Twenty years ago, the major Quebec television networks launched into a new genre that was both loved and despised: reality TV. Since then, the programs have multiplied, shattering ratings records and gradually winning the heart and respect of both the public and the traditional media. But between the failures, the controversies and the loss of speed of the small screen, can we always predict such a bright future? Fifth text in a series that will continue over the next few weeks.
Can reality TV be a tool for good? Concepts featuring ordinary people who want more to break loneliness and find a soul mate than to know glory are multiplying, in Quebec as elsewhere. A phenomenon encouraged by the public’s growing appetite for benevolent and authentic reality TV.
“If I hadn’t signed up [à L’amour est dans le pré]I could have waited a long time before finding love, ”drops Alex Berthiaume.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the Beauceron was suddenly confronted with his loneliness and felt the urge to “find the man of his dreams”. He turned to dating apps, but the experience was inconclusive. ” Date on applications, it’s not so much the funit’s hard to find someone serious. […] Add the fact of living in Beauce, of being a farmer and homosexual, that greatly reduces the pool, ”he points out.
Encouraged by his relatives, he signed up for reality TV love is in the meadow and was selected to participate in the ninth season, broadcast in 2021 in Noovo. It was the first time in the show’s history that a gay contestant had entered.
The rest, we know. With his intensity and authenticity, Alex not only won the hearts of the public in a few episodes, but also — and above all — that of David Desmarais, one of his suitors. Two years later, the two men are still spinning the perfect love. They got engaged in December 2021 and the wedding is scheduled for next fall. The lovers have also started the process of having a child.
With the pandemic, the anxiety and the isolation it has created, there is a great appetite for positive reality shows that rely on solidarity, benevolence, collaboration, rather than deception and humiliation.
Since its launch in Quebec in 2012, Love is in the meadow — adapted from the British concept Farmer Wants a Wife — helped 17 farmers find their life partner. From these unions, 29 babies were born, and a 30e is on its way.
“We are really proud. It is by seeing this that we can say that a reality show is successful. It’s not just a question of audience, even if, on that side, the results are also good, ”explains the producer of the show and founding president of Attraction, Richard Speer. To his eyes, Love is in the meadow is not just one entertainment show among many others. She stands out for her “authenticity”, her “benevolence” and her ability to do “useful work” by helping farmers to break their loneliness.
Love with a capital A
In the same vein as Love is in the meadowother reality shows in Quebec help communities find love, without playing sensationalism or turning into a popularity contest.
This is the case of trucker heart, which will air on Unis TV in the spring. The show will give a helping hand to truckers who are struggling to find love because of their irregular schedules and their prolonged absences.
There is also What if it was you, which will be offered at the end of February to AMI-télé, the broadcaster serving people who are blind, have reduced mobility or are hard of hearing. Each episode will allow a person with a disability to meet three suitors (with or without a disability).
“We are not here to impress, to make big entertainment, but to present on the screen people who are rarely seen, who are human like anyone else and who also want to love and be loved. It’s a show that feels good,” said AMI-tv vice-president of content development and programming, Isabella Federigi.
Global phenomenon
“There is a growing trend lately towards the production of benevolent, more ethical, more authentic reality shows, there is an appetite for that,” notes Stéfany Boisvert, professor at the School of Media at UQAM. She also insists on this feel good much sought after. “With the pandemic, the anxiety and the isolation it has created, there is a great appetite for positive reality shows that rely on solidarity, benevolence, collaboration, rather than deception and humiliation. »
And it’s not just a Quebec phenomenon. Mme Boisvert gives an example of Swedish reality TV The Farm, launched in 2001, which has experienced a resurgence in popularity in several countries lately. We follow a group of people on the farm who are looking for a self-sufficient and eco-responsible way of life.
Another example : Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, launched in 2017. The English show brings together a group of elderly people suffering from loneliness and a group of preschoolers to see if this intergenerational contact can increase the well-being and health of the former. The concept worked so well that it was adapted in other countries, including Australia, where it gave life to a variant, Old People’s Home for Teenagerswhich seeks to combat the loneliness of the elderly as much as that of adolescents.
Does this mean that this sub-genre of reality TV represents the future? Only partly, answers Mme Boisvert, which recalls how traditional concepts, based more on strategy, competition, sensationalism and pure entertainment, are still very popular.
“It’s all the complexity of reality TV, not to say its paradox. We want it to be representative of our societal values, but its strength remains to present controversial scenes that will create a debate in society. »