Ken Marino’s reality dating show Burning Love formerly internet series has made the jump to TV. The Yahoo web series made its debut on E! on February 25, and it will now premiere regularly every Monday at 10 p.m. The series is mainly a spoof of the widely popular, yet extremely unrealistic shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Season 2 premiered on February 14th on Yahoo and is currently airing online, but E! is starting from the beginning and condensing the short episodes into half hour segments. Season 1 follows 34-year-old fireman Mark Orlando (Marino) in his search for love, and it features Kristen Bell, Adam Scott, Malin Akerman, and Michael Ian Black, with special appearances from Christine Taylor, Jennifer Aniston, and Ben Stiller. Season 2 of the series stars June Diane Raphael as Julie as she searches for the perfect man. Season 3 will premiere later in 2013 and star former contestants from Seasons 1 and 2 competing for a $900 prize rather than for love.
Anyone who has seen at least one episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, or anyone who understands the ridiculousness of finding “true love” on a TV show will find themselves endlessly laughing at this parody. Each contestant is crazier than the next, yet they all take it very seriously, making it all the more funny. Some characters include an 8 month pregnant woman, an 80 year old, and a hippie.
Marino’s character gives each of the contestants a fair shot, and listens to each of their sob stories intently. All of the characters take the emotional moments of the reality shows to an extreme, thereby enunciating the ridiculousness of it all. Jennifer Aniston’s character Dana, who wears a panda bear suit so that her appearance does not distract from her personality in an attempt to seem sincere and down to earth, acts as a spoof of The Bachelorette season seven contestant Jeff Medolla who also wore a mask for the same reasons.
The humor of the show is certainly crude, but many will find it very entertaining. The brilliance of Burning Love lies in its beyond excellent casting and its blend of raunchy humor with what feels like actual remakes of Bachelor scenes. Although suffice to say, fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette will not be amused with Burning Love’s jabs at their favorite shows.
