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Ljubav je na selu (English: Love is at the Countryside) is a Croatian reality television series based on the British television series Farmer Wants a Wife. The series follows farmers from rural parts of Croatia looking for romantic partners.

The series premiered on 4 September 2008 on RTL. It is one of the longest-running Croatian reality series, having entered its seventeenth season in May 2024.

Format

For every new season, RTL broadcasts an episode where a set of farmers introduce themselves and their farms to the viewers. The farmers are usually male, but so far three female farmers haven been featured throughout the series as well. After the episode airs, the viewers can apply to meet the farmer of their liking by contacting RTL via e-mail or phone. The viewers are required to write a letter where they introduce themselves to the farmer.

A few months later, after the application period expires, the farmers who received the most letters from the viewers qualify for participating in the series. The farmers get to meet the candidates that expressed interest in them in front of the cameras and invite a few of them (usually three to four) to their farms, where most of the series takes place. As the season progresses, farmers eliminate candidates one by one, until selecting a single candidate whom they take on a romantic journey.

Hosts

The series employs a host who guides the farmers and their candidates through the series. The hosts brings the letters to the farmers and occasionally visits their farms through the season to check on the progress of their relationships with the candidates.

Croatian actress and former television host Lorena Nosić hosted the first two seasons of the show, until Marijana Batinić took over and hosted the show from season 3 to 12. In March 2021, RTL announced that Anita Martinović is taking the role of the host starting from the show's 13th season.

Broadcast and release

The series is a part of RTL's staple programming, having been on air uninterruptedly since 2008. Excluding the network's news programming, it is RTL's second longest-running original series, following culinary series Večera za 5 (Croatian iteration of Come Dine with Me), which has been on air since 2007.

For the first six seasons, the series employed a weekly format with one episode a week being aired. Since the show's seventh season, which premiered in 2016, the series airs several episodes a week. As of September 2023, with the premiere of the show's 16th season, RTL's streaming service Voyo releases each episode 24 hours before their television broadcast. As of 2019, the series also airs in Slovenia on Pop TV.

Series overview

Legacy

Success and impact

The show's main goal, which is to help farmers find love, was achieved numerous times with several romantic relationships of past participants continuing off-screen. By 2021, seventeen couples that meet on-screen got married after the show; eighteen children were born out of these marriages.

Some participants of the show through the years gained attention from the Croatian public and media, becoming instant celebrities. Most notable examples include Nevenka Bekavac, a season 5 participant, whose bold personality attracted several Croatian outlets to write about her personal life after the series. In 2020, Bahra Zahirović was quickly dubbed "the star of season 12" by numerous media due to her unique personality. As reported by 24sata, her unique expressions became known as "Bahrizmi" (Bahrisms).

Controversies

As season 13 started airing in April 2021, one of the farmers was met with a negative reaction from the public due to his tattoo that contained Schutzstaffel's motto. RTL issued a public statement saying that all of the farmer's scenes will be completely removed for the rest of the season's broadcast. Another farmer was disqualified shortly after he was introduced as one of season 14 farmers in June 2021. The disqualification occurred after RTL discovered that he omitted the fact that he has a child and lied about his mother abandoning him at the age of 13.

A season 15 episode aired in April 2023 featured a farmer eliminating one of the female candidates by violently throwing cake into her face. Given the negative tensions between the farmer and the candidate, the fans deemed it violence against women and reprimanded RTL for airing such content. RTL issued a public statement expressing that the farmer's act of throwing cake was internet as a joke. The scene was removed from the re-run of the episode the following day and from the episode's release on RTL's streaming service (then RTL Play).

