Love in the Wild
Encyclopedia
Love in the Wild is a reality television series that debuted on June 29, 2011 on NBC
. Hosted by Darren McMullen
, the show is created and produced by Endemol USA
.
The show was renewed for a second season on October 20, 2011.
, the series begins with ten men and ten women, paired into couples. The couples must compete in challenges that test their own abilities and their compatibility as a team. Following each episode's adventure, the winning couple spends the night at a luxurious resort called the Oasis, while the other contestants stay in ordinary cabins and socialize with each other. The next day at the choice ceremony, contestants choose their partners for the next episode's challenge. The last remaining unmatched man and woman are eliminated. The series will conclude with one winning couple, who receive a trip around the world.
Couples are ordered by their finish in the previous day's challenge. (The gender that chooses first from each couple alternates with each ceremony; i.e., if women go first in one ceremony, men will go first in the next ceremony.)
Anna may choose first whether she would like to stay with Adam or ask someone else to partner with her. Because she and Adam finished first, if either of them wishes to partner with someone else, the other contestant cannot refuse. Anna chooses to stay with Adam, and Adam chooses to stay with Anna. They move on together.
Barbra and Bob are next. Barbra asks Carl to be her partner, and Carl accepts, so Barbra and Carl move on together. Bob asks Connie to be his partner, and Connie refuses. Bob moves to the Singles Area.
Connie may now choose between asking Doug or Bob to partner with her (despite having already rejected Bob). Connie asks Doug to be her partner, and Doug accepts. Connie and Doug move on.
Della and Bob are the final two unmatched contestants, and are eliminated.
If Doug had refused to partner with Connie, Connie would have joined Bob in the Singles Area. Della and Doug would then each choose to either stay together or ask Bob or Connie to partner up. If Della and Doug then both chose to stay together, Della and Doug would move on despite finishing last in the challenge, and Bob and Connie would be eliminated.
If there are more than two contestants in the Singles Area after all couples have chosen, the single contestants (in the order of their arrival in the Singles Area) may attempt again to create a partnership with one of the other singles. If all the single contestants continue to decline any partnerships with each other, they will all be eliminated. This feature resulted in the double elimination of Season 1, Episode 6, when the four remaining Singles Area competitors were unable to form any couples.
The show format gives a strong advantage to loyal couples, as they are guaranteed to move ahead as long as they do not finish last in a challenge. (Even then, they will advance if there is anyone in the singles area.) The are few circumstances in which betrayal can be advantageous (One case being that a member of a last-place couple may accept a switch request, and certain survival for one round, rather than count on a partner's loyalty.) Attempted switches may leave a contestant vulnerable to subsequent retaliation, as in Season 1, when Steele's switch attempt led to a retaliatory rejection by Erica which eliminated both of them. In Season 1, the last three couples had formed romantic bonds which helped protect them from elimination.
Mike and Samantha won Season 1 and earned a trip around the world together.
scoring a 47 out of 100.
Emily Yahr of The Washington Post
says that the best part of the show was all about the "sweeping views of Costa Rica", however, it did not go "far enough in any direction to make the premise intriguing to watch."
Love in the Wild premiered to a 2.2/6 rating in adults 18/49 and was watched by 6.48 million viewers. The premiere was the 3rd most watched program of the night, and it was first in its timeslot. The premiere was the 7th most watched show that week.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Hosted by Darren McMullen
Darren McMullen
Darren McMullen UK, USA and Australian television presenter. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Australia at the age of 12. He now lives in Los Angeles...
, the show is created and produced by Endemol USA
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
.
The show was renewed for a second season on October 20, 2011.
Format
Set in Costa RicaCosta Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, the series begins with ten men and ten women, paired into couples. The couples must compete in challenges that test their own abilities and their compatibility as a team. Following each episode's adventure, the winning couple spends the night at a luxurious resort called the Oasis, while the other contestants stay in ordinary cabins and socialize with each other. The next day at the choice ceremony, contestants choose their partners for the next episode's challenge. The last remaining unmatched man and woman are eliminated. The series will conclude with one winning couple, who receive a trip around the world.
Choice ceremony and elimination rules
To illustrate the mechanics of the choice ceremony, the following example is provided using these fictional couples:- Anna and Adam
- Barbra and Bob
- Connie and Carl
- Della and Doug
Couples are ordered by their finish in the previous day's challenge. (The gender that chooses first from each couple alternates with each ceremony; i.e., if women go first in one ceremony, men will go first in the next ceremony.)
