UAE reality series Love is Blind Habibi has been nominated for an International Emmy Award.
The show, produced by UAE-based company Imagic for Netflix, is nominated in the non-scripted entertainment category, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced on Thursday.
The recognition comes less than a year after the series was released worldwide, the first time the global dating format was adapted for Arabic-speaking audiences.
Love is Blind Habibi follows 20 singles from across the region, including participants from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Morocco and Tunisia, many of whom live in the UAE.
The regional version is the first international spin-off of Love Is Blind to earn Emmy recognition. The first season of the US original earned a nomination in 2020.
The series was filmed in Lebanon and the UAE. Like the American original, the show centres on contestants meeting in custom-built “pods”, where they date without seeing one another before deciding whether to become engaged.
The regional version features Arabic-language dialogue, Middle Eastern design motifs and cultural considerations around marriage and family life.
The series quickly became a popular talking point across the region after premiering on Netflix in October 2024, with its reunion and wedding episodes drawing particular attention.
Of the six couples who became engaged, one – Safa and Mohammad – got married during the season finale. They later appeared together in a reunion special filmed in Dubai.
Qatar’s Al Jazeera is also nominated at this year’s International Emmys, in the news category for Gaza, Search for Life.
This year, there are 64 nominees across 16 categories from a record 26 countries. The winners will be announced at the 53rd International Emmy Awards Gala in New York on November 24.
