‘Joe Millionaire’ Embraces Reality TV Fakery?
Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer debuts this week. And it seems to lean into and mock the misdirection common in the reality TV genre.
Unlike its predecessor show, the new iteration is craftier and slicker. But will two lucky ladies find love and loot at the end of the game?
Joe Millionaire Rebooted – Remember the First One?
It’s been 18 years since Joe Millionaire first aired on Fox. There were two seasons back in the day, both airing in 2003. Season 1 was an unmitigated success, but the second one bombed. On the original season, construction worker Evan Marriott played the millionaire. From the jump, the show’s felt like a parody. And it’s deliberate.
20 ladies traveled to France to meet the hottie in an obvious poke at The Bachelor. The series intended to be tongue in cheek. They even had a stuffy British butler (played by Paul Hogan). Alex McLeod (Trading Spaces) played host but appeared for less than 10 minutes in the debut season.
Remember Evan Marriott from Joe Millionaire -the reality show on @FOXTV from '03? Look at him now! He looks different pic.twitter.com/zKJbjHCOTL
— Gina Crash (@GinaCrash) March 23, 2015
One of the most infamous scenes was when Evan and contestant Sarah Kozer were off-camera. Joe Millionaire producers overlayed the dark scene with sound effects. And they added the subtitle “slurp”. An editor later admitted they fabricated the incident using sound bites from other scenes. At least they owned their fakery…
In the end, Evan chose Zora Andrich and they earned a shared $1 million prize. He and the substitute teacher ultimately broke up not long after that. Andrich says she “didn’t feel duped” by Joe Millionaire and was glad he wasn’t wealthy. She said she found the trappings of his pretend lifestyle intimidating.
Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer
The Fox reboot starts this week with two men and a gaggle of women looking for love. The ladies know that one guy is rich and the other is not. The romantic hopefuls must try and find love while also figuring out which guy’s got the green. And whether money matters to them.
There’s another British Butler on Joe Millionaire this go-round. It’s Martin Andrew, known for impersonating Rod Stewart. He’s also the host of the reality series. Now, producers hope to recapture the mega-success of season one. It brought in 35 million viewers on average and even more on finale night.
Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer differentiates itself from its predecessor. This time, they actually offer one guy with big bucks. But with many women queuing up for reality television dating shows looking for fame… It remains to be seen if there’s one there looking for real love.
Who’s Competing in the New Fox Love Show?
The Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer cast list starts with the two guys. Steven McBee and Kurt Sowers are both CEOs, but only one is mega-rich. In fact, one’s worth $10 million. Both are hunks. Steve is 27 and from Missouri, where he heads a farming company. Kurt is 32 and in the construction industry in North Carolina.
The cast of women is below with age and job noted:
- Brookell Barber (30) model
- Amber Sedney (28) realtor
- Calah Jackson (28) project manager
- Amanda Pace (27) fashion designer
- Caroline Campbell (23) recruiter
- Jennie Alexandra (29) attorney
- Doris Josie Cano (32) dance company owner
- Katy Johnson (33) travel blogger
- Carolyn Moore (30) skincare entrepreneur
Also vying for the love of Joe Millionaire are:
- Rachel Vinson (30) attorney
- Suzan (28) operations manager
- Sara Rose (22) influencer
- Annie Jorgensen (25) digital strategist
- Suzette James (32) realtor
- Whitney Young (25) talent acquisition exec
- Andreea Natalia (31) restaurateur
- Breanna Hagen (27) graduate admissions specialist
- Monica Aksamit (31) Olympic medalist
So, be sure to tune in to Fox to see how Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer compares to the original hit.
At least this show, like its forerunner, doesn’t take itself too seriously. Also, consult Soap Dirt for all your latest reality TV news and spoilers.