Married at First Sight has formally announced New Orleans as the filming location for Season 11.
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"There was certainly no shortage of excitement, shock and elation, but as the Washington, D.C. season of Married at First Sight is ending, it's also time for a new beginning," host Kevin Frazier said at the conclusion of Married at First Sight's Season 10 reunion special Wednesday night on Lifetime.
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"So we have a big announcement of our own tonight, and that is that Married at First Sight will be giving a group of hopeful singles a chance at love in the city of -- New Orleans!"
The reunion special also provided a sneak peek of Season 11, showing Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and Dr. Viviana Coles returning for the new season and meeting with prospective Season 11 participants.
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"Being Married at First Sight is a little crazy, but I'm willing to take the risk," says one girl.
"Dating in New Orleans has been hard to say the least," says another woman.
And one potential Season 11 bride notes, "Family roots run deep and everybody knows everybody."
One man adds, "Finding love is the most important thing in my life," before a woman gushes, "Love is the best thing in the world."
Married at First Sight's tenth-season reunion special ended with some of the spouses giving future participants advice considering only one of the couples -- Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd -- had a lasting, successful marriage.
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"Stay honest throughout the entire thing but also take accountability," Meka Jones shared, taking a shot at Michael Watson. "It's okay to be human. It's okay to make mistakes, but own up to your mistakes."
Taylor Dunklin said, "It's not going to work if you don't come here for the right reasons."
RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR BRANDON CLAIMS TAYLOR COMMITTED ADULTERY DURING MARRIAGE, ONLY DID SHOW FOR PUBLICITY (EXCLUSIVE)
Derek Sherman then advised future cast members to throw away their checklists, and Jessica agreed they should be open-minded and truly themselves.
Married at First Sight's eleventh season was announced as "coming soon" during a promo that aired on Lifetime during last week's Season 10 finale broadcast.
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Season 11 will star five new couples, according to Lifetime, which also called it the "craziest season... ever."
The network announced in September 2019 it had renewed Married at First Sight for an eleventh season that will air in 2020 and consist of 17 supersized two-hour episodes.
Last week's Married at First Sight Season 11 promos did not specifically identify the season's filming city by name; however, Married at First Sight had begun casting for a season in New Orleans in August 2019 and the promos did show recognizable New Orleans locations.
According to the New Orleans season's casting application, potential cast members had to be available for interviews in late November, as well as late January and early February 2020.
Assuming Lifetime uses a similar schedule as it has over the last couple of years, Married at First Sight's eleventh season will premiere in late June or July (presumably after Married at First Sight: Couples' Cam, the new MAFS spinoff Lifetime will premiere on May 20, completes its six-episode run).
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Last year, Married at First Sight's ninth season premiered on June 12, and Season 7 premiered on July 10 in 2018.
The @Mafsfan Instagram account recently reported Married at First Sight Season 11 had begun filming in New Orleans in February around Valentine's Day and the couples had traveled to Mexico for their honeymoons afterwards.
However, the Instagram account claimed an inside source informed them Married at First Sight's crew was pulled from production earlier this month -- which would have likely only been about a couple of weeks before Season 11's "Decision Day" was set to occur -- due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
According to the source, Married at First Sight couples were left to film the remainder of the season on their own using cameras installed in their apartments, similar to what Married at First Sight's Kinetic Content production company is doing with the franchise's new Married at First Sight: Couples' Cam spinoff.
Married at First Sight features experts matching up pairs of strangers based on their compatibility, goals, physical type, hobbies, religion, views of marriage and gender roles, and more.
After meeting for the first time on their big day, each couple gets married and the next six to eight weeks of their lives are documented -- beginning with their wedding ceremony, reception and honeymoon, and continuing with the joys and struggles of daily life as they move in together and adjust to their new life as newlyweds.
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