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It’s been a week since the Minneapolis season of “Love is Blind” debuted on Netflix. In its first six episodes, the reality show gave viewers front row seats to conversations between singles from across the Twin Cities as they developed connections without seeing each other. 

Though five couples ultimately got engaged in those episodes, “Love is Blind” as a “dating experiment” is not sparking much hope in love for Minnesotans. 

MPR News surveyed our followers on Instagram for their thoughts so far. 

“EXTREMELY BORING,” wrote one viewer. 

“I have secondhand embarrassment,” wrote another. 

There were a few positive opinions. One person said Minnesotans are wholesome and friendly, for example. Two others mentioned their admiration for the women on the show. 

However, the resounding judgment from many online fans in Minnesota — and across the country, sadly — is that this season of “Love is Blind” might as well be renamed “Love is Bland.” 

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“They take Minnesota Nice and Minnesota bland to a very new level on this season,” said Makayla Lakeman, 28, who was born and raised in Minnesota. 

Lakeman has been watching “Love is Blind” since it first came out and noted there weren’t as many deep conversations as in previous seasons. She said that is reflective of a stereotypical Minnesotan avoidance of controversial and hard topics. “So far, it’s not the best television,” said Lakeman. 

Olivia Szatkowski, 23, lives in Minneapolis and runs a Facebook group dedicated to updates on “Love is Blind” in the city. She bemoaned the number of episodes dedicated to conversations in the pods. 

“You had to wait a decent amount of time for the engagement and the drama wasn’t even that kind of crazy drama,” said Szatkowski. 

Among her other complaints with the show: the lack of diversity. Though “Love is Blind” cast its largest ever group of participants at 32, only a handful of people of color get much screen time. 

“Given how culturally diverse Minneapolis and Minnesota are, I feel like we should have seen a lot more couples, rather than the standard just white people falling in love,” said Szatskowsi. 

“I was really disappointed,” said Marilyn Kate Tona, the daughter of Caribbean immigrants who now lives in Minneapolis. She said the show contributes to the myth of Minnesota as racially homogenous. 

“I know a lot of people, especially down South, always see Minneapolis as this very white place. They always ask me, ‘What are you still doing there?’,” said Tona. “But they really don’t know that we do have some kind of diversity here. And with like this show coming out, it’s just going to show that it’s not very diverse. That’s the kind of message that it’s giving out.” 

What to know about racial and ethnic diversity in Minnesota 

Around 23 percent of Minnesotans are people of color

, putting it in the middle of the U.S. in terms of racial diversity in states. But both the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota are home to significant Hmong, Somali, Ethiopian and Native communities, in addition to many other communities of color, that are making their mark on the state. 

In fact, Minnesota is among the states where the Black population has grown the fastest since 2010. 

The percent of Black or African American Minnesota residents jumped by 60 percent in the last decade, 

. Minnesota’s growth was behind only Utah and tied with Arizona and Nevada. 

State demographer Susan Brower explained much of the increase can be attributed to births to people who are Black or African American. International immigration was another big component to growth

“What’s unique about Minnesota’s trend with respect to Black or African American residents is that it’s really been fueled by international immigration in a way that many states haven’t seen,” said Brower. 

At least 11 of the 32 participants this season appear to be Black or other people of color. At about 34 percent of the cast, they represent a comparable share to the nearly 28 percent of the Twin Cities and about 37 percent of Minneapolis reported to be people of color.

About half of the participants get meaningful screentime, and among them the showrunners focused on Monica, who is half Chilean, and a love triangle involving three Black singles. 

The creator behind “Love is Blind” responded to criticisms about the lack of diversity in 

“We always, always, always strive to seed the pods for the greatest possible success, and within that, diversity of not only ethnicity or race, but backgrounds, and financial status, and body types and looks and all that stuff," said executive producer and creator Chris Coelen. 

“You’re less concerned about that, to be honest, than just trying to have a group of people that you hope are somewhat compatible and then seeing what happens,” he added. 

Coelen told Entertainment Weekly that it’s hard to feature participants who did not make connections. 

There’s also the selection bias of who would even want to be on the show. MPR News has heard from several people of diverse backgrounds who said “Love is Blind” producers invited them to apply but they declined. 

In a TikTok, Juliana Ghani of Minneapolis said Minnesotans are too humble. 

“They do not want to be famous. They do not have any interest of going on a reality show,” said Ghani. “I know people that the casting team reached out to that are fun, energetic, they go out all the time, diverse – they didn’t want anything to do with ‘Love is Blind.’ Nobody here is clout chasing. And I think that’s different from other big cities. People like the simple life. This is the simple life headquarters.” 

Additionally, it’s possible there are more love stories, just not visible to audiences. Case in point: participants Kylie Schuelke and Brian Sumption, who barely appeared on screen, announced this week that they not only matched, but are still dating. 

In the next three episodes, get ready for a few days of paradise in Honduras and then a trip back to snowy Minnesota.  

Finally, after more than eight hours of television, we see a few sites of our city. There are wide shots of downtown Minneapolis, the iconic Grain Belt sign, a random lake and highways. Other notable spots to look for: Blackstack Brewing, the Grind MPLS and the Stone Arch Bridge (typical). 

There are some hard conversations about sharing socks, cleanliness and what is the appropriate amount of Christmas trees in a one-bedroom apartment. 

On a serious note — mild spoiler warning — the issues of finances, infidelity and faith are also mentioned. 

Of course, these are all held in the appropriate Minnesota locations: During dusk on lawn chairs near a campfire, a nice woodsy house in the suburbs near a lake (make sure to look for the photo of loons on the wall), and in the participants’ very nice North Loop apartments. 

MPR News is covering all things “Love is Blind” this season. Follow along for more local coverage related to the show. 

Feven Gerezgiher

Author

Sam Stroozas

A week two update on the Netflix reality show with fan reactions, data on Black people in Minnesota and a look at what’s next. 

Three women walk and carry glasses and notebooks

Love is bland? Minnesotans react to ‘Love is Blind’ Minneapolis season so far

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