Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science. As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and how successful a relationship … Read more
When does a social experiment turn into legitimate psychological torture – and lasting damage? Katie Meadows thinks Married at First Sight Australia has gone too far. Married At First Sight Australia is a horrible show that everyone loves to watch. Before this year, I had never seen it. About a month and a half in to … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the final week of Married at First Sight Australia, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s been a long and emotional journey full of highs, lows, onesies and toaster pizzas, but Married at First Sight Australia is finally over. Join us as we try to make sense of the final explosive dinner … Read more
Silly reality show? Sure. A case study for evidence-based relationship science? Okay! Holly Dixon analyses the relationships of Married at First Sight Australia. Married at First Sight is a microcosm of what we all experience in interpersonal relationships, albeit at a concentration many of us will not have experienced. The intensity of the MAFS experiment ensures … Read more
Love Island has smashed streaming records all over the world and Three’s purchase of the global rights, along with a pricey local franchise, will complete a radical transformation of the channel. This week The Spinoff learned that Mediaworks, parent company of Three, plans on launching a New Zealand version of ITV’s megahit Love Island. The … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. In this Very Special Episode of The Real Pod, we’re joined by Survivor NZ legend JT Muirhead to look back at what was a flaming hot second season. How bad were the tribal toilets? What … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, the team wash up in a MAFS-free world. Luckily, our favourite celebrity couple Zac Franich and Erin Simpson (Zarin) are marking their three month anniversary by moving in together. … Read more
There are over 350 minutes of Married at First Sight Australia a week on Three. Should you spend almost all your spare time watching them? Married at First Sight Australia returned this week, a few months after our first season ended in the abyss. Of our six couples, only one survived the show, which became … Read more
2018 is going to be a big year for local reality franchises from Dancing With the Stars to Project Runway, but what’s still missing? Calum Henderson fills in the gaps. It’s never too late to pick up a successful international reality television franchise and give it a good honest Kiwi twist. Last year we saw … Read more
This week Jane, Duncan and Alex (and fill in recordist Don Rowe) really lean into this whole post-MAFS life. Pray for them. This week’s #realpod starts, like all should, with an apology. To Polly, and to Grant. We implied that they were no longer surfing the airwaves. We were wrong – they are rockin’ More … Read more
Alex Casey watches The Seven Year Switch on TVNZ2, a familiar-sounding social experiment that matches up married people with complete strangers. There are perhaps no sweeter three words to the gnarled ear of a television writer than the phrase “controversial social experiment.” The latest series to return to this increasingly-full arena is the second season … Read more
Alex Casey power ranks the fifth week of Married at First Sight NZ, including wrestling, a new type of pavlova and a severe toilet scare. It only took five weeks for me to realise that the inner workings of Andy’s rancid flat is basically the perfect symbol for the Married at First Sight NZ couples. … Read more
The Real Pod team assemble in the boardroom of dreams to talk reality TV and real life in New Zealand, including The Block disaster, Max Key’s new merch and the engagement of the King and Queen of New Zealand television. It’s been a tremendous week for The Real Pod team this week, with New Zealand TV … Read more
Now that The Bachelor NZ roses have wilted, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh rounds up some of the best dating shows to fill the aching void in your heart. The idea of institutionalized marriage first started off in the West as a way to gain property and to procreate. It was seen as something serious and respectful (well … Read more
How will Three add some Kiwi flavour to the unmissable televised trainwreck that is Married at First Sight? Tara Ward has some suggestions. Ladies, drag that net curtain off the window. Fellas, you might like to wash and condition your facial hair, because a new reality tv franchise is about to hit our shores in a Cyclone … Read more
Aaron Yap has become obsessed with the latest season of Married at First Sight Australia. He explains why the ingenious reality show puts traditional scripted television to shame. I wouldn’t consider myself an avid reality TV viewer, but I am admittedly susceptible to the cheap, junky pleasures of the genre. The more fucked-up the hook, … Read more
It’s a not a wedding of two complete strangers unless there’s a party of weirdos at the reception. Tara Ward reviews the most memorable guests (so far) on Married At First Sight. There’s nothing better than spending Valentine’s Day watching a Married At First Sight marathon. Forget all that love and flowers bullshit, give me six … Read more
Comedian and celebrant Penny Ashton pulls back the veil on Married at First Sight. “So are you going to fuck him?” was, let’s face it, the classy question on everyone’s minds. It was 25-year-old retail manager Erin’s wedding night. She was beautiful, he was hot, so why wouldn’t he march up her aisle? Sure, her … Read more
Married at First Sight takes a bunch of single strangers looking for love, but eliminates all the hassle involved in getting to know someone. Or even choosing someone to get to know. A group of professional labcoat nerds run tests on the participants, crunch their stats, and match couples together using a sophisticated Minority Report-style … Read more