Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen shares promising update on making an LGBTQ+ version of Netflix dating show

Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen has revealed that he is ‘open’ to figuring out how to create an LGBTQ+-inclusive series.

There’s been a lot of talk among viewers of the hit Netflix dating show about their desire for a queer version since it arrived on the streamer nearly five years ago.

And now reality TV producer Coelen, 56, has confirmed he is ‘interested’ in overcoming the obvious logistical hurdles.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he said: ‘I’m really proud of the representation we’ve had on the show.

‘For me it is very important on a personal level, because you want to try to paint the broadest possible picture of the population.

Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen has revealed he’s ‘open’ to figuring out how to create an LGBTQ+-inclusive series

As it stands, the Netflix show’s format creates logistical hurdles for an LGBTQ+ cast

“There are a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds or identities and I think it’s important to represent all of that.

‘I think with Love is Blind there are logistical considerations, [but] I would definitely be interested in finding out.”

When asked what aspects of the show would need to be restructured, Coelen said: “There are ten pods further down the line and if we try to rotate people through the pods, people will see each other.

“It’s not impossible to find out, but it’s not just a layup like people have said.

“There are ways you could approach it, but it would be a different show.”

Love Is Blind debuted on Netflix in February 2020 and quickly became the streamer’s number one trending show.

There are now seven seasons of the show, as well as a host of international versions, including Love Is Blind Brazil, Love Is Blind United Kingdom and Love Is Blind Mexico.

As it stands now, the format follows fifteen men and fifteen women on their quest to fall in love without being seen.

As it stands, the pods and living quarters pose problems

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Coelen said: ‘I think with Love is Blind there are logistical considerations, [but] I would definitely be interested in finding out.”

The men and women are kept separate and live in gendered living quarters.

For ten days, the participants date each other in specially built pods, where they can talk to each other via a loudspeaker but cannot see each other.

Initially they are paired together in a speed dating format, but later they can choose to have longer dates.

If they find a connection in the pods, the daters can propose when they feel ready.

A couple cannot meet in person until a marriage proposal has been accepted.

The engaged couples then go on a week-long honeymoon, where they spend time getting to know their partners and get their first chance to be physically intimate.

Given how the pods are structured, Coelen, who is behind some of Netflix’s biggest dating shows including Married at First Sight US, The Ultimatum and Perfect Match, said there should be plenty of discussion about what the experience would be like if it changed had to be.

Love Is Blind fans have long debated how the show’s format could be revamped to make it more inclusive for queer participants, but the pod issue has proven to be an ongoing stumbling block.

In a Reddit thread posted earlier this month, someone said, “I think it would be cool to see, but it would be a shame if the cast got isolated, aside from the dates.”

Love Is Blind debuted on Netflix in February 2020 and quickly became the streamer’s number one trending show

Last year, Coelen delighted Netflix fans with The Ultimatum: Queer Love

Another commented: ‘The current format of the show wouldn’t work because you would literally have to keep every contestant separate.

“But I’m sure if the producers want to, they can come up with a format that works.”

“I’d love to see that, and I agree there should be creative ways to change the format,” said a third. ‘Ultimatum Queer Love worked great, no matter how dramatic and messy it was!!’

A fourth added: ‘It legitimately wouldn’t work unless they were all completely isolated.’

Coelen is no stranger to changing the formats of his shows to include different sexualities.

Last year he released The Ultimatum: Queer Love on Netflix, featuring queer female and non-binary couples about to get married.

In the ten-part series, the couples lived with a stranger for three weeks in a trial marriage, followed by three weeks with their original partner in a second trial marriage.

Then the original couples had to decide whether they wanted to get married or split up forever.

The Ultimatum: Queer Love was well received by viewers, scoring 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.