Cinema News: Your favorite scandal-free dating series is back

April 3, 2026 | View in browser

A young woman and man sit cross-legged on a bed of grass in a garden

By Yvonne Villarreal, Maira Garcia, Robert Lloyd and Mary McNamara

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who prefers watching people find love without the baggage of a controversial scandal.

The recent season of "Love Is Blind" featured a 30-something man telling his fiancée that he usually only dates women who "do Pilates every day." On the new season of "Love on the Spectrum," a 20-something man surprises his fiancée during their romantic Valentine's Day dinner with her favorite meal: McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries.

It's probably clear which makes for a less rageful viewing experience.

Relationship drama and scandal in the reality TV universe have fueled plenty of chatter and headlines in recent weeks — from "Love is Blind" and "The Bachelorette" to "Summer House." But at least Netflix's wholesome dating series is back to remind us that conflict isn't the only way to make compelling reality TV. Season 4 features a mix of familiar faces and new cast members navigating the dating scene and reaching milestones in their personal growth. For this week's Guest Spot, TV editor Maira Garcia got in some questions with the show's co-creator, director and showrunner Cian O'Clery.

Also in this week's newsletter, TV critic Robert Lloyd shares how you can broaden your opera intake by way of PBS and its broadcasts of New York's Metropolitan Opera stagings, and culture critic Mary McNamara tells you about the latest entrant in TV's flawed women genre.

— Yvonne Villarreal

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

"Great Performances: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" (PBS)

The indignant response to Timothée Chalamet's claim that no one cares about ballet or opera anymore was proof in itself that there are people who do indeed care. Maybe you care, or maybe you'd like to learn to care, just to spite Chalamet or because you're ready for something different in your life. (And opera is definitely different.) New York's Metropolitan Opera has a long history of sending its productions to the world; live radio broadcasts of Saturday matinee performances go back to 1931 (KUSC currently carries them locally), and live HD transmissions show in movie theaters around the country. PBS has carried Met operas (not live) since 1977. Currently up and available to stream from the PBS website and app is "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," Mason Bates' 2025 operatic translation of Michael Chabon's novel about comic books, immigrants and the Holocaust set on the eve of World War II . The presentations, which begin streaming the day after broadcast, continue through October, including Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" (Aug. 21), Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" (Sept. 13) and the premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank's "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego" (Oct. 18), which merges the famous painters into the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The season opener, Puccini's "La Bohéme," bringing back a celebrated Franco Zeffirelli production, is available until Sunday. — R.L.

"Imperfect Women" (Apple TV)

Is Annie Weisman's miniseries yet another version of the "women's perfect lives and friendships unravel as secrets are revealed" story we've seen, in the vein of the 1979 classic "Friendship, Secrets and Lies" and the more contemporary "Big Little Lies"? Yes, yes it is. But there's a reason the genre endures — who doesn't take pleasure in the sight of perfection unraveling? — and "Imperfect Women," which is based on Araminta Hall's novel of the same name, offers glossy high-strung, high-wattage proof. Nancy (Kate Mara) is the fairy-tale princess here. Rescued from her (oh, the horror) Bakersfield roots by her seemingly happy marriage to rich-guy scion Robert (Joel Kinnaman), she still relies on her loving college buddies Eleanor (Kerry Washington) and Mary (Elisabeth Moss). Both are also apparently living their best lives — Eleanor is the happily single head of a successful NGO, while Mary is a contented homemaker with college professor husband Howard (Corey Stoll) and three children she adores. Alas, all is not what it seems, and when Nancy turns up dead, well, the twists and turns revealed through each of the women's viewpoints will leave you breathless, especially if you live in Los Angeles.

As much fun as the three stars are clearly having with the "smart women, stupid choices" trope that invariably drives stories such as these, even they are outshone by all the amazing and immediately recognizable L.A. locations through which the action moves — the Biltmore, Echo Park, the Music Center, the Academy Museum, Silver Lake, the Pioneer Bridge, All Saints Church and Pasadena City Hall, to name just a few. "Imperfect Women" is, if nothing else, a manifesto on why film and TV production should stay in Los Angeles. Nancy's Hancock Park manse screams old(ish) money; Eleanor has a sumptuous apartment downtown, which means she's cool, and we're all supposed to believe that Mary's (slightly) messy Craftsman-style bungalow proves that she and her husband are struggling financially (though the built-in window seats are pretty fine). No mention is made of the traffic challenges posed by such far-flung domiciles, but that's nothing considering all the much more important things "Imperfect Women" demands viewers not question too deeply. Which is just fine — we're here for the drama, the whodunit guessing and the very important reminder of why Los Angeles is where Hollywood was born. — M.M.

