Japan’s rapidly aging population presents plenty of worries about the future. There’s one thing we can rest a little easier about, though: Netflix Japan’s new dating show “Love Village” assures us that at least reality romance programming will be entertaining as demographics gray.
The general premise of “Love Village” (“Ai no Sato”), which was released earlier this month, rings familiar: A handful of singles are gathered at an isolated location (in this case, the Japanese countryside), and they attempt to find love while coexisting in their new surroundings. Drama, deep connections and hijinks ensue.
The hook is that every participant on the show is 35 or older. They come to the remote house with at least a few decades of life experience, and their backstories factor into the show just as much as what they find in the countryside. The soundtrack consists primarily of Backstreet Boys’ songs, offering the perfect bait to millennial audiences tuning in.