Sperm donor reality show Labor of Love avoids being too serious with its premise

Variety

"No pleasure is truly guilty, but this may come close; that it’s a pleasure all the same, though, is all an entertainment-starved viewer may need to hear," says Daniel D'Addario of the Kristin Davis-hosted Fox reality show. Labor of Love, he adds, avoids pushing too hard with its central conceit. "In all, though, the show manages to keep an upbeat tone without veering too far towards gross-out or towards faux-seriousness," he says. "This would probably not be a show worth watching in a moment when distraction didn’t feel quite so sorely needed, but right now, seeing suitors react to phony bear attacks and to little bits of one-upsmanship feels buoyant and worthwhile enough."

ALSO:

• With Labor of Love, Fox is hoping to avoid unrealistic dating show tropes by casting the most mature set of contestants in recent broadcast history
• Bachelor alum Kristy Katzmann filmed Labor of Love in early 2019: "I think you really have to be open to something new and different and the opportunities that are coming across your plate, and that’s really what I tried to do here," she says of filming the show.
• Labor of Love producers call it a "romantic comedy" at heart
• Labor of Love's suitors include a Survivor alum