As of last year, love reality shows are drawing attention again as an entertainment trend. The love reality, or a so-called "mating program" that deals with the process of matching male and female performers into couples. In the past, there were love reality shows featuring celebrities such as <Kang Ho-dong's Match Made in Heaven> or <We Got Married.> However, love reality shows with non-celebrities are the trend recently. There were as many as six public love reality shows aired last year, including <Single’s Inferno>, <Transfer Love>, <Dolsingles>, <Change Days>, <I'm Solo>, and <Love Catcher in Seoul>. Among them, <Single’s Inferno> attracted great attention domestically and abroad, since it was released on Netflix in December, it reached 10th on Netflix's global viewing rankings earlier this year. <Single’s Inferno> is a program that contains dates of solo contestants on "Hell Island," an uninhabited islander who can escape only when they become find a match. Viewers are showing great interest in these public love reality programs. Then, let's learn more about the public love reality with CAH.
What Is a Dating Reality Show?
Let's find out how the public love reality is organized. Many love reality programs take the form of observational entertainment, with panels observing performers in the studio. The panels watch the performers' meeting process and guess or analyze their emotions and behaviors. Performers cannot hear the panels’ conversations because they shoot in a studio that is completely separated from them. In this way, the actions and thoughts of the performers are delivered to the viewers through the panel, the narration of the broadcast, and the subtitles of the PD. Viewers can also hear what the performers are saying, observe their actions, and guess their thoughts. In addition, the public love reality generally features ordinary men and women and makes them stay together for a week to a month and takes a format that examines their psychology and love process. The ages and jobs of the performers are not disclosed on the first day but are disclosed a few days later after giving them time to get to know each other.
The Secret of the Public Love Reality Program’s Success
Empathy for the Public Cast
The biggest secret to the success of the public love reality is the formation of a consensus. Viewers who are tired of the fancy stories of celebrities can feel the same way watching a program about the stories of the public. The reason is that the stories of the public are closest to their daily lives. In addition, since many people have concerns about relationships, viewers can easily sympathize with the candid expressions of emotions and regrets of ordinary performers by recalling their love experiences. In an interview with Joy News 24, the <Transfer Love> viewer said, "I feel like I'm listening to my friend's love story," and "It's like my story because I've experienced a similar situation." In addition, performers with various jobs, such as college students, office workers, health trainers, and baristas, add a sense of connection to the general population.
Plentiful Contents Due to Diversification of Platforms
It is the diversification of platforms that can maximize the charm of love reality for the public. <Jjak> was aired on SBS from 2011 to 2014. However, recently, the public love reality has been aired on various platforms such as web channels, streaming sites, and OTT services. Unlike network TV, which are strict and conservative, it is easy to deal with stimulating factors such as separation and divorce in general channels and OTT services. <Transfer Love>, which aired on Korea's OTT service TVING, deals with the reunion of separated lovers who broke up. Producer Lee Jin-joo said she chose TVING because there was room for the subject to feel stimulating to viewers to air on TV. <Change Days>, which aired on Kakao TV, is a program in which lovers preparing to break up live in one house and date others. Producer Lee Jae-seok also said that it would have been difficult to create <Change Days> on network channels, while web channels can deal with somewhat sensitive topics and try various things. The public is very interested in programs dealing with love stories that have not been easily seen on TV.
Vicarious Satisfaction of Viewers
With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more difficult to meet new connections than before. Also, there are people who gave up dating for economic or personal reasons. In fact, 78.1% of unmarried singles surveyed by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs last year on 2,000 adult men and women aged 25 to 29 said over the past year, "I have not met or been introduced to new dates." Young people who have lost their desire to date feel vicarious excitement through ordinary people's love reality and replace real relationships. In an interview with Civic News, a viewer who frequently watches love reality shows said, "I can't meet people frequently due to COVID-19, but it's good to be able to live vicariously through the program." The public love reality shows play a role in satisfying the excitement of those who are unable to date.
Problems of the Public Love Reality Program
Insufficient Protection of Performers
People like the love reality programs, but there are certain problems with protection for ordinary performers being insufficient. Excessive slander, personal attacks, and invasion of privacy often continue to occur for those who appear in love reality programs. Unwanted disclosure of past personal information spreads on Internet portal sites and becomes known to the public. Since many ordinary performers do not have an agency, legal protection is also insufficient. As ordinary performers have a lot of burdens to bear alone, the protection by the production crew is necessary. In addition, since the non-celebrity cast is not familiar with cameras or public reactions, careful consideration, and protection is needed. This is because even if they are ok with filming before the program is aired, anxiety can arise when it is aired on TV and their face becomes known. There are also experts' opinions on this situation. Kwak Keum-joo, a professor at Seoul National University, said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, "Before the broadcast, I thought it was okay, but when I filmed, I thought everyone was looking at me," adding, "In this situation, healthy people without depression can be under psychological pressure enough to think of suicide." Therefore, it is necessary to take care to reduce depression or anxiety of the performer through continuous psychological counseling not only at the time of filming the program but also after filming.
Stimulatingly Edited Scenes
From the perspective of the production team, they want a specific composition for fun in the filming and production process. The methods they use for interesting results include forming good and evil compositions, caricatures, and maximizing emotions. However, intentional editing by the production team can hurt the cast. A, a cast member of "Love Catcher in Seoul," which aired in December last year, complained that there were countless criticism messages asking if it was fun to ignore the other person's sincerity. The conversation was edited, and the actor's sincere words about the other person did not appear on the broadcast, which made viewers misunderstand and criticize her. It is impossible to broadcast all the scenes filmed, but special attention from the production team is needed to prevent the cast from being misunderstood due to provocative editing.
The love reality programs are attracting many people's attention. This is because the diversified content and the charm of ordinary performers are combined to increase the interest in the program. There is freshness and entertainment that can be found in love reality shows. However, to create a high-quality program, it seems necessary for the production team to prepare a privacy device for the cast and refrain from producing the program provocatively. If the format is diversified and the privacy of the cast is well maintained, the love reality programs are expected to continue to be loved by viewers.