Forget the romantic candlelight dinner. On this Valentine’s Day, M6 is pulling out all the stops with the first part of the portraits of the new farmers of Love is in the meadow. Nine men and four women will try to find what suits them in front of the cameras during this seventeenth season. First step: introduce yourself to Karine Le Marchand to touch the little heart of her soul mate who may be in front of her TV set this Monday.
600 applications were sent to the production this year. Once the call for applications was closed, the people in charge of casting contacted around 400 of them. “There are those who do not answer, those who do not put their phone number”, lists Anne Cantegrit Thomas, artistic adviser of the show.
Coquin de fate, him again!
Among all the faces of this edition, there is one who has not even sent his application. No cover letter, no video presentation, nothing! And for good reason, it is an arborist that the teams know well: Thierry, character of the tenth season in 2015, is looking for love again. In seven years, his love life has not changed much. “While chatting one day, I asked him if he wanted to do it again. He thought about it, he didn’t jump at the chance at all. His reflection lasted for months, ”says Anne Cantegrit Thomas, who has kept in touch with him since his first participation.
After multiple discussions between Karine Le Marchand, the production and the channel, her return is signed. And it is because he is a new man that he appears in the casting this year. Leopard prints are over! “We talked a lot with him about the ins and outs. He says himself that if he doesn’t meet anyone at 65, he knows it will be over,” says the artistic director. Thierry therefore had the ideal profile to allow a farmer to come back and play the game of Love is in the meadowa first in seventeen years.
In the farming family, I would like father and daughter
What is new is also the profile of Jean-Paul and Emmanuelle. After the twins Joseph and Rémi in 2012, M6 offers us a unique duo: a father and his daughter. He is 70 years old, she is 42. They are both winegrowers in the Grand-Est and single at the same time. “It’s nice to have a father and daughter but it’s not just a communication operation, promises Anne Cantegrit Thomas. It’s also because they are two people who really want to find their soul mate and who, for different reasons, don’t have it now. »
Since the filming of the farm stay should be organized at the same time for them, should we expect a version Inceptionof Love is in the meadow ? “The six of them will meet on the farm or at a dinner party. We can also imagine that the father and the daughter see each other without their suitors ”, anticipates the artistic adviser. It should be noted, however, that Jean-Paul and Emmanuelle do not live together and that there is little risk of seeing the farm turn into a loft story.
Alain and Guillaume, the “real victory” of the show
For some time, Love is in the meadow advances society by following the amorous adventures of Thomas, Mathieu and Delphine, homosexual farmers. But this year, two male participants are looking for the man of their life. Again, this is the first time this has happened. “There has never been a quota,” emphasizes Anne Cantegrit Thomas. That there are two this year is not even a subject. »
Alain and Guillaume are therefore part of the homosexual farmers who are “more and more numerous each season” to send their application. “They represent the fact that in agriculture, as in any field, there are gay and straight people. It’s the representation of the evolution of society and it’s a real victory,” smiles the artistic director.
Maturity, an essential selection criterion
When selecting the farmers who make up the family photo of the season, age is not taken into account. On the other hand, it is the maturity of the applicants that will make the difference, and this explains why Noémie, 25, and Alain “le Breton”, 72, are among the profiles selected. “We have a lot of applications between 25 and 35 years old and we keep very few because we need this maturity”, testifies Anne Cantegrit Thomas. The youngest of the season has, for example, demonstrated this quality by setting up her farm and borrowing a twenty-year loan, “which means that she is capable of committing herself, of creating her family. »
On the other hand, what the casting teams look at first with more mature personalities (who are old enough to be retired, what), is quite simply if they are still active. At 70, Jean-Paul continues to work in the middle of his vines and Alain “le Breton”, 72, organizes equitourism walks. Who knows, in a few months, maybe it’s him who, thanks to the show, will ride in a carriage with the woman of his life.