# Burning Love (2012 TV series)
**Burning Love** is an American scripted comedy series that parodies reality dating shows such as *The Bachelor* and *The Bachelorette*. It was created and written by Erica Oyama, directed by and co-starring her husband [Ken Marino](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-marino), and premiered as a web series on Yahoo! Screen in June 2012 before moving to the E! television network in 2013.[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2012-05-02/ken-marino-is-your-new-bachelor-in-yahoos-spoof-burning-love) Across three seasons it ran first as short web episodes and then as half-hour television episodes, and it earned a 2013 Primetime Emmy nomination along with Webby and [Streamy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/streamy-awards).[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/awards)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Scripted parody of reality dating shows (*The Bachelor*, *The Bachelorette*, *Bachelor Pad*), shot in the style of the shows it mocks, including a rose ceremony replaced by a hose ceremony[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/) |
| Created by | Erica Oyama (writer); directed by Ken Marino[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) |
| Original run | Web series on Yahoo! Screen from June 2012; three seasons of 14 episodes each[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2012-05-02/ken-marino-is-your-new-bachelor-in-yahoos-spoof-burning-love) • [5](https://thetvdb.com/series/burning-love) |
| Television run | Season 1 debuted on E! on February 25, 2013, as seven half-hour episodes[6](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof) |
| Lead role | Ken Marino as firefighter Mark Orlando, dating 15 women in season 1; Michael Ian Black as host[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/) |
| Executive producers | Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, and Mike Rosenstein (Red Hour), with Jonathan Stern, Ken Marino, and Erica Oyama (Abominable Pictures); produced with Paramount's Insurge Pictures[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) |
| Audience | 11 million viewers on Yahoo, which helped earn the E! pickup[8](https://www.fastcompany.com/3006691/secret-tech-life-ben-stiller) |
| Awards | 2013 Primetime Emmy nominee; 2013 Webby and Streamy Award winner, including Best Comedy Series[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/awards) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and format
The series reproduces the conventions of the Bachelor franchise with a straight face. Season 1 follows Mark Orlando (Ken Marino), a handsome firefighter with an eighth-grade education who is looking for a woman who can "ignite his flames of lasting love." He dates 15 women at once, including a wealthy fashion buyer, a basketball coach, an octogenarian, and a district attorney whose favorite movie is *Fatal Attraction*, through stand-up comedy challenges, bubble-bath dates, and roller-skating outings until he chooses a mate.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/) The production copies the ABC show's look closely, from the lavish mansion to the rose ceremony, which becomes a hose ceremony.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/)
The web episodes were short: the 14 episodes of season 1 mostly ran under 10 minutes, released on Mondays and Thursdays.[9](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2012/08/the-bachelor-17-burning-love/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/) Marino described his comedic method as restraint rather than exaggeration: "My mantra was always to goose it about 10 percent... Not go over the top, but play up the dramatic moments of it in a real way. Try not to wink too much." He called Mark Orlando, played deadpan, possibly his favorite character to perform.[10](https://www.fastcompany.com/1682555/ken-marino-shows-how-to-parody-the-already-ridiculous-with-burning-love)
### Seasons
**Season 1 (2012).** Mark Orlando's search for love among 15 contestants, with a cast that included [Malin Akerman](https://www.edgepedia.org/malin-akerman) as Willow, a homeless potential mate; [June Diane Raphael](https://www.edgepedia.org/june-diane-raphael) as Julie Gristlewhite; [Ken Jeong](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-jeong) as a bachelorette named "Ballerina"; Adam Scott as Damien; Helen Slayton-Hughes as Agnes; and Natasha Leggero as Haley, with Michael Ian Black as host.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love) • [5](https://thetvdb.com/series/burning-love) • [11](https://www.fastcompany.com/3032229/6-screenwriting-tips-from-in-demand-burning-love-creator-erica-oyama) Guest appearances included Kristen Bell and Jennifer Aniston.[12](https://www.vulture.com/2012/06/burning-love.html) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2012-05-02/ken-marino-is-your-new-bachelor-in-yahoos-spoof-burning-love)
**Season 2 (2013).** June Diane Raphael reprised her season 1 role as Julie Gristlewhite, now the bachelorette given the chance to find the perfect man. New cast members included [Michael Cera](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-cera), Colin Hanks, and [Nick Kroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-kroll). Season 2 was the first to carry a single sponsor on Yahoo.[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) • [6](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof)
**Season 3 (2013).** Rejected contestants from the previous seasons returned, this time competing for a $900 cash prize rather than for love.[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) • [13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/burning-love)
## Origin and production
Erica Oyama had watched *The Bachelor* for years before the genre struck her as a largely untouched landscape for parody. After the 2010 season finale in which bachelor [Jake Pavelka](https://www.edgepedia.org/jake-pavelka) proposed to Vienna Girardi, she wrote the idea the next day. She and Marino shot the original one-off as a pilot and calling card, with a [Ben Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-stiller) cameo in the sizzle reel that helped sell the series to Yahoo.[11](https://www.fastcompany.com/3032229/6-screenwriting-tips-from-in-demand-burning-love-creator-erica-oyama) • [10](https://www.fastcompany.com/1682555/ken-marino-shows-how-to-parody-the-already-ridiculous-with-burning-love)
