A new reality show is being filmed on one of Connecticut's tiny Thimble Islands.
WNPR radio reports A&E is filming a show called "Love Prison" on Belden Island, one of 300 small islands off the coast of Branford. Belden Island has just one house on just over an acre of land in Long Island Sound.
Producers of the show say that house will be home to social experiment involving couples who have an online relationship, but have never before met in person.
"One in three relationships begin online, with many people not meeting in person for months or even years. But are these relationships real?" the network said in a statement. " In this unique social experiment, online couples meet for the first time in a tiny shack on a remote island. "Love Prison" is a lone cabin rigged with fixed cameras; there are no producers, no cameramen and no escape!"
The couples will spend a week together on the island.
"Cameras capture the couple for 7 days, with an all-access look at everything from their first kiss to their first fight," the network said. "And at the end of the 7 days, they have a decision to make. Will they leave the "Love Prison" together or call it quits?"
The network chose the Connecticut island as the setting for the show because of the atmosphere.
"We love the feeling of comfort that the island provides that contrasts with the feeling of isolation and panic our contestants feel when we strip them of their modern conveniences," A&E said.
The network says 10 half-hours episodes of the show are set to air beginning in August. Leftfield Pictures is producing the show for A&E, spearheaded by Executive Producers Brent Montgomery, David George, Jordana Hochman and Will Nothacker. A&E executive producers on the project are Drew Tappon, Shelly Tatro and Devon Graham.
The island is listed for sale, with an asking price of just under $4 million.
