“For season 20, we are still missing 3 farmers”, the message got through! Louise Horellou, casting director of the show Love is in the meadowwas at the Livestock Summit in Cournon to meet future candidates: “We have a stand with farmers from previous seasons and we hope to motivate new ones to register.” The show, however, has no shortage of applications since the production receives no less than 800 each year, some who have been applying for several years even… But the farmer selection is not taken lightly!
“Talk about your feelings”
“We are looking for people who can talk about their feelings, even if they are shy. And we know that talking about yourself is always difficult in this profession. » For the choice of profiles, Louise’s service calls all the volunteer farmers in order to identify their expectations and do an initial sorting. Then comes the immersion stage: a trip to the selected farms where the casters create a portrait of each farmer who will be presented for production. And finally the last sorting phase: the farmers come to Paris to meet the production and its various services. On the program in particular: discussion with the legal department but also a visit to a psychologist to support them in their approach.
At the end of these 3 main stages, the 15 farmers of the season are selected, the filming of the portraits begins for broadcast in January. “We then receive a flood of letters which we sort over approximately 6 weeks. In particular, we ask the applicants to fill out a short questionnaire to find out their motivation, their life and whether they are ready to leave their region or not. The mail is then given to the farmer who chooses. He can invite up to 10 suitors to come and meet him for speed dating. » On this occasion, the contenders also have an interview with the show’s psychologist, “because the objective is to protect them above all”.
Cameras on the farm
“Life on the farm is 6 people who follow the farmer and his suitors from sunrise to sunset in order to capture everything. If the magic happens, then comes the weekend with the suitor, then we offer them a romantic weekend. »
If they don’t find love, they find good friends!
And finally last filming : the results to close the season. “We party a bit, everyone is happy to see each other,” admits Louise Horellou. Because in fact, the groups formed each year forge links: “It’s a real big family. Farmers are there to find love, of course, but at worst they find good friends! »
“A good image”
The show is increasingly followed, with around 4 million viewers tuning in every Monday! “Everyone loves them because they are real people, little broken hearts looking for love and we all want to know if they fall in love in the end or not. » And no overplayed scenes, it’s real life (although the editing regularly highlights the funniest scenes for our greatest pleasure).
In the countryside, however, the show was not unanimously accepted for several years. According to our latest survey, some farmers found that it reflected a bad image of them. But that is changing and the casting director assures her: “Our goal is not to ridicule farmers, on the contrary. Each season we try to have very different profiles to best represent the diversity within the profession. »
And besides, it works: “We are in the 19th season, there have been, over all these years, 90 babies and around a hundred couples formed. » And if we have not managed to obtain any juicy information on the current season because we are prohibited from spoiling the show, she still admits to us that there will be a lot of couples this year. “The assessment has just been made, and it is very positive. In any case, we couldn’t do worse than last year when we only had one couple,” she laughs. See you next Monday for the rest of the adventure ADP !
