Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Love On The Spectrum’ Season 2 On Netflix, Continuing The U.S. Version Of The Series Where Autistic Singles Try To Find Love

Through two seasons in Australia and one in the U.S., Love On The Spectrum has shown people with autism looking for the same love and companionship we all want. Of course, given the fact that people on the autism spectrum have to deal with sensory issues and social discomfort, the already fraught world of dating becomes all the more difficult. But Season 2 of the American version shows that some of the people profiled in Season 1 are succeeding, while others are still plugging away. We also get to meet three new single people looking for “the one.”

LOVE ON THE SPECTRUM SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “What do you think love is?” a director asks Connor, one of the new singles profiled in the second season of Love On The Spectrum U.S. (now just called Love On The Spectrum). “Love is a dagger, a pretty thing that enchants, but also hurts,” he says with a slight accent.

The Gist: In the second season of the U.S. version of Love On The Spectrum, the producers revisit a number of the people profiled in Season 1, some of whom are still looking for their forever person, but doing so having learned lessons from the mistakes they made during the first season, two years prior. We are also introduced to a few new singles, as well. All of the people profiled are on the autism spectrum, having been diagnosed at various times in their lives.

The returnees are Dani, Steve, James and Abbey. Abbey, one of the first season’s breakout stars, is still with John, whom she met and fell for during Season 1. She still lives with her mother in Los Angeles, but is now well-known from the show and her social media presence (she sells knit hats she designed). Abbey and John have been together for over two years now, and John wants to celebrate their relationship by taking Abbey and her mom to Kenya, where they can go on safari and see their favorite animal, lions, in person.

Dani, who owns an animation company that helps neurodiverse people, has learned lessons from her first foray into the dating world. She still lives in Los Angeles with her aunt and uncle, whom she moved in with when she was 12. She knows now that, when she gets excited over a date, that she has to talk to them and get to know them before blurting out something like “I love you,” like she did on a blind date two years ago. She meets Matt for a blind date, and they seem to get along, though she is dismayed that he doesn’t use animation in his job and that he lives in San Diego.

James lives outside of Boston with his parents, and he’s also still looking. He’s enjoying being recognized for being on the first season, but still wants to meet “the one.” He’s still friends with Emma, whom he dated in the first season; he wished there was something there romantically, but is OK with them being friends. When he talks about going on a date in front of her, he feels uncomfortable, even though she assures him she’s OK with it.

The new people we follow are Connor, Journey and Tanner. We meet Connor in the first episode; he lives near Atlanta with his mom, stepfather and three younger siblings. He’s never been on a date before, and expresses his loneliness from time to time. We see his sword collection and how intensely he watches movies like The Transformers, then we follow him to a speed dating event set up by an autism organization.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Love On The Spectrum U.S. is from the same producers as the original version, which was shot in Australia (and is now dubbed Love On The Spectrum Australia on the service).

Our Take: Like the first season of Love On The Spectrum, as well as the Australian original, the producers of the series treat the people they follow with the utmost respect. They’re not here to point out how these people’s neurodiversity stands in the way of finding love; the producers are pointing out with this series that neurodiverse people are looking for the same things we all are.

The new people profiled have the same loving support systems as the people we followed in the first season, and that helps. This isn’t a picture of people who are on their own, but of people who have a team of family and friends behind them, all rooting them on and hoping they find what they’re looking for.

Of course we want to see where Abbey and Dave are after their relationship blossomed during the first season, and we’re happy to see that they’re still going strong. Were there any difficulties between them along the way? We’re not sure. We’d imagine that they have the same issues any other couple might have, and we might have wanted to see some of that, but we’re also OK to see that the two of them are still in the honeymoon phase.

Bringing back Dani, James and Steve was also the right move, as they had the most interesting journeys in Season 1. Dani is especially interesting because her requirements are so specific, as she’s still looking for someone who loves animation and is gainfully employed. But the fact that they’ve all learned from what happened in the first season and are applying those lessons now will make things even more interesting to watch. The jury is still out on the newbies, because we only have seen Connor so far, but it’s a good contrast to see people who are where the original group was, just to see how far the Season 1 group has come.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: We see Connor’s first two speed dates, which are extremely uncomfortable (hey, we’ve been there and understand completely). He actually marks “no” and writes notes while the women are sitting across from him. When the producer asks him if he’s doing that, Connor asks, “Am I not supposed to?”, then goes, “Damn, I knew I’d mess that up.”

Sleeper Star: We’re looking forward to seeing Journey’s story, because she’s pretty young — only 18 — and she only recently was diagnosed.

Most Pilot-y Line: Connor asks a speed date if she has any allergies, which the date finds more than a bit strange. He tries to explain himself, but that more or less kills an already awkward encounter. We wonder why the producer didn’t ask him about the allergy thing.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Love On The Spectrum continues to show interesting people trying to find what they see everyone around them have, and how the fact that they see the world differently than people who are considered neurotypical can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.