love in h-town

Hot Houston singles get ready to mingle in Netflix smash Love is Blind Season 5 set in Bayou City

Celeb couple Nick and Vanessa Lachey star in Season 5 of Love is Blind set in Houston.

Like a budding romantic duo ready to commit, Houston and Love is Blind are official.

Producers of the wildly popular Netflix romance reality show hosted by celeb couple Nick and Vanessa Lachey, as well as sources from Houston First can finally confirm that Season 5 is set in Houston with a partial Houston cast. Season 5 premieres on September 22, per Netflix.

News of Love is Blind's new season and locale first circulated in May during the big TV upfronts (announcements of new lineups) that occur each year. Then on August 22, major outlets like Deadline and Today reported the new Love is Blind season premiere date, Houston setting and cast members, and the release date for the companion series After the Altar, which reunites cast members and couples.

Love in the air

Houston First, the official city of Houston marketing arm, confirmed the Houston details on August 24 (top brass there has whispered and hinted to CultureMap for months that a big show was coming) in a mass announcement. Fans can look forward to 10 Houston-centric Love is Blind episodes this year. Here's the schedule:

Week 1, September 22: Episodes 1-4
Week 2, September 29: Episodes 5-7
Week 3, October 6: Episodes 8-9
Week 4, October 13: Episode 10 (weddings)

For the uninitiated, Love is Blind is a romantic social experiment where 15 young, single men and women meet, court, get engaged, and even wed — before meeting in person. (A concept not unfamiliar to generations of Indian couples.) The "blind" aspect of the show finds the interested men and women dating each other in small "pods" (rooms) where they chat and flirt solely through a speaker.

Adding to the intrigue and suspense: couples can only gaze upon each other after an accepted marriage proposal. If things go smoothly, they plan the wedding, meet each others' friends and family and eventually wed if both agree — always with varied results.

Previous seasons have been shot in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle, making big-city Houston a natural choice.

Holly Clapham Rosenow, chief marketing officer at Houston First, had been working with the Love is Blind production company for months. "That crew was swift and worked with a purpose — that is one professional group," she tells CultureMap. Though she lobbied for the show with no guarantees, Rosenow recalls feeling hopeful when she heard that hunky host Nick Lachey was spotted at an airport and here in town.

Blind to a Hollywood presence

Once the cast and crew arrived in town and embedded themselves in the Inner Loop, Rosenow was sure news of a big TV shoot here would be outed by watchful locals. "Honestly, I'm surprised we didn't hear more rumblings that a production team was here taping," she says. "But we didn't — and that goes to their professionalism."

As for spoilers or juicy tidbits, Rosenow can't reveal any confirmed Season 5 Houston locations; Houston First simply suggested shoot locales. When pressed, Rosenow says that the cast "spent time in the city's urban core" and engaged in "city-centric experiences," but, "they could've gone out and experienced other parts of the city." (Well played, Holly.)

For Rosenow, all this work is affirmation that city spending on luring TV shows to Houston pays off — even when local media questions the spends (CultureMap actually spoke up in the city's defense in one investigation). She notes that in just 18 months, Houston saw mega-hit shows Top Chef, The Bachelor, and later Love is Blind shot here.

The city, through the Houston Film Commission, also worked with runaway Netflix smash Mo, which is set here and stars local comedian/actor Mo Amer and a slew of Bayou City stars and notables. The commission has also worked with HBO's House of Ho — centered on the local Vietnamese power family the Hos — all of which proves that Houston is having a reality TV moment.

Rosenow, for her part, doesn't want it to just be a moment. "I feel great for Houston," she says. "I'm super proud of how well the Houston First team worked with these TV production teams. It was so symbiotic and beautiful with the initial relationships we formed that now, there are no formal pitches. It's a 'hey, when can we get out here again and what can we work on?'"