The series was produced with Paramount's Insurge Pictures and Stiller's Red Hour, alongside Yahoo. Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, and Mike Rosenstein executive produced for Red Hour; Jonathan Stern of Abominable Pictures joined Marino and Oyama.[1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love) • [6](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof) Marino directed every episode.[10](https://www.fastcompany.com/1682555/ken-marino-shows-how-to-parody-the-already-ridiculous-with-burning-love)
## Move to television
The web series' performance on Yahoo earned it a television pickup. Fast Company reported an audience of 11 million on Yahoo, and Yahoo's head of original video, Erin McPherson, said internal data showed viewers were not dropping off after the first episode, that the show drew a relatively young audience, and that users tended to binge-view it.[8](https://www.fastcompany.com/3006691/secret-tech-life-ben-stiller) • [6](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof) E! picked up two seasons; season 1 debuted on the network on February 25, 2013, as seven half-hour episodes, with the second and third web seasons airing on Yahoo in February and April 2013.[6](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof) • [14](https://www.c21media.net/news/e-gets-yahoos-burning-love/)
## Reception and awards
Critics responded well to the first season. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 100% Tomatometer score for season 1 based on 7 reviews, and the reality blurred review called it "a must-watch parody of The Bachelor," noting that it combined broad comedy with subtle satire of the genre's conventions.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love/s01) • [9](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2012/08/the-bachelor-17-burning-love/) On IMDb the series holds a 7.9/10 rating from about 4,600 users.[16](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/)
The awards followed the same pattern. At the 2013 [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards) the show was nominated for Outstanding Special Class - Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs, with Stiller, Cornfeld, Rosenstein, Marino, Oyama, and Jonathan Stern listed as executive producers.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/awards) It won 2013 Webby Awards for Best Longform Comedy, Best Individual Performance, and Special Achievement, and 2013 Streamy Awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Male Performance (Ken Marino), and Best Guest Appearance (Ken Jeong). It was also nominated for a 2014 Satellite Award for Best Original Short-Format Program and a 2014 PGA Award for Outstanding Digital Series.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/awards) • [1](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love)
## References
1. [Burning Love, Abominable Pictures](https://www.abominablepictures.com/burning-love)
2. [Ken Marino is your new 'Bachelor' in Yahoo's spoof 'Burning Love', Los Angeles Times (May 2, 2012)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2012-05-02/ken-marino-is-your-new-bachelor-in-yahoos-spoof-burning-love)
3. [Burning Love - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/awards)
4. [A Hot New Series, The Washington Post Express (June 13, 2012)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2012/06/13/a-hot-new-series/)
5. [Burning Love, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/burning-love)
6. [Yahoo teams up with single sponsor for season 2 of its 'The Bachelor' spoof, VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/business/yahoo-teams-up-with-single-sponsor-for-season-2-of-its-the-bachelor-spoof)
7. [Burning Love, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love)
8. [The Secret (Tech) Life Of Ben Stiller, Fast Company (March 18, 2013)](https://www.fastcompany.com/3006691/secret-tech-life-ben-stiller)
9. [Burning Love: a must-watch parody of The Bachelor, reality blurred (August 14, 2012)](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2012/08/the-bachelor-17-burning-love/)
10. [Ken Marino Shows How to Parody the Already Ridiculous with "Burning Love", Fast Company (March 11, 2013)](https://www.fastcompany.com/1682555/ken-marino-shows-how-to-parody-the-already-ridiculous-with-burning-love)
11. [6 Screenwriting Tips From In-Demand "Burning Love" Creator Erica Oyama, Fast Company (June 25, 2014)](https://www.fastcompany.com/3032229/6-screenwriting-tips-from-in-demand-burning-love-creator-erica-oyama)
12. [Watch Jennifer Aniston (and Kristen Bell, Ken Jeong, and Michael Ian Black) in Ken Marino's The Bachelor Spoof, 'Burning Love', Vulture (June 5, 2012)](https://www.vulture.com/2012/06/burning-love.html)
13. [Burning Love - watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/burning-love)
14. [E! falls for Yahoo!'s Burning Love, C21Media (July 30, 2013)](https://www.c21media.net/news/e-gets-yahoos-burning-love/)
15. [Burning Love: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/burning_love/s01)
16. [Burning Love (TV Series 2012-2013), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292621/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 1999 to 2016*
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