Love After Lockup Season 4: Here's What We Can Tell Fans So Far
Back in 2016, the idea for one of the most popular shows on cable television was born at We TV's "Pitchfest," which is an annual company event in which staff members divide into teams and brainstorm new show ideas. Two years later, "Love After Lockup" premiered on We TV. According to Variety, the show follows a handful of couples who met through prison dating websites and other unique means, and shows how each couple attempts to make their relationship work after the formerly incarcerated half of the pair has been released from prison.
Throughout its past three seasons on We TV, "Love After Lockup" has grown a rather rabid fan base who discuss the couples on the show in impressive detail on Reddit, Facebook, and other platforms. "The success of 'Love After Lockup' demonstrates that a great concept, executed well with characters and stories that resonate with viewers can still break through the clutter," Marc Juris, president of WE TV, said in a network press release (via The Futon Critic). "The organic growth we're seeing from week to week has been extremely encouraging and validates the potential we saw for this series from the beginning."
Craving more "Love After Lockup"? Here's what we know about the status of the fourth season of the show.
When will the fourth season of Love After Lockup premiere?
In June 2021, the third season of "Love After Lockup" premiered on We TV. Since then, the network has stayed relatively mum and has yet to announce if (or when) the fourth season of "Love After Lockup will debut.
Unlike other shows, "Love After Lockup" debuts a large number of episodes per season that are split into two or three parts. The latter parts in each season are called "Life After Lockup," which is a spinoff of the series and features couples who are past the initial post-prison release and are further along in the process of moving on from being incarcerated. According to Variety, many viewers had asked for updates on those couples featured in "Love After Lockup," and the show's spinoff was the answer to this demand.
In October, Variety exclusively revealed that the impressive popularity of the show, which has received very limited marketing, has led to yet another spinoff series, called "Love During Lockup." This third spinoff series, which is set to debut on We TV in January 2022, follows the beginning of relationships between current prison inmates and outsiders.
Who will be appearing in Season 4?
Each couple featured on "Love After Lockup" met the alleged love of their life on Facebook, WriteAPrisoner.com, a pen pal website, or through other digital means. The show follows what happens when the inmate and their partner on the outside actually begin a life outside of the prison walls, per People. Typically, these couples are featured in some capacity throughout each part of every season as viewers check in on the progress that they've made since taking their relationship from the prison to the real world.
Since no news has been released about the fourth season of the show, it isn't known who will appear in it. However, it's likely that at least a few cast members or couples from the third season will return to the show in the fourth season. According to People, cast members on the third season include conservative Daonte and former inmate and party girl Nicolle, hardworking Rachel and former inmate Doug, former corrections officer Courtney and former inmate Josh, accomplished Britney and former inmate Ray, head-over-heels Anissa and tentative former inmate Jeffrey, and retired millionaire Stan and former inmate Lisa.
New details about Rachel and Doug's tumultuous relationship
The finale of the third season saw Rachel and Doug separating after getting married while Doug was still behind bars. Since their very public split that took place throughout the third season of the show, more information regarding why they split has been revealed.
During an appearance on the Domenick Nati Show, Rachel admitted that he had cheated on her throughout their entire relationship, which was fairly confusing for Rachel, who claims that they were regularly intimate, leading her to wonder when exactly he had the time to cheat on her, per ScreenRant. While the third season of the show was still premiering on We TV, an ex-partner of Doug's revealed that she had struck up a romance with the former inmate on Instagram. Since leaving Rachel for an ex, he has been arrested and returned to prison, according to ScreenRant. As it turns out, Rachel, a former member of the Marine Corps and current engineer, had a hard time even agreeing to appear on "Love After Lockup" to begin with.
"You know, I have to be 110% honest — it was not my idea," Rachel told Fox News in August. "It was Doug's idea. He was very adamant about doing the show. The first time it was brought up, I just thought it was going to be very hard on the relationship. Our image was going to be scrutinized. But eventually, I was like, 'You want to do this? We'll do this.' And that's how the journey began." We wonder if we'll hear more about these two in Season 4.