Love Shack (lost dating reality TV series; 2003)

Promotional poster for the reality TV show Love Shack.

Status: Partially Found/Lost

Love Shack is a dating reality television show that was likely filmed in the summer of 2002 in California. The show was hosted by Big Brother 2 winner Dr. Will Kirby and was set to air on NBC on August 26th, 2002 before being cut from their fall season line-up. 1 NBC later sold Love Shack to the LivingTV group in June of 2003. 15

Premise

Two singles (one man and one woman) will enter a Southern California mansion "to find true love while competing against each other to win a one-year lease on a California beach house." 3 Both singles will be introduced to two other singles of the opposite sex. The contestants will compete in a series of challenges and speed date the respective singles. After four days, the initial singles will determine who will stay and who will leave the Love Shack. 4

Production

Not much is known about the production of Love Shack. Initially slated as "Single Guys", NBC began casting the show in late June of 2002. 5 In an article by Reality Tv World published on July 24, 2002, it was announced that Dr. Will Kirby would host the series. The same article announced that the series would premiere on Monday August 26, 2002. 3 The series filmed six total episodes. 4

Release Delays

Love Shack was slated to be on NBC's 2003 summer roster, but was later delayed again for the 03-04 midseason. 11 This is likely due to media coverage of Saddam Hussein's "love shack". 12 The show was renamed to "Perfect Partners" prior to this second delay. 13. The show was then delayed before being sold to LivingTV group. 214[1]

Airings of Love Shack

At the time of writing, there is confirmation of two channels that Love Shack aired on, Star World and LivingTV.

Star World

Love Shack began airing on the channel Star World on December 4th, 2003. 6 There is also confirmation of another episode airing on Star World on December 18th, 2003. 7 This indicates that multiple episodes of Love Shack aired on this channel. According to Wikipedia, Star World is an English language entertainment television channel that was broadcast across the continent of Asia including China and Indonesia. 8

LivingTV

Per an article by Digital Spy and, Love Shack was set to begin airing on LivingTV on September 11, 2003. 2 Another episode was confirmed to air on LivingTV on September 18th, 2003. 9 According to Wikipedia, LivingTV was a channel owned by LivingTV Group (now known as Sky Group Limited) that was broadcast in the UK. 10 Love Shack is not available on Sky Streaming.

Found Episodes

Love Shack Episode 1 was recovered and uploaded to YouTube by @LOVESHACK2002 on October 22nd, 2024. Episode 2 was uploaded to the same channel on October 23rd, 2024.

References

1. Variety, "New move-in date for ‘Shack’", Published July 29, 2002
2. Digital Spy, "LivingTV buys 'Love Shack' for September", Published August 5, 2003
3. Reality TV World, "BB2 winner 'Evil Will' to host NBC's 'Love Shack' reality show", Published July 24, 2002
4. Next TV Broadcasting + Cable, "NBC builds a Love Shack", Published July 11, 2002
5. Reality TV World, "NBC casting for new 'Single Guys' show to air in August", Published June 25, 2002
6. South China Morning Post article, "Pick of the day", Published December 4, 2003
7. The Jakarta Post, "JP/TV Program: Thursday, Dec. 18, 2003", Published December 18th, 2003
8. Wikipedia, "Star World", Accessed October 19, 2024
9. Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, "WeekendplusTV", Published September 18th, 2003
10. Wikipedia, "Sky Witness", Accessed October 19, 2024
11. Variety, "Stick to the script", Published January, 19, 2003
12. Ocala StarBanner, "Soldiers dub house 'Saddam's love shack'", Published April 13, 2003
13. Variety, "NBC falls for a couple of dating skeins", Published April 22, 2003
14. Variety, "NBC unveils a new summer script", Published May 4, 2003
15. C21 Media, "NBC and Living in copro first", Published June 5, 2003
16. YouTube, Love Shack Episode 1, User @LOVESHACK2002, Published October 22, 2024
17. YouTube, Love Shack Episode 2, YouTube User @LOVESHACK2002, Published October 23, 2024