SPOILERS are ahead for Season 2 of Love on the Spectrum U.S., if you aren't caught up, you can stream it with a Netflix subscription.
As we live in a world that feels more and more difficult for singles to navigate, Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum U.S. highlights what it’s like to date those on the autism spectrum by following numerous people across America as they put themselves out there with the help of the show’s creators. Unlike other dating shows on Netflix, the creators of this series take an organic approach to logging the dating lives of its participants. And as Season 2 reveals, one of the returning couples from Season 1 is going so strong, that the show takes them to Kenya, Africa just ahead of celebrating two years as a couple.
Season 2 starts with David surprising Abbey with her dream vacation to Kenya, where they go on a safari together in search of their common favorite animal, lions. After the creators were part of filming their sweet romance and amazing vacation, where they were also accompanied by their families, they shared their reactions to it all starting thanks to Love on the Spectrum. The show’s co-creator Cian O’Clery shared this with CinemaBlend about Abbey and David’s continued relationship:
It's great. I mean just remembering back in the office and when we were in pre-production and casting for series one, when we looked at David and we straight away said, ‘Oh, I reckon David might get on with Abbey.’ So just going back to that and the fact that we've helped 'em come together and find each other, and that they are just going so strong and it has just meant so much to both of them and their families. And I mean their families are all such good friends now, and it's great to see. It's really wonderful. To be able to make some really positive changes in someone's life has been really good. From the very beginning, Abbey was almost a bit frightened about dating when we first started filming series one 'cause she'd had an experience fairly recently that just wasn't very positive for her. Not anything bad just wasn't very positive. But then it was great to see how as she got to know David and as she got more comfortable with him and things just went from there. It's been really, really awesome.
Love on the Spectrum is a rare series about dating that stars real people on the autism spectrum on a mission to find love. Many of them (on the show anyway) have limited experience in relationships. With the support of the show’s creators and expert Jennifer Cook helping many of the participants get prepared for their dates, each of them gets closer to finding love. Abbey and David’s successful relationship displays what the series can accomplish.
Along with Love on the Spectrum challenging stereotypes about the autism community, perhaps Abbey and David’s relationship can provide the on-screen representation that people on the spectrum can and do find great partners for themselves, rather than perhaps perpetuating ideas otherwise. Representation is all about seeing ourselves in the media we consume, and Abbey and David’s relationship being on one of the best shows to binge on Netflix is a great step in the right direction.
In terms of taking Abbey and David to Kenya, Love on the Spectrum co-creator Karina Holden shared her thoughts on the experience. In her words:
I was excited because I guess with every person's story that we go to film, we wanna show the progress of their relationship. And for Abbey and David to meet and fall in love and have these great dates and spend their Christmases and New Year's together when they had this idea that maybe one day they'd have this dream holiday to Kenya, we were super excited because I filmed it there quite a lot in my years and spent a lot of time making programs with the Maasai. And so had lots of great connections with Africa that we were able to travel with them and experience that and, and make it a really safe and fun and beautiful trip for everyone. So it was great to take love on the spectrum out onto the road and, have a bit of cross-cultural experience as well.
Between David’s sweet gift to Abbey and Holden’s experience in Kenya, Love on the Spectrum has another great season on the books. During our interview with the creators, we also spoke about the rom-coms that inspired the show’s formatting and how social media affected Season 2, which you can read next here on CinemaBlend. And after that, make sure to go back and watch the 2024 TV schedule's season of this wholesome show on Netflix.
