“Love is Blind” season eight may not have boosted Minnesota’s street cred (see: everyone who says the Minneapolis season was the most boring yet) but it did lead to us getting our money up.
“Love is Blind” production spent about $1.9 million in Minnesota, according to Lauren Bennett McGinty, the executive director of Explore Minnesota.
A promotional image for the Netflix reality dating show, “Love Is Blind,” which returns Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 for its eighth season, starring a Minnesota cast. For ten days a cast of singles date one another, in hopes of finding their perfect match without ever seeing one another. (Courtesy of Netflix)
The state agency oversees Explore Minnesota Film, which debuted last July as the state’s film office, taking over responsibilities of the longstanding nonprofit Minnesota Film & TV Board per state statute. Among its chief roles is administering a tax credit program aimed at attracting film productions that employ Minnesotans and promote the state.
“One of the things that we always hear about is the ’90s, and that was sort of the golden age of film in Minnesota,” said Bennett McGinty. “We’re trying to bring that back.”
Bennett McGinty shared a few details about the show’s economic impact in Minnesota, saying “Love is Blind” employed 52 Minnesota residents, paid over $153,000 in wages and contributed more than $134,000 in Minnesota income tax.
She said the show also spent over $213,000 on lodging and over $142,000 on food costs, in addition to other expenses, over the course of the 30 days that pre-production and production took place in Minnesota.
In turn, “Love is Blind” producers received $444,587 in tax credits.
“We are incentivizing people to come here, but, more often than that, they are really going above and beyond what that credit is,” said Bennett McGinty.
She said the tax incentive has supported 14 projects in Minnesota since its start in 2021. That includes the Hulu original movie “Merry Kiss Cam” and romantic heist film “Marmalade” featuring “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery.
Bennett McGinty, an avid fan of “Love is Blind,” has heard the online criticism about the latest season and agreed it was less dramatic than prior ones. But she figures that reflects well on Minnesota.
“I do think a lot of it has to just do with the fact that we are less stressed here and we’re pretty happy,” she said.
“In general, what we hear from people who do make films here is that we have a lot of wonderful hospitality and, overall, it’s easy to work with our folks who live here. I think that that makes a difference, though I’m not sure how discerning ‘Love is Blind’ production folks are on picking places,” she shared.
She said Explore Minnesota Film is in talks with a competition reality show and other productions interested in coming to Minnesota. (She can’t share more information at this time.) The office has an eye on the nationwide trend towards film tourism, with more people traveling to visit sets seen on-screen, and the potential benefit for locations featured.
“In the end, being able to showcase the experience that it is living in Minnesota is really special,” she said.
While the eighth season of “Love is Blind” is referred to as the Minneapolis season, the show featured locations from across the Twin Cities.
Couples go on dates at local favorites like Smash Park in Roseville, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul and Travail Kitchen and Amusements in Robbinsdale. The pod squad meets all together at Buck Hill in Burnsville, with weddings taking place at Bavaria Downs in Chaska.
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Cast members touched on being bullied in Edina, growing up in the south metro, a good Costco in Woodbury and more.
That said, downtown Minneapolis was definitely the behind-the-scenes star of the season. Engaged couples nested at 365 Nicollet Apartments (right next to the nice Minneapolis Central Library). Scenes transitioned with shots of the light rail and the city’s skyline. The adjacent North Loop also served as a backdrop to some of the season’s off-screen drama, as many cast members frequent its bars and other nightlife.
When filming was first spotted in Minneapolis in February 2024, curious fans took to the streets in hopes of coming across production, compiling a list of bars and restaurants where cameras had been spotted or that were likely to be featured.
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