Love @ctually?

Harvard is like Hogwarts in so many ways—we’ve got the house system, we’ve got Annenberg, we’ve even got Quidditch—but one thing notoriously absent is any form of love potion.

Harvard is known for a lot of things, but for better of for worse, a thriving dating scene is not one of them.

Sanyee Yuan ’12 hopes to change all this with the new-and-improved second season of Harvard’s premiere dating show, “Love@Harvard.”

“Upperclassmen always say freshman year was the best for meeting people and the dating scene becomes a little nonexistent after that,” said Yuan, the host and executive producer of the show. “When people talk about their futures here, they talk about concentrations and jobs, never about finding a significant other.”

The HUTV reality show, created last year by Emma Coleman ’09, hopes to bring love back into the picture by catalyzing relationships in ten minutes or less. More after the jump.

In each monthly online episode, a student bachelor or bachelorette interrogates three hopeful suitors with burning questions like:

-- What would you do to keep the flame of a Quad-River love burning?

-- What romantic dinner could you make me out of food from your house dining hall?

-- Are you a Widener or a Lamont?

-- What amazing date can we go on for less than a dime?

These questions put Harvard students’ oft-wasted creativity to good use, Yuan says.

After three rounds of fast-paced responses, the bachelor or bachelorette will (hopefully) emerge with a newly-found lover and the seeds of a relationship.

This year, the show is revamping its repertoire with themed episodes. The roommate-themed premiere, set to debut in the next couple of weeks, features three roommies as the lucky contestants attempting to woo the lovely bachelorette. December’s episode is set to star eager freshmen, while future themes may include guest appearances by MIT and BC students, or perhaps psychology concentrators.

“I know Harvard people already over-analyze things, so having an episode with psych students could be really funny,” Yuan said.

Season Two will also showcase bonus features like behind-the-scenes interviews and deleted footage to entertain viewers.

Will the new season revolutionize love in the Ivory Tower?

“I really object to some aspects of the hookup culture in that some individuals feel pressure to engage in it as the only way of meeting people,” Rachel Singh ’10 said. “People don’t always have the courage to take that step and ask someone to dinner, so it’s good that this show promotes a healthy dating culture.“

One of Yuan’s dreams for the season is to film the finale in front of a live audience in Lowell Lecture Hall in the spring.

“It could be a seniors-only episode, maybe a last-chance-at-love kind of theme?” she hinted.

Want to test the waters of love as a contestant, or maybe just admire from afar? The Season Two teaser, and all Season One episodes, can be viewed at http://hutvnetwork.com/shows/loveatharvard.