The Design Secrets Behind The Love Is Blind Pods

In a lot of popular dating shows like The Bachelor and Bachelorette, contestants fall in love while going on group and one-on-one dates, hanging out at so-called "cocktail parties," and traveling around the world together. Netflix's new reality dating show, Love Is Blind, couldn't be more different. In this show, the getting-to-know-you process happens without contestants getting a single look at one another, and the private pod where each person is separated (but can nevertheless hear one another) is a key part of pulling that off. These rooms where contestants hang out all alone while building a connection with their potential partners are one of the most unique elements of Love Is Blind, so we reached out to Kinetic Content, the production company behind the show, for details on how these pods were designed to simultaneously isolate contestants and promote bonds among them.

According to Paria Sadighi, the SVP of communications, public relations, and marketing for Kinetic Content, it was the production company that initially went to Netflix with the blueprint of the pods. "We had sketched out what they would look like prior to build-out. It was an integral part of our overall pitch," she tells Refinery29.

Viewers may have noticed that many of the contestants are drawn in by the blue screen that is positioned inside each room, thinking they would provide a peek of the person they were talking with, but Kinetic insists those screens don't show a thing. "They absolutely could not see each other, no shadows, nothing," Sadighi says. "Nothing was visible through those walls."

Though Love Is Blind contestants weren't able to see one another during dates, there, of course, wouldn't be a show if those watching from their couches at home couldn't see the dates. That's why camera placement was so important. "Once in production, we had a set design team working around the clock for weeks building out the pods in the Facility. We needed to make sure the pods had room for robo cams and cameras on tracks above the pods for the aerial shots," Sadighi explains.

In order to ensure that contestants couldn't hear what was going on outside of their pods, Kinetic made each one soundproof. They were able to hear only their dates thanks to a small speaker that was placed in the front of each pod. Sadighi says, "That's the only way they could hear the person on the other side of the wall."

While the unique design of the pods is one of the main ways Love Is Blind is able to facilitate people falling in love without laying eyes on one another, the decor and layout of the pods also play an important role in getting them to connect with each other. "The comforting and soothing colors of the pods were all by design to allow our participants the best chance to really focus on the voice on the other side of the wall," Sadighi shares. "Even the acoustics of the pods were made to help the other senses relax into the octave of conversations." That's definitely different from some of the less-impressive looking film locations featured in The Bachelor.