We found love in a quarantined place?
That just might be the case for 20 hopeful singles next week as an impromptu version of Netflix’s Love Is Blind launches via social media in D.C.
When the show first premiered in February, its ridiculous premise drew devoted viewers: singles ready to find love go into isolation pods where they can only hear the person on the other side of the wall. The couples only get to see one another after they’ve become engaged. Cue the drama.
But now, with D.C. residents socially isolating in their apartments and unable to meet up with their dates, it doesn’t sound quite so silly anymore.
Enter Beth Cormack.
The 27 year old owns a marketing agency and bartends at Franklin Hall, and she is also behind the popular pre-pandemic event series Pitch-A-Friend, in which people stand up in front of a crowded bar and try to get dates for their single friends—Shark Tank-style. The series first launched at Franklin Hall, and it has since traveled to Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
But as concerns about coronavirus ramped up and bars and restaurants closed, Cormack said her world as a bartender and event planner has flipped upside down. More than 11,800 people have already filed for unemployment in D.C., with the service sector hit particularly hard by mass layoffs.
“I had a pity party for a for a few days,” she said. “But then I was like, okay, how can I get creative with this and still bring people together even though we have to be socially isolated.”
That’s when she thought of Love Is Blind. When binge-watching the entire first season, she thought about how similar it was to pitch-a-friend. So, she launched DC Is Blind via Instagram on March 19. Washingtonian first reported on the project.
The premise is simple: People fill out an application via a Google link posted to the page’s Instagram and send in a one-minute video of themselves to Cormack, who will choose the participants. Cormack said the first week of DC Is Blind, which launches March 25, will feature heterosexual couples while the second week, launching on April 1, will feature LGBTQ+ couples. Each “show” will last a week.
Cormack isn’t too worried about Netflix coming after her for copying the show, pointing out that there’s already a national parody underway. She also said she’s never run into issues with Pitch-A-Friend, which is based on Shark Tank.
Most of the application is fairly standard, asking participants if they have time to participate (check!), but also asking participants which original cast member they most identify with. Passionate entrepreneur GiGi? Frat boy Barnett?
Cormack said 20 straight singles will participate in the first week while 20 gay men and 20 lesbian women will participate in the second week. She has already received over 200 applicants.
The chosen couples will be set up for 15-minute speed dates via conference calls. Cormack will be on each call recording and preventing contestants from sharing too much information that might help others figure out who they are. Unlike the actual Netflix show, participants will continue to have access to their phones and social media.
“Once everyone talks to each other, they’re going to submit a confessional video with their thoughts,” Cormack said. Contestants will also rank other contestants for potential future dates, much like the actual show.
“Then we’re going to kind of try to play matchmaker and match up with the people who are vibing with the most,” Cormack told DCist.
D.C. residents who just want to follow along can send $5 via Venmo to @DCIsBlind to be added into a private Facebook group to spill all the tea. Cormack said it will include confessionals from contestants, audio of “dates,” and space for participants to discuss the show.
“I’m really trying to hype these contestants up and make them into characters really,” Cormack said. “That’s kind of why it became such a hit because people connect so much with these characters There’s going to be a lot of storytelling involved.”
She asked that everyone respect the rules of the game and refrain from sharing images or the last names of other contestants.
“This is a fun game and we’re all just trying to be entertained during this, like, somewhat depressing time. So, yeah, that’s kind of the way that I’m looking at it,” Cormack said.
She expects over 1,000 people to enter the Facebook group and said the money will go toward supplementing her own income, which has been slashed, and toward gift cards from local restaurants to give contestants for their first date post-pandemic. She said her Venmo has already been blowing up.
“We’re all trying to figure out how to navigate this,” she said. “In a sense, this is providing entertainment but also saying, ‘hey, we’re all going through this together.’”
She hopes the virtual show will also help the D.C. community connect in good ways, such as by sharing resources on how to support one another.
“We’re in a city where there’s different political views and different viewpoints, but this is a middle ground we have together. How do we make the best out of it?” she said.
Applications close Sunday at 5 p.m. and Cormack’s advice to hopefuls is to just be yourself. She is looking for people who are unique, interesting, and excited to take part.
And, looking at the application she’s received so far, Cormack said she thinks the odds are good that people will actually connect. But more importantly, she thinks it will help people feel just a bit less lonely during this weird time.
“I think the loneliness aspect will add to the success rate,” she said, “because people are really just craving that human connection that have been ripped from under us.”
This story has been updated to correct the name of the Venmo account.
