{alltv} 'Love in the Wild's' Darren McMullen teases next week's forced switcheroo

Thursday, July 21, 2011

{alltv} 'Love in the Wild's' Darren McMullen teases next week's forced switcheroo

"Love in the Wild" is the new delightful summer fare from NBC, where couples are paired up for competitions - and for romance. Host Darren McMullen tells Zap2it that the big shake-up next week has repercussions for the rest of the season and the initial finale idea got thrown right out the window.

We saw in previews Wednesday night (July 20) for next week that the couples, who seem to have settled in with the pairings they like, are forced to switch - which was Darren's brainchild.

"I was like, 'These guys are just getting too boring!'" laughs McMullen. "This is all about love and exploring other options and some of them hadn't even explored any options. And I thought let's mix things up a bit."

And the results of the switcheroo are felt all season.

"Not just this next episode, but the fallout from people being with other people changes the rest of the show," says McMullen. "Everything goes tuopsy turvy, everybody goes a bit mental. I'm glad we did it. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't."

We can't wait, particularly for everyone's favorite couple Mike and Samantha. What does Darren have to say to that?

"They're not my favorite couple! I actually really like Miles and Heather, I think they're adorable in a sweet kinda way," laughs Darren. "

Mike and Samantha, though, they've had their ups and downs. Mike is very possessive. I'll say this - because Samantha is forced to go with a different partner next week, Mike is not a happy camper. At all. He certainly wasn't happy about that whole switercheroo thing and he's a bit shaken up."

One thing we've all been wondering about is how does the show end? Darren is pretty mum, but he does tease that the initial idea is not what ended up happening.

"The initial idea was in the final episode we'd have three couples and they would be racing for the prize," McMullen explains. "Something spectacular happens between now and the final episode. All I can tell you is it didn't play out like that, so there was a little bit of an upset that shook things up for us as producers."

Intriguing! "Love in the Wild" airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.