Guest Spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching

Netflix has featured a number of dating series over the years, but few have been as heartwarming and joyous as "Love on the Spectrum." The Emmy-winning series began streaming in the U.S. in 2022, following neurodivergent adults who were looking for love — many for the first time. On Wednesday, it returned for its fourth season, which continued to follow Connor Tomlinson, James B. Jones and Madison Marilla, participants from previous seasons, on their respective journeys to form loving relationships. Tomlinson invites his girlfriend Georgie Harris on a trip to London after celebrating their first anniversary as a couple— without spoiling too much, it doesn't go quite as planned. Meanwhile, Jones' relationship with Shelley Wolfe continues to strengthen, while Marilla is moving toward a new chapter with her match, country music-loving cowboy Tyler White.

This season also continues the show's tradition of introducing viewers to a few new faces, including Logan Pereira of Las Vegas; Emma Hodgson of Cottonwood Heights, Utah; and Dylan Aguilar, an L.A. native. The show's co-creator, director and showrunner Cian O' Clery stopped by Guest Spot to talk about the new season, the considerations the show takes when deciding whether to continue following a participant and how families have responded to being on the show over the years. — Maira Garcia

Over the seasons you've introduced us to various individuals and couples. How do you decide who to continue documenting and when to bring someone new into the fold?

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These are always tough decisions, and there are no hard and fast rules as to who we invite back. We always look to include new cast each season, and we don't have any 'wishlists' for the kind of personalities we are seeking, we always keep an open mind! We're always hoping to represent the diversity of the spectrum, so that is a factor. We meet hundreds and hundreds of people who apply, and from there we eventually get to a point where we invite people who we think are engaging, unique, and will fit well into the overall mix of people. For the returning cast, we discuss amongst ourselves and with Netflix whose stories continue to develop in ways we think audiences will love to experience.

This show is very inclusive not only because you feature people on ranges of the spectrum, but because there's diversity in sexual orientation, race and gender. One could argue it's a microcosm of our society — do you see it that way?

I haven't thought about it like that, but that's a nice compliment! We're always very happy to be as inclusive as we can be.

One of the best things about this show is seeing everyone gain so much confidence. Connor, for example, blooms. He goes from anxious and unsure on his first speed dating experience to falling for Georgie. What has it been like for you to witness that?

Yes, Connor has really grown a lot since we first met him, it has been wonderful to experience, and to stand alongside him as he really finds his place in the world. I'm just so happy that he doesn't feel alone and isolated anymore, thinking of when we first met him to where he is now, being as popular and loved as he is, it's great to see!

The families of the participants are a big part of the experience as well. How do you approach parents about their participation and what have they said to you about the experience over the seasons?

For the cast who live at home with their families, we are in touch with them very early on, if not meeting them on the very first video call we do when someone applies! For some of the more independent cast, family participation might not be as important, it's always driven by their role in that individual's life. We have been welcomed by so many families into their homes, into their lives, and any unwillingness to participate in the series has been very rare. I've been amazed by just how welcoming people have been.

As for what parents have said to me and the team, when we are told we have changed their child's life (and often theirs), there's nothing more rewarding to hear.

People's families have definitely joined the "Love on the Spectrum" family, and that's what it has become. So many cast and families socialize together and now call each other close friends.

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

I really like how unique and interesting "DTF St. Louis" [HBO Max] is. I normally can't stand musical numbers popping up in a show, but that rap while riding their 'nerd bikes' was next level. I've also been enjoying "Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen" [Netflix], it's beautifully crafted.

What's your go-to "comfort watch," the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

Hmmm, I'd have to say for films: "Heat" [HBO Max], "Barry Lyndon" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" [YouTube, Peacock] (Hope someone noticed our Holy Grail musical reference in this season of "Love on the Spectrum"). And for TV: "Seinfeld" [Netflix] all the way.