“Love Is Blind” showrunner explains why season 5 is the best yet

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It's time to go back in the pods with an all-new group of singles ready to fall in love sight unseen. And if you thought season 4 of Love Is Blind was wild, you haven't seen anything yet.

Love is Blind
Love is Blind

Netflix 'Love Is Blind' season 5

Showrunner Chris Coelen tells EW that season 5 (premiering Sept. 22 with the first four episodes), which takes the pods to Houston, Texas, will be the best installment of Netflix's reality dating experiment. "Even better than season 4," he promises. "It's a very different season than any season that we've ever done. It is completely unpredictable. And the exciting thing about Love Is Blind is that it's all real. The show and the experiment continues to surprise me."

While Coelen is remaining tight-lipped about what makes season 5 so different, he does reveal that "there's multiple firsts" that happen that shocked him during filming.

"There are really incredible twists and turns, and it's none of our doing," he says. "That's the great thing about the show, we just follow what's going on. It's not like we set out any season to be like, 'This is the season that ... ' It's interesting to hear people say about season 3 [that] 'some of the guys were less ready [for marriage] than they should have been,' but it certainly wasn't our intention to end up having it be any certain way. With the 'the mean girls' in season 4, we never know what's going to happen, and that, to me, is what is endlessly fascinating about the show. We just follow whatever happens, and there's so many different dimensions of people that it's going to give you different things every season. We don't control or produce in any way — it's very much kind of like an eventized documentary in a way."

As for what fans can expect from this new cast? The 10-episode season is, of course, once again hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, and the usual format hasn't changed: Singles date in the pods, get engaged without meeting in person, go on a honeymoon trip, and move in together before ultimately walking down the aisle just a few weeks later to either get married or break up. But Coelen teases some surprises are in store as well. "There's unexpected love triangles that you don't see coming, there is some very intense and surprising relationship history that's unearthed, and there's some shocking revelations that happen that nobody in the cast sees coming," he says.

Plus ... more viral meme moments too! The infamous wine-drinking dog, fake tears, and pod nap are about to get some company. "There certainly are those moments on the show again," Coelen says. "The one I'm thinking of, in particular, gives too much away in terms of one of the storylines, but it's great. There's so many memorable characters. Sometimes you find love in the least expected places."

Check out more exclusive photos from season 5 below:

Love is Blind
Love is Blind

Netflix 'Love Is Blind' season 5

Love is Blind
Love is Blind

Netflix Vanessa and Nick Lachey on 'Love Is Blind' season 5

Love is Blind
Love is Blind

Netflix The famous pods on 'Love Is Blind' season 5

Love is Blind
Love is Blind

Netflix 'Love Is Blind' season 5

Make sure to check out EW's Fall TV Preview cover story on Gen V — as well as all of our 2023 Fall TV Preview content, releasing through Sept. 21.

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