{"id":7685,"date":"2020-06-15T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2020-06-16T09:08:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T13:08:03","slug":"the-new-normal-for-dating-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-new-normal-for-dating-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Normal for Dating Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

With social distancing and amplified safety protocols, dating formats are adapting to the times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Though lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease in many places around the world, self-quarantining and social distancing will, by and large, remain pervasive for some time. Producers and distributors are evaluating what this means for the future of dating shows. Relationship-based formats are being adjusted with the health and safety of participants top of mind, and some of the innovation could, in turn, be upping the entertainment for audiences at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch has shown that physical contact is a basic necessity of life,\u201d says Maarten Meijs, the president of global entertainment at ITV Studios. \u201cEspecially in these times of mandatory social distancing, the desire for interpersonal contact is even higher than normal. This genre has, therefore, never been more popular as it provides an answer to this need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meijs says that ITV Studios is reviewing all of its production scenarios to look at how things can work going forward. \u201cNow that governments are moving away from strict legislation, there are some routes imaginable where we can safely produce several dating shows. Of course, we would absolutely take all the measures into account in order to keep production responsible and everyone involved in it safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya, acknowledges that dating formats, with their emphasis on courtship and chemistry, certainly face challenges in the current climate, \u201cbut this can also be a good time to rediscover and emerge fresh ways to create ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s world, there are a number of innovative dating applications developed,\u201d he adds. \u201cAs [people] are socializing and dating through smartphone apps, virtual dates and events already became part of our world. New and modern formats can be produced by taking inspiration from these apps. Video formats or video dating programs might just become interesting new ways to continue dating shows. Surely, nothing beats meeting face-to-face, and a studio atmosphere has great value both for audiences and contestants. We will have to adapt our own dating formats, including Courage to Love<\/em> and The Perfect Couple<\/em>, to the new normal as well. For instance, we can ensure the safety of our crew members and contestants in The Perfect Couple<\/em> by keeping them in quarantine for a limited time period on the isolated island where the show takes place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency, says that during these times, Big Brother<\/em>-type shows with wedding themes have great promise. \u201cYou can locate the contestants in an isolated place, and they can live in a safe environment for months. In these difficult coronavirus days, these kinds of formats would work well and be safe for the production team.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that The Parent Trap<\/em>, which sees kids trying to set up their single parents, would be a great fit, because there is no need for a studio audience and it has a cost-effective structure. He further highlights Perfect Bride<\/em>, which divides contestants into two houses monitored 24\/7: one for the grooms and one for the brides and mothers.<\/p>\n

Nina Etsp\u00fcler, group creative director at Red Arrow Studios, acknowledges that some dating formats are more flexible than others\u2014and require less interaction. \u201cThere are ways to think creatively around elements such as physical contact: maybe even prolonging contact helps to build anticipation and form better relationships\u2014something that fans of Kinetic Content\u2019s Love is Blind<\/em>, which starts with singles physically quarantined from each other, already know well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also looking at the feasibility of testing and quarantining couples in some territories, in the lead-up to and during the shoot. Some of our companies have also developed remotely-produced programs such as Kinetic Content\u2019s Married at First Sight: Couples\u2019 Cam<\/em> for Lifetime, a self-shot series following nine fan-favorite MAFS<\/em> couples. While this isn\u2019t a dating show as such, spin-offs are a great way to keep the dating genre alive while we await a return to production.\u201d<\/p>\n

ITV Studios\u2019 Meijs says that, where possible, that plan is to ensure social distancing or quarantines are used effectively to protect cast and crew. \u201cWe are already doing this in our hugely successful new dating show Let Love Rule<\/em>, currently on air in the Netherlands on SBS6. Creatively, we have found a very effective way to produce the show safely in our local (Dutch) market and production has been able to continue during lockdown while maintaining social distancing. But also, for the storyline of the format, we were able to stick to the core elements of the show while maintaining social distancing. It\u2019s great to see that this has not affected the strength of the format\u2014seeing if sparks will fly and how long they decide to stay together in one apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that for other productions, including Love Island<\/em>, ITV Studios is in active discussions with its partners on ways to produce shows safely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn almost all industries you see changes being made due to the new situation,\u201d Meijs says. \u201cYou need to be creative, innovative and think in possibilities. It\u2019s currently happening for many genres, and the dating genre is definitely among them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inter Medya\u2019s Okan emphasizes the value and importance of digital these days. \u201cEvery sector looks for and finds their way to digitize their business,\u201d he says. \u201cThis may be an opportunity to develop new ideas and formats for every genre, including dating. Audiences love and appreciate innovative and new ideas. As long as an entertaining and captivating idea is presented to them, it has an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges that we are all going through will\u2014and already do\u2014spark lots of innovation, in the dating genre, in non-scripted generally, and in the TV medium as a whole,\u201d agrees Red Arrow\u2019s Etsp\u00fcler. \u201cProducers have all been forced to be creative by the quick commissioning decisions of broadcasters. I think that the crisis will also have sparked innovation in terms of how to produce shows a bit quicker and a bit cheaper without reducing quality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With social distancing and amplified safety protocols, dating formats are adapting to the times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":7686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nThe New Normal for Dating Shows - TVFORMATS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-new-normal-for-dating-shows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The New Normal for Dating Shows - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With social distancing and amplified safety protocols, dating formats are adapting to the times.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-new-normal-for-dating-shows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-15T13:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-16T13:08:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/07\/Perfect-Couple-Inter-Medya-418.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"363\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-new-normal-for-dating-shows\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-new-normal-for-dating-shows\/\",\"name\":\"The New Normal for Dating Shows - 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