Anna may choose first whether she would like to stay with Adam or ask someone else to partner with her. Because she and Adam finished first, if either of them wishes to partner with someone else, the other contestant cannot refuse. Anna chooses to stay with Adam, and Adam chooses to stay with Anna. They move on together.
Barbra and Bob are next. Barbra asks Carl to be her partner, and Carl accepts, so Barbra and Carl move on together. Bob asks Connie to be his partner, and Connie refuses. Bob moves to the Singles Area.
Connie may now choose between asking Doug or Bob to partner with her (despite having already rejected Bob). Connie asks Doug to be her partner, and Doug accepts. Connie and Doug move on.
Della and Bob are the final two unmatched contestants, and are eliminated.
If Doug had refused to partner with Connie, Connie would have joined Bob in the Singles Area. Della and Doug would then each choose to either stay together or ask Bob or Connie to partner up. If Della and Doug then both chose to stay together, Della and Doug would move on despite finishing last in the challenge, and Bob and Connie would be eliminated.
If there are more than two contestants in the Singles Area after all couples have chosen, the single contestants (in the order of their arrival in the Singles Area) may attempt again to create a partnership with one of the other singles. If all the single contestants continue to decline any partnerships with each other, they will all be eliminated. This feature resulted in the double elimination of Season 1, Episode 6, when the four remaining Singles Area competitors were unable to form any couples.
The show format gives a strong advantage to loyal couples, as they are guaranteed to move ahead as long as they do not finish last in a challenge. (Even then, they will advance if there is anyone in the singles area.) The are few circumstances in which betrayal can be advantageous (One case being that a member of a last-place couple may accept a switch request, and certain survival for one round, rather than count on a partner's loyalty.) Attempted switches may leave a contestant vulnerable to subsequent retaliation, as in Season 1, when Steele's switch attempt led to a retaliatory rejection by Erica which eliminated both of them. In Season 1, the last three couples had formed romantic bonds which helped protect them from elimination.
Mike and Samantha won Season 1 and earned a trip around the world together.
Men
| Partners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (Mandatory Switch) | 6 | 7 | 8 (Finale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike | Samantha | Samantha | Samantha | Samantha | Samantha (Theresa) | Samantha | Samantha | Samantha |
| Miles | Erica | Heather | Erica | Heather | Heather (Brandee) | Heather | Heather | Heather |
| Skip | Jessica | Theresa | Theresa | Theresa | Theresa (Jess) | Theresa | Theresa | |
| Ben | Heather | Brandee | Brandee | Brandee | Brandee (Samantha) | Brandee | ||
| Steele | Vanessa | Vanessa | Kym | Erica | Erica (Heather) | Erica | ||
| Derek | Kym | Jessica | Jess | Jess | Jess (Erica) | |||
| Jason | Jess | Erica | Jessica | Jessica | ||||
| Adam | Brandee | Kym | Heather | |||||
| Peter | Theresa | Jess | ||||||
| Jared | Dawn | |||||||
Women
| Partners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (Mandatory Switch) | 6 | 7 | 8 (Finale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samantha | Mike | Mike | Mike | Mike | Mike (Ben) | Mike | Mike | Mike |
| Heather | Ben | Miles | Adam | Miles | Miles (Steele) | Miles | Miles | Miles |
| Theresa | Peter | Skip | Skip | Skip | Skip (Mike) | Skip | Skip | |
| Brandee | Adam | Ben | Ben | Ben | Ben (Miles) | Ben | ||
| Erica | Miles | Jason | Miles | Steele | Steele (Derek) | Steele | ||
| Jess | Jason | Peter | Derek | Derek | Derek (Skip) | |||
| Jessica | Skip | Derek | Jason | Jason | ||||
| Kym | Derek | Adam | Steele | |||||
| Vanessa | Steele | Steele | ||||||
| Dawn | Jared |
- Finished first and immune from elimination, except in episodes 5 and 7
- Eliminated
- Winner
- Runner-up
Reception
Love in the Wild has received mixed reviews from critics, with MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
scoring a 47 out of 100.
Emily Yahr of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
says that the best part of the show was all about the "sweeping views of Costa Rica", however, it did not go "far enough in any direction to make the premise intriguing to watch."
Love in the Wild premiered to a 2.2/6 rating in adults 18/49 and was watched by 6.48 million viewers. The premiere was the 3rd most watched program of the night, and it was first in its timeslot. The premiere was the 7th most watched show that week.