Intro for January 7, 2025

Dear Gossips,   

I watch two dating shows at opposite times of the year. In the summer it’s Love Island USA and those of us who have been devoted to the American version of the series were rewarded this past summer when season six became pretty much the most popular Love Island of all the Love Islands thanks to its chaotically messy cast. Casting is now underway for Love Island USA season seven and, well, there’s a LOT to live up to. 

In the winter at my house it’s Singles Inferno. Romance is performed much more modestly in Korea, where Singles Inferno is based, so relationships on the show, in comparison to its western counterparts, usually progress more slowly. There has never been a tongue kiss on camera after three seasons. Giving someone a piggyback in the pool, or grazing their arm or shoulder with a fingertip, is about as horny as it gets. 

Like Love Island USA, the previous season of Singles Inferno was the best it’s ever been, also because of the cast. One dude in particular, Lee Gwan-hee, was the source of all the drama. A classic f-ckboy, K-style. There’s a lot of expectation, then, for the upcoming new season to be able to deliver on its predecessor. A trailer for Singles Inferno season four was released yesterday and it’s looking like Gwan-hee walked so that the new cast could run. We might be progressing from handholding to a lot more physical contact, maybe even a bed scene? And f-ckboys everywhere. Some of them might be semi-famous. 

 

It’s not just cultural relationships differences that set Singles Inferno apart, it’s also the panel. The panel on Singles Inferno might actually be my favourite feature – these are all celebrities in their own right in Korea who are being filmed live-watching each episode and the show cuts away to their reactions and commentary. This might feel weird to those not familiar with Eastern programming but it works because they’re a proxy for the audience because they don’t always agree. It’s like having The View, or similar, periodically jump in during Love Island with a two-minute debate on the flirting or fighting that just happened between the Islanders. As you just saw in that trailer, the panel’s reactions are often comedic and/or earnest, and they mirror the confusion, frustration, amusement of the viewers. It cracks me up when they oooh and ahhhh and gasp over what they’re seeing on the island. And this season it looks like whatever is going on on the island is blowing their minds. I LOVE the Singles Inferno panel, and this is probably the only reality TV job I would want: to be on a dating show commentary panel myself, like they do in Korea. 

Singles Inferno season four premieres January 14. 

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey