8 of the most Minnesota things from the debut of the ‘Love is Blind’ Minneapolis season

Minnesota is front and center of the eighth season of “Love is Blind,” with 32 singles from across the Twin Cities participating on the reality show for a chance at a forever love.

Netflix released the first six episodes early Friday morning. More are scheduled to drop every Friday through March 7.

Though participants are still in the pods this week, connecting with each other at a studio in California, Minnesota’s idiosyncrasies shine through.

The Reverb team at MPR News watched the first six episodes and gathered thoughts on some of the most stereotypical Minnesota things about this season so far.

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The snowy backdrop

The show opens with dramatic shots of snowfall over dark treetops, playing up the image of Minnesota as a cold, overcast state in perpetual winter. MPR News digital producer Sam Stroozas called the intro “Game of Thrones” themed.

I was shaking my head. It can get to over 100 degrees here in the summer! The show was filmed in Minneapolis around February and March last year, so expect only more winter scenes later in this season when couples return to their hometowns.

Thick Minnesota accents

There are a few people with the quintessential accent, but Minneapolis resident Joey Leveille takes the cake. His accent was so strong that I almost thought it was fake. The way he stressed the “o” and “yeah's” was reminiscent of the movie “Fargo.”

The hobbies

Participants listed several passions that seem very Minnesotan: cabins, lake life, rooting for the Minnesota Twins and Green Bay Packers (we suspect Vikings fans were edited out??), having a favorite Costco and swing dancing. We haven’t gone swing dancing but it seems like people are always mentioning it, at least in the Twin Cities.

The small world

As many have suspected, some of the participants’ lives have overlapped. In episode one, two singles, Virgina Miller and Devin Buckley, learn they both attended Park Center Senior High School, albeit years apart.

In a later episode, one woman is certain her newly betrothed had requested to follow her on Instagram months prior to meeting in the pods. There are over 3.6 million people in the Twin Cities metro, but that’s clearly not enough to be complete strangers with someone.

The Midwest representation

This show is being billed as “the Minneapolis season,” but that’s typical greater metro, Minnesota and Midwest erasure. Participants are from St. Paul, Edina, Shoreview, Dawson, etc., as well as surrounding states like South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa. People on the show are raising the profile for other locales worthy of being named and identified on a map.

How many people are in medical jobs

There’s the colonoscopy nurse, oncology nurse, another oncology nurse, dentist, physician associate, medical device salesman, health care recruiter, medical student … It feels like everyone is in health care, which adds up.

Health care and social assistance make up the largest sector of the state economy, according to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Minnesota is home to companies that are global leaders in healthcare and medical technologies like Mayo Clinic, UnitedHealth Group, Medtronic and 3M.

‘Minnesota Nice’ people

A few participants told MPR News that everyone in the pods was very uplifting and they’re all good friends. That seems pretty apparent and nice for them! TBD if that remains the case, however.

‘Minnesota Nice’ politics

I think the people on the show reflect the split politics of Minnesota. On one end, there are a few people who avoid conflict, saying politics shouldn’t be a dealbreaker in a relationship and they don’t want to get too involved.

On the other hand, reflecting Minneapolis as one of the most liberal cities in the country, some participants talk about teachers being underpaid, standing up for LGBTQ+ loved ones and how they were impacted by the police murder of George Floyd. TBD on how that all works for them, too!