Fans Are Calling Love Is Blind's Creators' New Show A Laguna Beach Rip-Off

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A day before Love Is Blind Season 8 premiered on Netflix Valentine’s Day, the show’s creators quietly dropped a new show, Sweethearts, on Prime Video. Kinetic Content, the production company behind these reality TV series, is also the mind behind Married at First Sight and The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On.

While the three hits are experimental shows about adults finding “the one,” Sweethearts follows young love between couples in their senior year of high school. Fans are calling it a “Temu” Laguna Beach, although Kinetic CEO Chris Coelen described it more as “an homage to Dawson’s Creek.”

However, Sweethearts received some criticism similar to its sister shows. Producers have been slammed for Married at First Sight seemingly not being genuine while Love Is Blind‘s vetting process continues to be questioned, along with The Ultimatum stars’ social media not being checked before casting. Here’s everything you should know about Sweethearts.

Fans Are Wrong For Calling Sweethearts A “Modern” Laguna Beach

Speaking to Variety on February 15, 2025 (two days before Sweethearts premiered), Chris talked about their shows following “very real and pressing at different stages of life.” He went on to share that he didn’t have a high school romance but that he knew “at that age, everything is magnified and everything feels like it has huge, life-altering stakes.”

“Are they going to go to a different school than you? What does that mean? As you’re becoming an adult, does the person who you’ve been dating help you do that or are they holding you back from that?” Chris said of the questions Sweethearts seeks to answer.

The executive producer explained that the unscripted series was inspired by that whole “natural ticking clock— come fall, you’ve gotta make a decision.” But it was important for Chris to choose a location with “a certain flavor to it that feels like an homage to Dawson’s Creek,” leading them to film in Charleston, South Carolina.

So it’s not a new Laguna Beach or a “Temu version” of it, as someone commented under the trailer. While the drama may be comparable (that’s just good TV), Chris and his co-producers are focused on following the authentic journeys of couples in such life dilemmas.

Kinetic is also known for exploring cultural and geographical dynamics in relationships. For instance, Love Is Blind Season 8 being in Minneapolis made it “harder” for couples to connect in the pods compared to other cities. The Ultimatum‘s premiere also shocked viewers with how young the ready-for-marriage participants were in Austin.

Prime Video’s Sweethearts Follows The Stories Of Six High School Couples In South Carolina

Sweethearts Also Features The Parents Of The Young Couples

via Instagram/@kineticcontent

Season 1 of Sweethearts follows six high school couples in Charleston. They navigate young love, pre-college choices, and other coming-of-age relationship issues that may make or break them. But it’s unique in the way that Kinetic made sure to feature the kids’ parents as well.

“The kids are driving the story, but the parents are a real key, crucial part of that as well,” Chris said of Sweethearts‘ premise.

The cast members (couples) of Prime Video’s Sweethearts Season 1

Allison Kammer and Will Regan
Brian Baldassarre and Carissa Fragola
Elle Robison and Justin Coleman
Jenica Solinger and Will Taylor
Katerina Scott and Makhi “BG” Rivers
Miranda Saliva and Quinn Dugdale

Chris also told Swoon that including the parents makes Sweethearts appealing to a wider audience. “Because we’ve included the parents, there are different points of view that come into the show,” he said. “So I think it’s something, hopefully, that’ll appeal to a whole broad section of people.”

Like their other reality shows, the opinions of loved ones are a huge factor in the storyline. Love it or hate it, Kinetic has mastered the recipe for getting everyone engaged (or worked up) in these often rocky love stories.

However, Chris admitted that it’s “certainly a different feel filming with younger people,” but in a fascinating way. “There’s a real fluency with them filming themselves,” he explained. “It’s a much more part of people’s lives today than it was 10-15 years ago.”

Sweethearts Received Mixed Reviews From Fans Claiming Lack Of Diversity

Sweethearts stars Elle Robison and Justin Coleman — via Instagram/@kineticcontent

Chris is always excited to explore new relationship dynamics on reality TV, but fans haven’t always been on board with it. Aside from doubts about the experiments’ authenticity, viewers have complaints about certain casting decisions. “Did yall choose to only cast white girls for this show?” someone said of Sweethearts on Instagram.

Another fan pointed out: “I know kinetic casting had a tendency to only want to focus on white female love stories but dang – this time its super apparent. 😂 i can tell who the casting team consists of.”

Season 8 of Love Is Blind was also called out for having “the whitest cast ever” following a diverse Season 7. But Chris assured Entertainment Weekly that “the show casts itself.”

But you can’t blame the viewers for worrying when there’s tea on social media they believe casting directors ignore. For instance, a LIB Season 8 contestant faces disturbing allegations involving minors while another guy from the previous season seemingly disappeared after similar accusations up on social media even before the show.

All 10 episodes of Sweethearts Season 1 are available for streaming on Prime Video.

Regarding a Season 2 for Sweethearts, Chris said he’s interested in expanding the show in two ways. “I’m certainly interested to see what happens with the people that we followed,” he said. “But I think it’s also really nice to go into other places, and so that would be our hope is to maybe do a little bit of both.”