"Connecting with people at a deeper level" — Love on the Spectrum creators reveal how they depicted intimacy on season 3

Love on the Spectrum season 3 dropped on Netflix on April 2, 2025, on World Autism Day, and viewers agree that it is the most "intimate" season of the show yet.

Viewers saw cast members having raw conversations about their likes and dislikes, especially in the case of Dani and Adan, where they discussed their boundaries and what works for them when it comes to physical intimacy.

Joining the regular set of cast as they try their best shot at love, two new members, Pari and Madison, also joined. The series focuses on individuals who have autism as they are trying to find a partner for themselves.

While discussing how they did the work and achieved this level of openness on the cameras, especially for cast members, creators Cian O'Clery and Karina Holden sat down in an interview with Tudum. Talking about the same, Cian said,

"We’re connecting with people at a deeper level, seeing them blossom and seeing relationships grow. Because we’re following a lot of people that we have in previous seasons, [we’re] seeing people develop and continue on their journeys in a way that they have a lot more confidence. You can really feel it.”

Love on the Spectrum creators reveal how they created a safe space for the cast to discuss their business on camera

Karina revealed that they are a very small crew working on Love on the Spectrum and, thus, have become tightly knit with the cast members. They have been active in the casting process, which is rare for creators to do themselves, but they reveal handling many roles at once.

Even on Love on the Spectrum, while Tanner is making confessions, he is often seen talking to Cian comfortably like a friend rather than an executive producer figure.

They also address the importance of familiarity with the cast because, generally, for Netflix productions, they see a random bunch of people entering someone's home and doing the shooting, which might make some uncomfortable. Cian says,

"It’s quite amazing actually how quickly people feel comfortable with us. We’re a really small crew. I shoot second camera, and I’m directing. A lot of similar shows will have 12 people coming into someone’s house.

He continued,

"But we think it’s really important to keep a really local footprint [because] it just enables you to be able to shoot stories in a very truthful and honest way."

Speaking on why they did not "shy away" when topics such as "s*x" and intimacy developed within the contestants, especially with Love on the Spectrum star Dani and a little with Connor, Karin says that this is a dating show and thus, it only felt "natural" to include all those topics. She said,

“It’s all about agency, isn’t it? We're never going to film anything that’s gratuitous, but we are absolutely going to normalize sex in relationships.

She added,

If this topic comes up — just as any topic comes up about family, grief, hard things, as well as positive things — we have to lean into the human condition and the way that people take on their challenges and the things that are important to them.”

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Love on the Spectrum season 3 has seven episodes, which are all available to stream online via Netflix.

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