are like characters that we are going to follow,” adds Virginie Spies.

The sportsman, the bimbo, the romantic, the shy… So many clichés to which we like to subscribe and see evolve over the episodes.

Love, this universal feeling, which unites all human beings… But especially if they are heterosexual, white and very beautiful.

Because these programs, and particularly those produced in the United States, are filled with very specific codes: here again, the men propose and the women dispose, and it is generally up to them to initiate grand romantic gestures.

On the women's side, they are expected to be prepared, open about their feelings, but above all ready to become perfect wives and mothers.

Very quickly, they can be shown as jealous, possessive, hysterical.

Moreover, in the castings of these programs, there are very few LGBTQ + candidates. 

"These kinds of programs talk a lot about the society in which we live: you have to be in a relationship to be fulfilled, to have certain criteria...", adds Virginie Spies.

The American versions also play a lot on virginity, abstinence, emotional connection: in short, hide this sexuality that I will not be able to see.

The more the concept is twisted, the more we love

The success of these reality TV shows can be explained, according to Virginie Spies, by the fact that they are always somewhat the same: "They evolve or change a little, they are for example more and more playful, oriented towards entertainment … But they remain fixed enough to appeal to the greatest number and to all ages”.

Over the years, more and more complex concepts have thus been born on our small screens: lie detectors to test one's relationship in

(entitled

en VF), to find love for one's brother or his sister in

(

in VF) or to take an interest in the astrological signs of single people in

, soon to be launched on Amazon Prime Video.

#DatingWithDogs

😬 Between these two dogs, we are very far from love at first sight... Would you continue the experience instead of Maxence?

👉 The sequel is already available in preview on MYTF1 MAX, in the 1st episode of “Dating With Dogs”: https://t.co/Esbgm0UqQs pic.twitter.com/sbVZgt7MsT

— MYTF1 / MYTF1 MAX (@MYTF1) October 25, 2022

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All these concepts are, for Virginie Spies, good conversation support material: “At the coffee machine, we always talk about the weather and TV!

“, she quips.

If some of us are passionate about these programs, it is above all because they cause comfort.

“It can inspire sadistic, voyeuristic impulses in us… It's easy to make fun of, it's funny, and above all it's not a headache.

It is an assured and guaranteed pleasure to watch, ”adds the semiologist.

In short, reality TV shows centered on love have this cuddly side in front of which we can unplug our brain… And the more the concept is silly, the more we will watch, and adore.

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• Culture

• Television

• Reality show

• Love

• netflix

• TFX

• M6