A TV insider has exposed a fascinating secret about some of the country’s favourite reality shows such as Farmer Wants a Wife and MAFS, and the reveal may surprise you. According to the insider, who spoke exclusively to Yahoo Lifestyle, 2024 contestants are hoping to be cast as villains, despite years of former stars complaining about “bad edits” and the mental toll it can take.
“Potential reality TV stars apply and in their audition interviews, they will directly tell you ‘I want to be the villain'”, the insider, who works in reality TV production, reveals. “They often declare they will do what you want to make good TV and are more than happy to be the bad guy.”
From MAFS, The Block, The Bachelor, Big Brother, The Summit and even Farmer Wants a Wife, it seems that more and more people are happy to be seen as the “sassy, outspoken and confrontational type.”
Farmer Wants a Wife
Claims the insider, “Karli on Farmer Wants a Wife was happy to follow instructions and do what the producers needed for good TV. Some get this unhealthy relationship like Stockholm Syndrome where they want to impress their captor.
“She (Karli) was more than happy to grab Farmer Bert’s hand in front of the other girls to upset them and that directive came from a producer.”
So keen are contestants to be portrayed as the ‘bad boy’ or ‘mean girl’, one casting producer told Yahoo Lifestyle that “it’s almost harder to find the girl or boy next door types.”
“Back when reality TV first started everyone wanted to be Reggie Bird – the fish ’n’ chip shop owner from Tassie,” the casting expert explains. “Loveable and with a heart of gold.”
However, that is no longer the case.
“It is no longer how you get noticed by the wider audiences,” our insider says. “They want to come on these shows and make a lot of noise. I think Abbie Chatfield was the game changer and she wasn’t even that villainous.”
Married At First Sight
And when it comes to ‘Australia’s biggest relationship experiment’, Married At First Sight, you’re likely to find that more applicants are looking for conflict rather than love, with the villain on that show almost ‘formulaic’ at this point.
“There is a toxic male, gaslighting, misogynistic participant every year and you can’t say that is by mistake anymore,” says our insider.
The Block
The last few seasons of The Block have seen a spike in drama and villains and audiences remember Tanya, Sharon and Kristy over the teams who actually won their seasons or whoever was deemed the fun, ‘quirky’ team. “Audiences will tell you they hate them but without these personality archetypes these shows would be boring and people would have switched off by now,” the insider says.
They continue, “The most watched shows this year have had these antagonists – the ones you love to hate. It is the villain era and maybe that has to do with our desire for honesty and our secret ambition to be bold and confident.”
Interestingly, our insider points out that shows that don’t go down the “villain edit” path are not as successful as other series that don’t shy away from villainising contestants.
“MasterChef Australia and I’m A Celeb have an audience and do not have conflict but they have been dwarfed in the ratings compared to these shows which have a clear villain,” they said. “So that is saying something loud and clear.
“It’s interesting to know that so many Aussies are lobbying to get on these shows and willingly act up to these character types,” they continue. “It’s come a long way from a bum dance to make yourself a household name!”