Q&A with Rebecca Fuller-Campbell on Married at First Sight SA series two

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Q&A with Rebecca Fuller-Campbell on Married at First Sight SA series two --

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 10:59

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Following its enormous debut success, a second season of Married at First Sight South Africa has been commissioned and has gone into pre-production with the shows producers, Oxyg3n Media, on the hunt for new participants to take part in the new series.

Season two, which will broadcast on Lifetime (DStv 131) in October this year, will comprise nine episodes, one of which will be a reunion show featuring all the participants from the first series.

Executive producer Rebecca Fuller-Campbell shares more...

How successful was the first series of Married at First Sight SA?

Rebecca Fuller-Campbell: It was hugely successful for the Lifetime channel, increasing the viewership 148 percent which is 11 percent above target for the slot. The average age of the viewer was 38 years old and series one attracted in excess of 60,000 new viewers to the channel. So they were very pleased of course.

What do you attribute the success of the show to?

RFC: I think it s about love. Maybe that seems a bit romantic, but I think everyone wants a happy ending. I also think that it s the science. The fact that brave individuals are putting their fate in the hands of experts to find their soul mate.

What stage are you at now with the second season?

RFC: We are at the matching stage. It s all very exciting!

What lessons did you learn from the first?

RFC: Like the first season of any format we ve learned a lot. For the new season, our experts will be really getting stuck into the science of relationships to find couples that will last. We learned that we needed more episodes to show our viewers as much of the process as possible, so they can see what the couples get up to on their journey. We ve also realised that viewers need to see more of the experts and understand how and why our participants are matched. South Africa is quite unique to other territories that have produced Married at First Sight; we have to be very considerate of traditions and cultures. We ll definitely be demonstrating to the viewer how we consider these factors.

How many episodes will the second series have?

RFC: Series two will be eight episodes, but - very exciting - we also have a one-off special to kick-off the season. In this episode we will revisit our series one participants and see where they are now and what being involved in Married at First Sight meant to them.

What has been the response like for the call for participants?

We have had a brilliant response. I think people who watched the first series realised it wasnt just a reality show but a real social experiment and worth getting involved with in their search for true love.

Will you be using the same experts that you used in the first series?

We are very proud to have Martsie Dreyer join us as our Psychologist. She is incredibly experienced in her field and has also worked with participants in numerous television series. Her screening and matching along with Paula, Shengai, and Winnie with Sam facilitating make for a power team of experts.

Will Sam Cowen be back?

RFC: Sam will be very involved in the series. She was a fundamental part of series one and continues to support all our participants.

What - if anything - will be different in series two

RFC: A lot more screen time however will be dedicated to the experts and participants in workshops and sessions as well as showing more of the reality of our couples in day to day life.

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