Love Connection
American television dating game show
title: "Love Connection" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1983-american-television-series-debuts", "1994-american-television-series-endings", "1998-american-television-series-debuts", "1999-american-television-series-endings", "1980s-american-game-shows", "1990s-american-game-shows", "2017-american-television-series-debuts", "2018-american-television-series-endings", "2010s-american-game-shows", "american-dating-and-relationship-reality-television-series", "american-english-language-television-shows", "first-run-syndicated-game-shows", "television-series-by-warner-bros.-television-studios", "television-series-by-lorimar-television", "american-television-series-revived-after-cancellation", "fox-broadcasting-company-game-shows", "television-series-by-telepictures", "television-series-by-lorimar-telepictures", "television-shows-presented-by-chuck-woolery"] description: "American television dating game show" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Connection" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American television dating game show ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Love Connection logo 17.jpg |
| genre | Dating game show |
| creator | Eric Lieber |
| director | Paul Miller |
| Deborah Miller | |
| Tom McConnell | |
| presenter | |
| executive_producer | |
| producer | |
| narrated | |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| network | First-run syndication |
| network3 | Fox |
| camera | Multi-camera |
| runtime | 21–22 minutes (1983–94 and 1998–99 versions) |
| 44 minutes (2017 version) | |
| location | |
| company | |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| first_aired2 | |
| last_aired2 | |
| first_aired3 | |
| last_aired3 | |
| num_episodes | 2,120 (1983–94 and 1998–99 series) |
| 28 (2017 revival) | |
| Total: 2,148 | |
| num_seasons | 11 (1983–1994) |
| 1 (1998–1999) | |
| 2 (2017–2018) | |
| :: |
| image = Love Connection logo 17.jpg | genre = Dating game show | creator = Eric Lieber | director = Paul Miller Deborah Miller Tom McConnell | presenter = | executive_producer = | producer = | narrated = | country = United States | language = English | network = First-run syndication | network3 = Fox | camera = Multi-camera | runtime = 21–22 minutes (1983–94 and 1998–99 versions) 44 minutes (2017 version) | location = | company = | first_aired = | last_aired = | first_aired2 = | last_aired2 = | first_aired3 = | last_aired3 = | num_episodes = 2,120 (1983–94 and 1998–99 series) 28 (2017 revival) Total: 2,148 | num_seasons = 11 (1983–1994) 1 (1998–1999) 2 (2017–2018)
Love Connection is an American television dating game show. Contestants selected one of three potential dates from a series of videotaped profiles, with a studio audience voting on which of the three partners they found most suitable. Originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, the show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983 (coincidentally, the nighttime syndicated version of Woolery's former show, Wheel of Fortune, premiered that same day), and ended on July 1, 1994, after 2,120 shows. Reruns continued to air until September 8, 1995. The series was relaunched for one season in 1998 under the same title with Pat Bullard as host. In 2017, the series returned on Fox with Andy Cohen hosting. This second revival ran for two seasons.
Love Connection was produced by Eric Lieber Productions in association with and distributed by Telepictures (1983–1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1989), Lorimar Television (1989–1990), and Warner Bros. Television (1989–1994).
Format
Love Connections main premise was to arrange dates for couples. A guest appeared on the show after going on a date with one of three contestants, having chosen on the basis of the contestants' videotaped profiles. After the date, the televised appearance was scheduled.
Love Connection tapings took place before a live studio audience. Woolery introduced the guest and show excerpts from the three candidates' videos. The studio audience then secretly voted on which candidate they preferred for the guest. (In the 1998–99 version, home viewers voted online and were included in the tally.) The guest then revealed whom he or she had actually dated, and the date joined the conversation from backstage via closed-circuit television camera. Woolery led the guest and date to discuss their time together. If they both agreed that the date had been successful, the couple would be reunited onstage; otherwise, the date's participation in the show ended. Woolery then revealed the vote result; if the guest had had a successful date with the vote winner, Woolery congratulated the couple for making a "love connection", and they would usually (but not always) accept the offered prize of a second date at the show's expense.
After a successful date, the guest was always offered another date with that person. However, if the vote winner was one of the other contestants, the guest could choose a date with the vote winner, regardless of the success of the first date. In addition, if the guest had already unsuccessfully dated the audience pick, the guest could choose to go on a date with either of the other contestants. If a second date took place, the couple would be invited back for a second interview at a later taping. Two or three segments usually aired per show. In a variation that aired on Fridays, a bachelor or spinster who had not yet chosen a date made an appearance and allow the studio audience to make the choice for him or her, based on video excerpts. The couple would report back in the usual fashion several weeks later. If the couple hit it off, they were entitled to a second date at the show's expense. If not, the contestant could choose between the two losing candidates for the second date.