References

1. "Povodom dana žena slavimo naše farmerice! Sjećate li se njih? Osebujna Rasema, svestrana Darinka i..." rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 8 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
2. Kuterovac, Martina (9 April 2010). "Lorena Nosić: Nikada ne bih preko malih ekrana tražila ljubav života" [Lorena Nosić: I would never look for the love of my life through TV]. jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024. Simpatična voditeljica Lorena Nosić vratila se na male ekrane u ulozi "posrednika" između seoskih mladića i njihovih potencijalnih djevojaka, u uzbudljivoj emisiji "Ljubav je na selu" [The adorable presenter Lorena Nosić returned to the small screen in the role of "mediator" between village boys and their potential girlfriends in the exciting show "Ljubav je na selu"]
3. Danijela-Ana, Morić (26 March 2021). "Marijana Batinić otkrila zašto više neće voditi emisiju 'Ljubav je na selu'" [Marijana Batinić revealed why she will no longer host the show "Ljubav je na selu"]. tportal.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024. Besprijekorno je odrađivala taj posao i postala zaštitno lice emisije kojeg napušta nakon 12 sezona. [She did the job flawlessly and became the face of the show, which she is leaving after 12 seasons.]
4. Rajković, Petra (12 April 2021). "Anita Martinović, nova voditeljica 'Ljubav je na selu' prošla je ispit kod kandidata: neki su izgledali kao da će se i zaljubiti" [Anita Martinović, the new host of 'Ljubav je na selu' passed the test with the candidates: some seemed as if they were going to fall in love.]. miss7.24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
5. Kovačić, Zoran (27 June 2019). "Iznenađenje! Ljubav je na selu kreće na POP TV-u". mediadaily.biz (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
6. "Prošlo je 15 godina: Sjećate se farmera iz prve sezone 'Ljubav je na selu'?". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 13 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
7. "Ovi farmeri traže ljubav - pošaljite im pisma!". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
8. "Večeras počinje 10. sezona: Ovo su farmeri u potrazi za ljubavlju!". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 3 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
9. "'Ljubav je na selu' izvan granica Lijepe Naše: Sjećate se farmera i farmerice međunarodne sezone?". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 20 May 2024. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
10. "OVIH 11 FARMERA KRENULO JE U POTRAGU ZA SRODNIM DUŠAMA Upoznajte nove natjecatelje showa 'Ljubav je na selu', evo do čega im je stalo". jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. 1 May 2019. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
11. "Ovo su farmeri 13. sezone 'Ljubav je na selu': Deset kavalira i jedna dama kreću u potragu za srodnom dušom". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
12. "Kreću u potragu za onom pravom: Upoznajte farmere 14. sezone 'Ljubav je na selu'!". rtl.hr (in Croatian). RTL. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
13. Ludban, Helena (6 March 2023). "Uskoro kreće 15 sezona 'Ljubav je na selu': Ovo su farmeri koji će tražiti ljubav i srodnu dušu". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
14. Ludban, Helena (13 June 2023). "Upoznajte farmere koji će tražiti ljubav u 16. sezoni: Stiže bajker koji voli cvijeće i slavni Slovenac". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
15. Ludban, Helena (22 May 2024). "FOTO Ovo su farmeri koji će u 17. sezoni 'Ljubav je na selu' tražiti ljubav: Stižu i neka poznata lica" [PHOTO These are the farmers who will be looking for love in the 17th season of 'Ljubav je na selu': Some famous faces are also coming]. 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
16. ^ Krištafor, Maja (12 April 2021). "Zbog 'Ljubavi na selu' farmeri do sada sklopili 17 brakova, a rođeno je čak 18-ero djece..." [Because of 'Ljubav je na selu', farmers have so far entered into 17 marriages, and as many as 18 children have been born...]. 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
17. "Nevenka Bekavac o teškom periodu nakon smrti supruga: 'Sada skupljam snagu za dalje'". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Večernji list. 13 January 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
18. "Sjećate li se nje? Neve je legenda emisije 'Ljubav je na selu', njene izjave i danas se pamte" [Do you remember her? Neve is a legend of the show "Ljubav je na selu", her statements are still remembered today]. net.hr (in Croatian). 13 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
19. "Legendarna Bahra vraća se u 'Ljubav je na selu': 'Nakon krštenja, fali mi sakrament ženidbe'" [The legendary Bahra returns in "Ljubav je na selu": "After baptism, I miss the sacrament of marriage".]. jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
20. Bura, Mia (27 April 2021). "Najbolji 'bahrizmi' nove sezone 'Ljubav je na selu': 'Izgleda kao princeza Diana za siromašne...'". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
21. "RTL briše scene zbog nacističke tetovaže: U emisiji 'Ljubav je na selu' više se neće prikazivati Jurica" [RTL is deleting scenes due to Nazi tattoos: Jurica will no longer be shown in the show 'Ljubav je na selu']. vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Večernji list. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
22. "Ante je službeno diskvalificiran iz 'Ljubavi na selu': Prešutio je da ima djecu, lagao i o majci" [Ante was officially disqualified from 'Ljubav je na selu': He kept silent about having children, and lied about his mother]. 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 24sata. 5 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
23. "Gledatelji zgroženi scenom iz showa 'Ljubav je na selu', optužili RTL za promicanje nasilja nad ženama i žele sankcije" [Viewers, appalled by the scene from the show 'Ljubav je na selu', accused RTL of promoting violence against women and want sanctions]. slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 1 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.

• RTL (Croatian TV channel) original programming
• 2008 Croatian television series debuts
• Croatian reality television series
• Croatian television series based on British television series