--
Interview with Married at First Sight creative producer David Barber --
Mon, 15 Aug 2016 11:13
--
David Barber, the creative producer for Red Arrow, the company behind the incredibly successful Married at First Sight format, was in South Africa recently to hold a series of workshops with Oxyg3n Media, the South African production company commissioned by A E Networks to make the South African version of the show for their Lifetime channel.
Here Barber answers some questions about the show and its worldwide success.
Married at First Sight has proved to be a huge hit with local formats all over the world. Can you tell us how many countries the show is in as a local version?
DB: Currently it has already been produced or is in some stage of production in at least 23 territories. Furthermore, with multiple seasons in a large many of these territories countries, that means over 45 different seasons!
What do you think is the reason for the shows success?
DB: Naturally, the radical nature of the idea is the initial thing that wows people but it is more than just that, of course, because so many countries see it coming back multiple times. I think people are intrigued by the authenticity of seeing ordinary people-just like them- embark on this extraordinary journey. It s fascinating to simply watch a brand new relationship brand new by the most unusual circumstances-simply develop naturally before your very eyes. Couples watch this together and see the shortcomings and successes in themselves reflected by the couples on screen it can sometimes make for quite challenging viewing as a couple! Another beauty of the idea is the natural jeopardy of the experiment can science help these people to find love? and so who will stay together in the end? It s a really compelling narrative hook.
Married at First Sight is more than a reality show though isnt it?
DB: Absolutely. It has previously been described as real reality which is a fair categorization. The only things that are actually constructed is the initial blind marriage and the decision at the end. The rest of it is an authentic account of what happens to these couples during the experiment. Producers aren t poking them with sticks to elicit a reaction or playing Machiavellian games behind camera to create dramas. The individuals are matched to have a propensity fall in love with each other, not fight. They re all courageous, quite a bit brighter than your average reality show cast, genuinely wan to find love and are also motivated by personal development rather than being on television. So, don t expect to see them getting drunk and running around shouting with their underpants on their heads!
Can you tell us about the panel of experts that are required during the production and filming of the series?
DB: They vary from production to production, from country to country. The most likely panel you will find is a psychologist, an anthropologist and a sexologist. Ideally, part of their research, studies or working life will have centred on relationships. Some countries will also include a priest or culturally appropriate religious or humanitarian figure to balance against the others from a psych or socio scientific background. Some countries have gone super scientific with Neuropsychotherapists or experts using DNA and Genotyping. All of them are highly credible academics usually with many years of professional working experience in their respective fields. Just as importantly, they must believe in the experiment. In the end, it s the experts who are conducting this test and so basically they are in charge, not the producers!
Even though its a format and has to stick close to the original Danish show, are there any differences country to country?
DB: Not many and not significantly. Sometimes the tone is a bit different. For example, there s a noticeable difference between the look and feel of the Danish and Australian versions. The Danish is quite serious and feels very documentary, yet the Australian version is almost technicolour in comparison and bouncing with life. But this can simply be a case of different cameras or grading used, the pace and style of editing, music used and probably more so the natural differences in peoples characters from country to country. The differences we see aren t really format changes but rather that you might see, for example, different interventionist ideas experts might use to help the couples bond or improve their wellbeing in some way, so that becomes part of what you see on screen. The latter often comes into play in subsequent seasons when producers and experts will try to improve upon what they learned from the previous in hope of increasing the chances of love.
What version will the South African series follow most closely?
DB: Oxyg3n Media who are producing the show really like the original Danish programme, although with this being South Africa, I m sure it will have a lot more life and colour without even trying! They really understand and respect the idea and are extremely committed to doing this the right way, to find experts who will, in turn, find the very best matches. They can t wait to play cupid and see everyone in their version fall in love. I think anyone who applies and is selected will be in very good hands with Oxyg3n!
What has been the success rate for the couples staying married?
DB: It s most often three couples, sometimes four who get married and most times respectively it s two and three couples who decide to stay together. I m so hoping to see a 100% success rate on the South African version!
Why should people watch the show?
DB: The success rate speaks for itself! It genuinely is amazing television. Red Arrow is so proud of Snowman Productions for creating this idea and the success it has brought all of us. It s utterly fascinating to watch something
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
-- 
