Go simple: reality TVwho arrives on Crave on Wednesday May 7, does not go through four paths to get them out of the show: we send them to the gallows!
Not a real one, it goes without saying, but the symbol is still striking. Before learning their “death”, the candidates are placed above a hatch which opens under their feet in the pronouncement of their sentence.
This sets the tone for this reality TV of eight episodes, directly inspired by the fiction series Go simplewhich I loved and which was a huge success on Noovo by rallying 840,000 followers in the winter of 2022.
Remember: six people were summoned to the domain of a billionaire, but the helicopter that transported them had to land in the middle of nowhere.
In a thriller at Agatha Christie, they died one after the other, until we discover the identity of the murderer and his motivations.
Reality TV, which is described as “social experience”, therefore takes up the spirit of the series, adopting the same musical frame. In a chalet recalling that of the series, located in Morin-Heights in the Laurentians, 10 public participants gathered in the hope of winning the sum of $ 50,000.
Very important aspect of the game: everyone arrives with a secret that they must absolutely not speak. The goal is to guess who belongs to each of the secrets.
Fifteen secrets are revealed to them, but five of them are false, just to create even more confusion.
Among the secrets, some seem lighter as “I do professional struggle”, “I played a first role in a success in Quebec cinema” and “I am a hypnotist”.
Others give cold in the back like “I lived in a sect for 19 years”, “I did four years in prison” and “I witnessed a double attempted murder in my family”.
Viewers are informed quite early on the real secrets of each.
The trailer for “going simple: reality TV” (Bell Média)
Production at Sphere Média has obtained the collaboration of the authors ofGo simpleAnnie Piérard, Bernard Dansereau and Étienne Piérard-Dansereau, who were thrilled by the idea.
Two fictional characters were recovered in reality TV: Thomas Rouclair, played by Jean-Nicolas Verreault, and Éli Mandokan, played by Samian.
The two act as masters of the game, the first from a room where he observes the game on a wall of screens, the second on site, to welcome and guide the participants during the tests.
Thomas and Éli adopt a mysterious tone when they communicate with each other. Rouclair speaks directly to participants through a speaker in the chalet.
To avoid the gallows, candidates divided into two teams will have to pass physical and intellectual tests. The best or best aura of life or death on other participants.
The stake of the gallows did not be debated in management, which appreciated the image.
“We wanted to use this hatch as a guillotine,” explains the producer at Sphere Média, Marie-Pierre Gaudreault, who worked on several other reality TVs such as Star Academy, Occupation double et Survivor Quebec.
-Several will recognize among the group Isabelle Lagacé, one of the two Quebecers who made prison – it is obviously its secret – for having imported cocaine into Australia; The media had largely covered the case and a documentary series on the subject was produced for Crave in the fall of 2022.
Surprisingly, only two people from the group will recognize it.
Another person, who has won reality TV, could also draw the attention of others.
I who are absolutely not fond of the genre, I admit that I was hung by the first three episodes, which will be online on Wednesday.
Go simple: reality TV reminds a little Traitorsbut the question of well -kept secrets gives a very different trajectory to the series, very intriguing.
Applicants must succeed in tests to have the right of life or death on others. (Bell Media)
Still, as in any good reality TV, participants have the opportunity to create alliances with others, while chasing clues and protecting themselves. But what is a promise in such a framework worth?
Production worked hard to sow the baking between the candidates by approaching the biggest taboos. Some of them are asked to assess the wages of others by placing a predetermined amount under their photos in a room; It goes from $ 27,000 to 245,000. We repeat the exercise for the intellectual quotient, then for the style of the house of each.
However, it will be necessary to wait until the fifth episode for it to explode between the candidates, surprisingly very respectful towards each other in the first episodes.
“We would have liked that it explodes before, we like storms in this kind of show, but the candidates of the first season were not at all aware of what awaited them, that there would be possibility of back and forth,” says Marie-Pierre Gaudreault, who believes that the biennant should settle faster in a possible season 2.
Jean-Nicolas Verreault resumes his role as Thomas Rouclair, who is addressed to candidates of his headquarters. (Bell Media)
It is the first time in the country that we create a reality TV from a fiction series, which has already been done elsewhere in the world, in particular with Squid Game sur Netflix.
Based in London, the Fremantle company obtained the international rights of the concept, renamed House of Secretswhich could see the light of day in several markets possibly.
After the first three, Crave will offer two episodes each week to the eighth and last.
“I have rarely seen such an emotional reality TV final. There is something liberating to reveal a secret of meaning, “explains Mélanie Bherer, director general, variety, lifestyle, documentary and digital at Bell Média.
If the series made you want to go back to see or discover the two seasons ofGo simple In fiction, they are always offered on Crave.
Be aware, however, that you should not have seen the fiction to embark on reality TV.
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