11 Shocking Facts About the ‘Love Is Blind’ Pods

11 Shocking Facts About the ‘Love Is Blind’ PodsCourtesy of Netflix

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In the show Love Is Blind, every connection begins in the pods. And now that season seven starring Washington D.C.–area singles just hit Netflix, we’re examining all of the pod design details—from where the pods are located to why each person faces a blue shimmering wall while in them. Plus, we’re answering burning viewer questions. Like, is there a bathroom in the pods? Does the cast have to sleep in them? And are the pods actually across from each other? Dig into every shocking fact fans should know below.

The pods were once shipped from Atlanta to their current home in Santa Clarita, California.

For the first season, the pods—which are roughly 12 feet by 12 feet—were constructed in Atlanta at a studio that’s now called Trilith Studios. After season one, all 20 of the pods (10 for the men, 10 for the women) were shipped from there to a studio in Santa Clarita, California, where they remained for all following seasons.

There are no bathrooms in the pods.

What you see of the pods is all there is to them, meaning there are no private bathrooms attached to them. Instead, contestants need to use the bathroom near the lounges. According to Tudum, they somewhat frequently take the trip because the pods are always stocked with beverages.

They’re designed to be comfy and understated.

Courtesy of Netflix

The goal for the pods was to create an intimate space that breeds connection. “We wanted to provide an environment for people where they would literally have no distractions,” the series creator Chris Coelen told Tudum. “We wanted it to be comfortable and conducive to conversation—a place where they could get cozy with each other.”

They’re not fully soundproof.

To talk to each other in the pods, the contestants chat through speakers near the blue wall. While the pods are soundproof, they’re not completely bottled up. “If somebody screamed, you can hear them in a muffled way,” Coelen told Decider. “But if you’re just talking in a normal voice, you can’t hear anything.”

The pod columns are actually directly across from each other.

Courtesy of Netflix

It’s not TV magic; The two pod columns are next to each other, meaning each contestant is technically facing the person they’re chatting with when looking at the glowing wall. The speakers are located near that wall, so the sound comes from the right direction as well.

The shimmering blue wall is meant to feel alive.

The blue wall, which moves and shimmers, was designed to feel like a “living, breathing presence,” Coelen told Tudum.

No one has ever made a special request to change anything—like lighting or temperature—in the pods (as of season six).

Courtesy of Netflix

Here’s how you know the pods are truly comfortable: Throughout six seasons, no contestant has requested to make tweaks to the space, whether it’s adjusting the lighting or temperature. With so many people going in and out of the rooms, that’s impressive.

The film Ex Machina inspired some of the pod and lighting design.

In 2020, after the first season was released, production designer Dave Edwards told Variety that the 2015 sci-fi thriller Ex Machina helped inspire the pods, especially in terms of lighting. He said: “For the majority of Ex Machina, you have little light and the darkness as well, and we really wanted to play with that to add depth from the pods into that hallway and into some of these areas where you have a highlight of lighting and then it flows into shadow, and that would help soften and bring interest to the design of it.”

Originally, the pods were going to be rectangular.

At first, the plan was to make the pods squared-off, rectangular rooms. But the shape wasn’t well-suited for getting various camera angles. So the production design team decided to flatten two corners of the pod. As they did so, they realized it created a more relaxed atmosphere, so they took out the other two corners to form a more rounded shape. “It softened the room in an unimaginable way from where we had started,” Edwards told Variety.

Contestants don’t sleep in the pods.

Initially, contestants had to sleep on cots in trailers next to the lounges during season one. That proved to be too uncomfortable, so they were given hotel rooms starting in season two. To prevent anyone from seeing each other at the hotel, the singles are escorted to and from their rooms.