In the 2017 revival, the guest appeared on the show after having gone on a date with each of the three contestants, and all three were interviewed from backstage after the video intros and audience vote. This version added a segment where guests and contestants rate their first impressions of each other's looks on a scale of 1–10; however, some contestants have acknowledged basing this rating in part on factors other than physical looks, such as punctuality or fashion sense. After the interviews, the guest received an overnight date with the contestant of his or her choice, along with a chance to receive a $10,000 cash prize. In season 1, the guest automatically received the prize if the audience vote matched his or her choice; otherwise, the guest was given the option to instead spend the overnight date with the vote winner and thereby receive the monetary prize. In season 2, the option to switch was dropped; the guest spent the overnight date with the contestant he or she chose, and the $10,000 prize was awarded if the audience vote matched that choice.
The great majority of contestants in the original series were in their twenties and had never been married. However, older never-married, widowed, and divorced (some multiple times) contestants were occasionally selected as well. The relationship status of the contestants was noted on-screen in their profile summary in both syndicated iterations of the show, but is not referenced in the 2017 revival unless it arises in conversation between the guest, dates, and host. In the original series, men were paired only with women, and vice versa; the 2017 revival has included same-sex pairings. The show paid the expenses incurred on the date, plus $75 for incidentals. The incidental amount was increased to $100 for the 1998–1999 revival. In the 2017 revival, contestants were given $500 for each date.
Legacy
As of 1993, among the couples who met on the show, there were a total of 29 marriages, 8 engagements, and 15 children, according to Woolery.
A year later, in a Daily Variety trade ad promoting the end of the original show's run after 11 seasons, it was stated that there were 35,478 taped interviews, 2,120 episodes, 31 marriages, and 20 children.
"Two and two"
Woolery created his catch phrase "we'll be back in two and two" on Love Connection, often accompanied by a two-fingered hand gesture. The line referred to the fact that the program would return in two minutes and two seconds, the total length of a standard commercial break at the time, including the fade-out and fade-ins bookending each break. Woolery would later use this phrase on other shows he hosted as well.
Announcers
For the first six seasons, the show was announced by a variety of game show announcing veterans. Rod Roddy announced seasons 1 and 2, with Gene Wood announcing seasons 3 and 4. Rich Jeffries announced season 5, and Johnny Gilbert announced season 6. Starting with season 7, John Cervenka took over as announcer, and stayed in that role until the series concluded becoming the longest running announcer of the series.
Reruns
The Chuck Woolery episodes were rerun on the USA Network from October 16, 1995 to June 6, 1997 and on the Game Show Network from January 6, 2003 to July 18, 2008. Beginning November 9, 2009, the Woolery episodes returned to GSN's weekday lineup but have since been removed. The Pat Bullard and Andy Cohen versions have not been aired since their cancellation. GameTV began airing the first Chuck Woolery season on March 6, 2020.
Revivals
The series was revived for syndciation in the fall of 1998 with Pat Bullard as host. It lasted for one season.
In 2015, a remake of the show was in development by Warner Bros. for a shot in 2016 with comedian Loni Love as host, but those plans fell through.
On January 11, 2017, Fox announced plans to revive the series for Summer 2017, with Andy Cohen serving as host. The reboot premiered at 9:00 p.m. ET on May 25, 2017. On August 10, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on May 29, 2018. The second season concluded on September 18, 2018. Cohen announced the series' cancellation on February 27, 2019.
Ratings
Season 1 (2017)
| hide_dvr = y | hide_dvrv = y | hide_total = y | hide_totalv = y | refs_col = y
| title1 = Don't Go Bacon My Heart | date1 = | rs1 = 1.1/4 | viewers1 = 3.29 | ref1 =
| title2 = Rowdy with a Chance of Meatballs | date2 = | rs2 = 0.9/3 | viewers2 = 2.87 | ref2 =
| title3 = Brace Yourself for Love | date3 = | rs3 = 0.8/3 | viewers3 = 2.53 | ref3 =
| title4 = Putting an Earring on It | date4 = | rs4 = 0.9/4 | viewers4 = 2.87 | ref4 =
| title5 = Beauty and the Geek | date5 = | rs5 = 0.7/3 | viewers5 = 2.41 | ref5 =
| title6 = Singer Stinger | date6 = | rs6 = 0.6/3 | viewers6 = 2.35 | ref6 =
| title7 = Grits Me Baby One More Time! | date7 = | rs7 = 0.7/3 | viewers7 = 2.59 | ref7 =
| title8 = Evan 'n Hell | date8 = | rs8 = 0.6/3 | viewers8 = 2.02 | ref8 =
| title9 = White Chocolate & Roses | date9 = | rs9 = 0.6/3 | viewers9 = 2.28 | ref9 =
| title10 = Devilish in a Blue Dress | date10 = | rs10 = 0.5/2 | viewers10 = 1.90 | ref10 =
| title11 = Talk Nerdy to Me | date11 = | rs11 = 0.6/2 | viewers11 = 2.32 | ref11 =
| title12 = Every Rosé Has Its Thor | date12 = | rs12 = 0.6/3 | viewers12 = 2.27 | ref12 =
| title13 = The Friend Zone | date13 = | rs13 = 0.5/2 | viewers13 = 1.58 | ref13 =
| title14 = Bridge to Nowhere | date14 = | rs14 = 0.6/2 | viewers14 = 1.97 | ref14 =
| title15 = Secret Billionaire | date15 = | rs15 = 0.6/3 | viewers15 = 2.16 | ref15 =
Season 2 (2018)
| hide_dvr = y | hide_dvrv = y | hide_total = y | hide_totalv = y | refs_col = y
| title1 = Chanelle & Logan | date1 = | rs1 = 0.6/3 | viewers1 = 1.80 | ref1 =
| title2 = Kirstie & Joe | date2 = | rs2 = 0.5/2 | viewers2 = 1.53 | ref2 =
| title3 = Armond & Grace | date3 = | rs3 = 0.5/2 | viewers3 = 1.65 | ref3 =
| title4 = Porsha & Greg | date4 = | rs4 = 0.5/2 | viewers4 = 1.77 | ref4 =
| title5 = Chris & Hannah | date5 = | rs5 = 0.5/2 | viewers5 = 1.59 | ref5 =
| title6 = Episode Six | date6 = | rs6 = 0.5/2 | viewers6 = 1.49 | ref6 =
| title7 = Aaron & Maconnie | date7 = | rs7 = 0.5/2 | viewers7 = 1.78 | ref7 =
| title8 = Episode Eight | date8 = | rs8 = 0.4/2 | viewers8 = 1.53 | ref8 =
| title9 = Vaughn & Josh | date9 = | rs9 = 0.4/2 | viewers9 = 1.36 | ref9 =
| title10 = Johnathan & Amber | date10 = | rs10 = 0.4/2 | viewers10 = 1.49 | ref10 =
| title11 = Annalee & Jon | date11 = | rs11 = 0.4/2 | viewers11 = 1.39 | ref11 =
| title12 = Michael & Diane | date12 = | rs12 = 0.4/2 | viewers12 = 1.44 | ref12 =
| title13 = Be & John | date13 = | rs13 = 0.5/2 | viewers13 = 1.75 | ref13 =
References
References
- (1999). "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows". Facts on File, Inc..
- The Intelligencer – September 8, 1995
- (11 January 2017). "'Love Connection' Reboot Hosted by Andy Cohen Set at Fox".
- (26 July 2017). "'Love Connection' Features First-Ever LGBTQ Contestants (Exclusive Clip)".
- mentioned on a 1985 episode re-aired on [[Game Show Network. GSN]]
- Meyers, Kate. (1993-02-12). "Valentine's Connection". [[Entertainment Weekly]].
- Daily Variety Magazine; June 21, 1994; Page 25
- (2008-01-24). "GSN Brings the Love Early With a Three-Hour, Pre-Valentine's Day 'LOVE CONNECTION'". reuters.com.
- David Baber. (11 August 2009). "Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars". McFarland.
- The Intelligencer – October 16, 1995
- The Post Standard – June 6, 1997
- [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-95494136.html HighBeam]{{dead link. (February 2019)
- GSN Schedule PDFs – July 14–20, 2008
- GSN Schedule PDFs – November 16–22, 2009
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- "Schedule - GameTV".
- (2015-09-30). "Syndicators Busy With Shows For Next Fall (''Love Connection'' is mentioned in the article)". tvnewscheck.com.
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