By
August 04, 2020
Reality TV competitions have been with us for 20 years, but we’ve come a long way since that first entrée of competitive food was served up, or the first person was kicked off a remote island.
We’ve had wannabe supermodels strutting down catwalks, celebrity dancers trying not to trip over their feet and so many singers hoping their voice will be heard above all others. There are now so many shows of this ilk, it’s hard to know where to look, so here’s a quick guide to the latest hot content.
Arts and crafts
Competitive flower arranging? Well, Big Flower Fight (Netflix) is a bit more than that – think backyard DIY meets art and fashion with a floral twist. Using the template made popular by the Great British Bake Off, this competition pits 10 teams of two people against each other. Each week there’s a, “best in bloom,” while the poorest performing team is sent to compost heap. The contestants are asked to make sculptures, wearable fashion and other bits of art using wire, wood, bark, moss, dirt, plants and flowers. What they’re asked to achieve seems mind-boggingly complex. Colourful characters from Britain, Ireland, Europe and the United States gather inside a giant dome to battle with petals, stems and leaves and it’s quite mesmerizing.
Fans of Parks And Recreation will want to watch Making It (ThreeNow) just to see hosts Amy Poehler (Lesley Knopes) and Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson) guide amateur crafters and hobbyists through a series of tasks that include building a terrarium, designing a costume, making kids toys converting a back yard shed, either at speed (faster crafter) or with more care (master crafter). Each week the person with the worst handiwork is whisked away until there’s just one left. Clever ideas abound with lots of how-to guides.
Feed me
Ask most people for the best cooking show and The Great British Bakeoff is near the top. But the New Zealand version – The Great Kiwi Bake Off – is a brilliant alternative. It’s driven by the two hosts – Madeleine Sami and Hayley Sproull – who are head and shoulders above their British equivalents. They are funny, engaging and drive the show along, out-starring the judges Dean Brettschneider and Sue Fleischl. Like any reality series the cast of contestants will include those you love, ones you want to see to gone, and others who seem to be there just so the view can think: I’m better than that.
Masterchef Australia has been an unstoppable juggernaut of jus and julienne for 11 seasons, driven by the larger than life personalities of judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston. The 12th season is the first with new judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and series four winner Andy Allen. To make it easier for fans to adjust to the change, this series, which returns to TVNZ OnDemand from June 28 involves some of the most-loved contestants from the past 11 series returning for another chance at the title and the A$250,000 prize.
Dating and social media
The Circle (Netflix) is based on a book and is a competition to see who can be most popular on social media. The premise is simple; eight people locked, Big Brother-style, in a hotel. The catch is they can’t see each other and only interact on social media, some showing their true selves, other using avatars or fake identities. The egos are out of control and it’s as compelling as a late-night scroll through Instagram stories.
It’s a short jump from social media judgement to the controversy surrounding Love Island UK. The show’s sixth season has just started streaming on Neon with a new host, Laura Whitmore. The show – originally filmed in Mallorca – drives a huge amount of social and tabloid media in Britain but has also won a BAFTA award – possibly explaining why it’s so divisive with reviewers either loving or hating it. But millions of viewers are hooked on the concept of contestants surviving elimination by pairing up – either for real, or for the money on offer at the end.
For a more down to earth experience, how about an Aussie show that’s basically Airbnb meets The Block, meets Come Dine With Me? In Instant Hotel (Netflix) contestants convert their house into a hotel and are judged a la Tripadvisor based on the accommodation, nearby facilities and attractions – and of course a good night’s sleep. All the contestants travel together to each other’s, “hotel” and ranking them. But just like Airbnb – the hosts can rank the guests as well. There are some classic Aussie characters in this and the conversions are worth looking at it you’ve ever thought you’d like to become a host with the most.
Feats of endurance
Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix) is on to its third season, dubbed Survival of the Fittest and the quirky thing is that you can choose whether you watch it as the American version or the Australian, hosted by singer Dannii Minogue and former Wallabies rugby star Nick, “Honey Badger” Cummins. The reason there’s two versions is that the international show has nine hosts – a pair from each of the competing countries. Whatever version you pick (and the Aussie one is labelled series 1, even though it’s series 3 in the overall scheme of things), you get an obstacle course on steroids. It’s big and loud with thrills and spills galore.
Watch the trailer!