TLC’s “90 Day: Hunt for Love” is back as of Monday, Oct. 5, and this season looks to be riding on the prior season’s success.
Season 1 received over 11.6 million views on all streaming platforms after its release, and I’m sure TLC’s producers are expecting the same for season 2.
The series follows unlucky singles from TLC’s hit reality dating series “90 Day Fiancé” and gives them another chance to find love in a tropical paradise. This season, paradise is Puerto Rico.
The returning cast includes Kara Leona Bass, Steven Frend, Jamal Menzies, Chloe Fabiano, Brittany Banks, Michael Ilesanmi and Emma Perry, plus some new faces.
The reason I’ll be tuning in this season is the returning cast. In true “90 Day” dramatic fashion, they brought back Ilesanmi, who is newly divorced from his wife of six years, Angela Deem, and seems keen on finding the love of his life this time around. He’s not the only one with hard past, as Perry is back after getting left stranded by Ziad El Yahyaoui on “Before the 90 Days,” and I’m really hoping she finds a better connection this time.
Fabiano is also single again after her split from Johny Fernandes on “The Other Way,” and Jamal Menzies is looking for a cute romance after his time on “The Single Life” with his mom. Banks is open to dating both men and women, and Bass is here too, even though she’s been trying to work things out with her husband on “90 Days: The Last Resort.” Add Frend from season six, and there’s a lot of messy pasts in one place, which is exactly why it is fun to watch.
These returning faces are what made me love the show because I could understand the struggles that these singles went through before. But don’t get me wrong; the show does a good job of including enough new faces to not feel like we are watching a rerun of a previous series.
There’s one thing about this show that really annoys me — it’s how production handles the dating component. It’s called “Hunt for Love,” but it doesn’t feel like anyone is given a real chance to make a connection like on other “90 Day” shows.
Every time it seems like two people are getting closer, the show finds a way to push them towards keeping their options open instead. How are you supposed to get to know someone when you’re constantly being told not to get too attached?
I know drama is what gets people to tune in, but it makes it hard to care about any of the couples when it feels everything is fake and the show doesn’t want them to work out. It would be nice if production let these people try to find connections instead of encouraging them to create drama.
But I’ll keep watching it. The show is messy and funny, and I’m emotionally invested enough to see if anyone ends up with something real. Just don’t go in expecting the show to give anyone a fair chance at love.
Rating: 3/5