Fox is reviving the classic 1983-94 dating show “Love Connection” this summer, the network announced Wednesday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Bravo’s Andy Cohen will take over hosting duties from original matchmaker Chuck Woolery, and The Bachelor guru Mike Fleiss is onboard as an executive producer. Fox entertainment president David Madden, meanwhile, confirms that the new series will include both straight and gay couples.
The format will stick pretty close to the original show, with a single man or woman going out on three blind dates and then reporting back on what happened to Cohen in front of a live studio audience. But the new version promises to “amp up the original hit dating show for today’s audiences,” so we might see some swiping or some live-streaming worked in there somehow. (Maybe the audience will tweet who they think the daters should pick?)
“I was a huge fan of the original Love Connection,” Cohen said in a statement. “And hosting the new version allows me to do one of the things I love most: meddling in people’s personal lives.”
Fox has ordered 15 one-hour episodes of Love Connection; no premiere date has been set, but look for new love to bloom somewhere on the network’s summer schedule.
