Love Connection

Format

Love Connection's main premise was to arrange dates for couples. By the time the couple appeared on the show, they had already met and gone on their date. The guest had been offered his or her choice of three candidates selected by the show's producers. The choice was made solely on the basis of videotaped profiles. The couple then went on what was essentially a blind date, their first (and often only) face-to-face encounter. After the date, an appearance on the show would be scheduled for the purpose of discussing the details of the date.

Love Connection tapings took place before a live studio audience. The guest would be introduced by Woolery, and excerpts from the three candidates' videos would be shown. The studio audience members then voted on which candidate they thought would be the guest's best choice. (Results of the audience vote were not disclosed at this point.) In the 1998-99 version, home viewers also participated in the voting via the show's website, and their votes counted toward the overall vote with the studio audience. The guest then announced which of the three he or she had actually chosen, and that person, who was backstage in front of a closed-circuit television camera, was introduced. Since contestants were not permitted any sort of contact in the interim, this was theoretically the couple's first interaction since the date. Each party then related his or her impressions of the date's events, with Woolery acting as intermediary and facilitator. If both parties agreed that the date had been successful, the couple would be reunited onstage. If it had not gone well, the backstage contestant would disappear at the conclusion of the (often tumultuous) interview, never to be seen again. Woolery then revealed the results of the studio audience's earlier voting.

If the date had gone well, and a majority of studio audience members had agreed with the guest's choice, Woolery would congratulate the happy couple for making a "love connection." After confirming that they wished to see each other again — usually a formality, but in rare instances successful couples would elect not to pursue a further relationship — they would be offered a second date at the show's expense.

In the event that the date had been successful but the audience had made a different selection, the guest was given the choice of a second date with the same candidate, or a date with the candidate chosen by the audience.

If the date had been unsuccessful, and the audience had chosen a different candidate, the guest was offered a date with the audience's selection.

If the guest and the audience had both been wrong - that is, the guest and audience had picked the same candidate, but the date had not gone well - the guest was offered a date with either of the two unsuccessful candidates.

If a second date took place, the couple would be invited back for a second interview at a later taping.

The great majority of contestants 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 show paid the expenses incurred on the date, plus $75 for incidentals. The incidental amount was increased to $100 for the 1998-1999 revival.

Usually, two or three segments aired per show. In a variation that aired on Fridays, a bachelor or bachelorette who had not yet chosen a date would make 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.

Legacy

The show was one of the biggest game show hits of the 1980s and early 1990s, and helped revive Chuck Woolery's hosting career. At 11 seasons and 2,120 episodes, it was one of the longest lasting game shows in syndication. For many years it was third behind Merv Griffin's Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (formerly hosted by Woolery) for longest lasting game show in syndication, but since has been surpassed by Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Coincidentally, the show premiered on the same date (September 19) that Woolery's former show, Wheel of Fortune, debuted its syndicated edition in 1983.

As of 1993, of the roughly 22,000 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 Magazine trade ad promoting the end of the original shows' run after 11 seasons, it was stated that there were 35,478 taped interviews, 2,120 Shows, 31 Marriages, and 20 babies.

"Two and two"

Woolery created his trademark phrase, "two and two" on Love Connection (and simultaneously on Scrabble, the daytime game show he hosted on NBC during the same period). 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.

Syndication

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 version has not been aired since its cancellation.

Revivals

In 2015, a remake of the show was in development by Warner Brothers for a shot in 2016 with comedian Loni Love as host.

On January 11, 2017, Fox announced plans to revive the series for the summer of 2017, with Andy Cohen serving as host.