The new, “more authentic” “Secret Story” may have disappointed long-time fans. Do you still accept that?
Yes, it’s a different ‘Secret Story’, but it was a common desire of TF1 and Endemol. With TF1, we wanted to get out of this culture of clash. The idea of this return was not to break down doors… We wanted to make a game, a more psychological show, almost more strategic, much less individualistic. And finally, we still managed to tell exciting stories with these new candidates and this new way that Generation Z thinks.
The presence of Tiktokers in the casting could also have been confusing…
At the press conference, it was announced that we had done an authentic casting… After all, it’s not contradictory, you can have millions of followers on social networks and be authentic.
Between “Star Academy” and “Secret Story”, television is increasingly looking for more authentic personalities. How does this translate into your casting processes?
For years, we were developing representative castings. Today, they are significant. The castings that we are offering to viewers in 2024 signify a speech, a position. I think it is very important because it is something that has evolved in recent years.
What I wanted above all when I arrived at Endemol France in 2021 was for us to be authentic, in the truth of what people are and for us not to be suspected of manipulating. Because often on television, on social networks, we hear this little tune ‘it’s the production that decides’, ‘it’s the production that manipulates the images.
What we’ve been trying to do for the past three years is really cast, select, people as they are and show them on screen as they are. We’re very kind to the people who make our shows and especially to the viewers who watch us.
To achieve all this, we have developed processes to better inform candidates, for example. We communicate much more with them than before. Even before the start of an adventure, we tell them what is going to happen. Their loved ones too. That way, there are no surprises.
