YES, starting tomorrow Singletown begins on discovery+
Ready for a new addiction in the ‘guilty pleasure’ category? Always, right? Then quickly subscribe to discovery+ (with a free trial period of 7 days, always handy) because tomorrow the new series Singletown starts and I have a feeling this is going to be a gem. The presentation is in the hands of Loiza Lamers and Rijk Hofman, and I got to ask those two a few questions about the program. The concept is quite simple: a couple that is not entirely sure about their relationship will each live in a separate apartment (still in the same complex, by the way), cohabiting with others who are undergoing the same experiment. They will live and act as singles. Do they like this better? And yes, dating is also part of it. Ultimately, they must decide separately whether they want to continue their relationship or not.
This happens during the heart ceremony, and it can indeed happen that one wants to continue and the other does not. Maybe half of the couple has fallen in love with someone else? The previews look deliciously juicy in any case. Rijk and Loiza each take an apartment ‘on their account’, where they support the candidates. Check below how they experienced that.
Would you participate in Singletown yourselves?
L: I don't think I would quickly put my love life in the public eye, I wouldn't do it so easily... Especially in my position, I think: that's still a bit private. I find the reason why the candidates participate really beautiful, that you can press the pause button, that you can take a step back from the situation.
R: I would participate in the process, but I wouldn't make my relationship public. I think it's a fun program because we don't direct them, they don't have to go on dates with people they don't want to, so if I had to choose a reality show, it would definitely be this one. With this program, you also can't contact your ex, you can't just arrange a booty call or something; you really take distance from your ex. And you have people around you who are experiencing the same thing. Suppose there were no cameras, then I would totally participate.
Rijk, are you going to make YouTube videos about this too?
R: I've already watched episode one and I actually want nothing more than to make videos about this. It might be a bit weird to say about myself, but I certainly won't take sides. I find it pure entertainment and the perfect reality show, but we'll see. I hope so. I won't hold back. We're in talks about it.
Why did you say ‘yes’ to this?
L: For me, it was because the program is not just about ‘how far can we go’ and we also don't want to put people in the most extreme light. We can really help people and guide candidates; for me, it's really a combination of entertainment and reality and a personal program. It's human and that's what appealed to me.
R: Yes, me too. We are presenters, but mainly mental support for their own development process. Why is this program so fun? I watch a lot of reality shows and this is the best of First Dates, namely the dates, the best of Love Island, namely the fun voice-over, the best of Temptation Island, namely the tension, but then without the vulgarity and without breaking people. It's just very pure. In many dating programs, they cast ordinary people and we really haven't done that.
L: Yes, and these people are really in an apartment with cameras 24/7. It's not a snapshot, it's real reality. So it doesn't go without bumps, which is also nice to see. These are really human issues and everything is very recognizable. Therefore, there remains a certain tension in why people want to watch, I think.
What surprised you during the recordings?
L: That you can see in a short time that there are people coming in who are very loud and think they have invented the wheel, while their partners are very timid. That you can see in a short time that their character can really change. That someone can change and blossom and become more aware of themselves.
R: They both have their own apartment. Some indeed had a big mouth, and at one point one just overshadowed the other. The development of the participants themselves really surprised us. And the heart ceremonies too, where they tell whether they want to go back to their ex, we really didn't know what they were going to do. I knew what the person from my own apartment would do, but not the other one. And with Loiza, it was the other way around.
L: We sometimes stood so opposite each other at such a heart ceremony that we almost started convincing each other of each other's situation in the apartments. We also have our experiences and those of them and we noticed that we really stayed at our own house. That we also came together to say: what has happened?!
R: And because of one participant, my heart has really broken a little. It goes completely differently than you expected and that really breaks my heart a little.
L: Yes, and the only thing we can do is share our feelings. Also with each other, and that doesn't always align. Rijk is on one side and I am on the other side, but that's okay. We don't have to stand there as nodding dogs.
R: And you just want to help someone, whether that's with advice or a comforting shoulder. They also had a phone with which they could always call us. And well, as for heartbreak, we knew enough about that and we could really help the candidates with that.
Singletown will be weekly from tomorrow on discovery+. Ican’twait.