How did that happen? "The word is out," she says. "Houston has proven itself. Houston is now known as an easy place to film, it's a welcoming place for casts, and we're hospitable and will work with production teams to fulfill their needs. And our film commission is wonderful, too. It's kind of the ultimate package. We go the extra mile [for these shows] and it's appreciated."

Stay tuned to Houston

Her wish list for future shows (she'd love to see scripted programs here) include favorites like Queer Eye and really "as many shows as we can."

She also reveals to us that she's already actively pitching the production company behind the comical Netflix food/travel show Somebody Feed Phil — a no-brainer, really — hosted by Phil Rosenthal, the quirky creator of Everybody Loves Raymond. "We're a food town," she says, "so of course, I would love to see that here."

Memo to Houston First and Netflix: If we do land that show, Phil will no doubt need a guide to help navigate our incomparable food scene — and we just happen to know a guy.

Movie Review

Humor and history collide in outstanding new comedy Wild Horse Nine

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich in Wild Horse Nine.

It’s difficult to nail English writer/director Martin McDonagh down when it comes to his interests. Prior to his new film, he has set films in Bruges, Belgium; Los Angeles; the fictional small town of Ebbing, Missouri, and a remote island in Ireland, with stories that deal with crime, grief, lifelong friendships, and a kidnapped Shih Tzu. What all his films have in common though, is comedy that is mined through absurdity, something that is on full display in Wild Horse Nine.

Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are CIA agents in 1973, currently stationed in Chile, with a mission that Lee tries to hide but Chris broadcasts willingly. Their assignment is to undermine support for the newly-elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, but the film is not really about that. Instead, it follows the duo on a break from work as they decide to take a side trip to Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) so that Chris can fulfill his dream of seeing “the big heads.”

Once they’re there, Chris and Lee bicker over various things, including Chris being too open with two younger women, Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) and Alicia (Ailín Salas); who gets control over their rental car; the long-distance interference of CIA station chief MJ (Steve Buscemi); and more. All the while, a mostly unspoken agreement between Chris and Lee colors every decision they make, including why they came to Rapa Nui in the first place.

McDonagh has full control over the narrative of the film from minute one, establishing the tone through the super-quick banter between Chris and Lee that points to the strong bond the two share. A later revelation deepens the meaning of the story without taking away from the humor that comes from Chris and Lee sniping at each other. Despite the two characters not getting much of an introduction, they become a very memorable movie twosome as the film goes along.

A good working knowledge of 20th century world history is helpful, as McDonagh drops in subtle and not-so-subtle hints about the CIA’s involvement in certain notable events (including the JFK assassination, which takes on larger importance as the story goes on). Using real history like the impending coup d'état in Chile as a backdrop for the fictional story grounds the film, allowing the characters to engage in sometimes farcical elements without ever seeming like unserious people. It’s also a sly commentary on current events, with the U.S. continuing to insert itself into other countries’ affairs.

The impact of the film is immeasurably improved by the fact that they filmed on location in Chile and Rapa Nui. Having Chris and Lee visit the “big heads” (aka moai) while referencing them in their dialogue is both awe-inspiring and hilarious. There’s just something about the characters being able to get up close and personal with the ancient sculptures that makes the film feel more important than if they had employed CGI to put them there.

Malkovich is a two-time Oscar nominee with a storied career, but this performance ranks as one his best. With a face that unashamedly shows his 73 years and pitch perfect line deliveries, he nails every scene that he’s in. Rockwell complements him extremely well, giving a performance that fits in with his previous work but rarely on such a high level. Buscemi is also a pleasure to watch, popping up to steal small moments just like he did in the recent The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

Save for a few action scenes, Wild Horse Nine is mostly filled with characters talking, but the level of the conversations and the comical moments that McDonagh has created contain cannot be understated. With a tour-de-force performance by Malkovich, a real world setting, and a funny twist on history, it’s one of the best movies of the year.

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Wild Horse Nine opens in theaters on November 6.

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