Love, exciting and new. No, wait. That’s the theme to the Love Boat. We’re here to talk about Love Connection.
The low-budget 80s dating show is back with a bigger budget. Real Housewives guru Andy Cohen is hosting his second season of the summer show on FOX (9pm ET Tuesdays), and sat down for a cocktail conversation, and said this year he’s kicking it up a notch. “There are more love connections, it’s funnier. It’s a lot of fun, man.”
Hot Mess Connection
Of course it wouldn’t be a summer replacement series without celebrity cameos. Andy had two words for us: Real Housewife! “I’ve got Portia from the Real Housewives of Atlanta coming on.” And Andy told The Cocktail he got personally involved in this match. “I’m setting her up which is hilarious.”
So is this season Love Connection or Hot Mess Connection? “It is Love Connection. There are some messy moments but there are also some really sweet moments and it’s always really funny I have to say.”
Threepeat
Unlike the original show, Andy & Co. sends their lonely hearts on three dates and sees who they like best. “Hearing about people’s first dates, it’s really relatable and always hilarious.”
That means one of two things: three shots at love or triple trouble. Personally, we want to pour a stiff one and root for triple trouble!
Butting In
Cohen promises this isn’t an ambush show. Andy really wants these guys to find love. “We ask them what they’re looking for in a mate and we literally try to go find it.” And since it’s all for our viewing pleasure, he has to butt in to their lives. But he wasn’t prepared for just how much butting in would be required. “I mean there was a guy who was looking for a woman with a big butt,” Andy said, “and we tried to find him three of the biggest butts we could find. You know, everyone has a personal preference.” We asked him where he went to find large-posteriored women, but told us he didn’t do the field work on that! Why not? That seems like it would be a perk of the job!
Screen Their Dates
One thing Cohen told us is that he likes the old-skool feel of the dates. “I think the great thng about this show is it’s all about scrapping the apps and going straght to the dates. There’s so much time wasted when people are, like, messaging on Tinder or any of those apps. Here we just get them together, they sit down and they gotta get to know each other and not judge each other on just one or two pictures.”
But for some Screen-Withdrawal is just too much to go through. “They have their phones but there’s definitely points taken away by the person they’re on the date with if they’re sitting there on their phone. Thhat’s never a good look for anyone. Some of them behave despicably on their dates. But I always want a happy ending for this show.”
We didn’t get into what type of ‘happy ending’ he had in mind. Stupid time limits.
Missed Connections
Of course, even with three chances, not everyone will walk away with their soulmate-of-the-moment. We asked Andy if he ever looked across the set at the lonely heart and told them they’re going to die alone. “I might think it but I would never say it, because the truth of the matter is I want everybody to find love in this show. I root for every person who’s sitting next to me. And that’s the truth. We have way more happy endings this season than we did last. I don’t know why. I think we’re getting better at it.”
The Critic’s Cocktail Recommendation
We have a Love Concoction! We’re mixing up a Romance. It’s a candy ‘tini with Kahlua, Bailey’s, Creme de Cacao and cream. Garnish it with shaved chocolate. And as Andy says, “We encourage people to drink liberally as the show goes on.”
Cheers!
Critic's Cocktail 