The first episodes of Apprentice adventurerswhose sixth season is launched this Monday on W9, could quickly turn into a part ofWhere is Charlie ? adapted to reality TV where it is the bimbo that must be found. Enough to remain for a long time with squinted eyes trying to identify the person who corresponds to a “fashionable, luscious and sexy, often superficial young woman”, if we are to believe the definition of the Larousse.
First because the concept puts ten pairs of candidates in survival conditions on a desert island, far from their usual comfort way Koh Lanta. The production has set up in the Philippines and no longer in Thailand.
The channel also claims its desire to integrate unusual candidates into reality TV. “Some of our reality shows have been around for eleven years so we put pressure on Banijay every time [qui produit l’émission, ndlr] to bring new things, […] starting with a different, larger cast,” insists Pierre-Guillaume Ledan, deputy director general of programs for the M6 group. On the side of the production company, also at the helm of the Marseilleswe say to ourselves “delighted to welcome new people that we are not used to seeing on this kind of format”.
Average age: 31 years old
The show always relies on familiar faces to attract viewers. We find Amelie from Secret StoryVictoria, Jessica, Fanny and Antonin of Marseilles or even Hilona revealed in 10 perfect couples. Among the most atypical profiles, several participants are relatives of already known candidates.
Exit the very young candidates who love these shows. With a majority in their thirties, the average age of participants is around 31 years old. An average drawn by Fabrice, 55 years old. “Age is just a number but it’s obvious that when I was offered this adventure, I hesitated. It’s not my generation and then I didn’t want to fall too much into reality TV. “says the candidate revealed in season 12 of Beijing Express To 20 minutes. Convinced by the production’s desire to “evolve the format”, he finally let himself be tempted after two days of reflection. “They told me that they thought I really had my place…”
“When I saw him arrive, I wondered who this extraterrestrial was,” Fanny still laughs several months after the shoot. “Even physically as he dresses, as he expresses himself, he is very far from our way of functioning. He’s a character but gradually, he managed to make his place! »
“I no longer matched the profile they were looking for”
If 18 of the 20 candidates went through another program before landing in The apprentice adventurers, rare are those who have made reality TV a business. Only a handful of candidates make a living as a full-time influencer. Tainted by cases of “organized fraud” and “breach of trust”, this environment has been the target of criticism for several months.
“It’s the first time in a show of this type where there were so many natural people, who have a job in everyday life, to get up early”, rejoices Jessica. This is also the case of Fanny, with whom she forms the first female pair of the show. “After a few TV shows, I wanted a tidier life,” confirms the latter.
After participating in the launch of Marseilles in 2012, Antonin had withdrawn from these emissions. “I started on TV about ten years ago then I did about fifteen shows. Then I stopped because I no longer corresponded to the profile that the productions were looking for, ”he says. Now a restaurant owner in Marseille, he found himself “too simple” to set foot in this type of program. “I have a life like ordinary mortals, I don’t live in Dubai or I don’t know what… I thought I was uninteresting for the viewer who is used to watching these programs. He is delighted that his participation can help this television genre to “return to basics”.
Towards a more inclusive reality show?
The precarious living conditions of the competitors encourage naturalness. “It doesn’t really always reflect the best,” tempers Jennyfer, Fabrice’s surprise partner. It evokes a real “return to the past, like Cro-Magnon man”. “One day, we shared 18 grains of rice for a day. It was something other than The people of Marseilles, the villas, the disputes over the shampoo…”, adds Antonin.
Far from being a real revolution in reality TV, is W9 taking a mouse step towards a more inclusive cast with this season? Nothing is less sure but the path is still long. But these few advances could be a reaction to the continued decline in audiences for this television genre in recent years.
On the candidate side, we welcome this shift. “Reality TV may be going back to basics by trying to find profiles that correspond more to ordinary mortals,” rejoices Antonin. For her part, Jessica wants castings oriented on personality rather than “on the physique of a bimbo”. “These programs must represent the diversity of France”, insists Fanny. “Castings are sometimes focused on the physical … It lacks people who have more shapes, thinner people, who do not have the stereotypical physique of reality TV,” she concludes. On good terms.