Married At First Sight Season 17 Was Detrimental To The Franchise (Can The Show Redeem Itself?)
Married at First Sight just wrapped up a disastrous seventeenth season that was a bad look for the franchise, which the show needs to redeem itself from. Season 17 took place in Denver, Colorado, and was led by Married at First Sight’s panel of experts, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec. The experts are the ones who match the couples and guide them in the eight-week-long process. They are supposed to be the show’s therapists who step in when the couples are at an impasse and help smooth over any marital issues in the relationships.
Dr. Pepper has been with the show since the beginning, while Pastor Cal joined in season 4, and Dr. Pia has been on the show for the last three years. All three experts will reprise their roles in Married at First Sight season 18, which has yet to have an official release date. The main issues the couples must overcome when getting to know their stranger spouses have historically been around attraction, communication, optics, and trust. Married at First Sight is a Lifetime reality TV staple that has had its credibility threatened over the last few years, so the show needs to improve.
MAFS Season 17 Was A Disaster
Married at First Sight season 17 was a disaster for many reasons. It started when the experts matched Michael Shiakallis with a bride who met him at the altar only to tell him she wasn’t ready to marry a stranger. While healing from that, the experts asked Michael if he would be willing to try and get Married at First Sight again, and he said yes. He was then matched with Chloe Brown, and the two began their journey while the other couples were already halfway through the process.
There was also an attempted group dupe that took place, which had never happened in Married at First Sight history. The entire cast, except for Michael and Chloe, actively coordinated to control the optics of their stories and narratives so they could make themselves look better. In trying to outsmart the process, they made themselves look bad and not only ruined the authenticity of their marriages but also made the show look bad for allowing the falsity to take place. Moreover, the experts had no idea the dupe was going on and admitted to not helping the couples enough.
The failed dupe led the female cast members to resent and feel scorned by their husbands, as none of the season 17 marriages worked out (via Lifetime.) The drama that took place in MAFS season 17 was not the drama that fans wanted to see from the season. They wanted to see genuine connections, expert guidance, and successful pairings mixed with the standard drama that comes when two strangers are thrown into a wild experiment like this.
MAFS Has Historically Had A Bad Success Rate
In the 17 seasons Married at First Sight has been on Lifetime, there have been 64 couples matched. Of those 64 couples, only 12 are still together today. That gives the show an 18.75% success rate, which is very poor. In the last four seasons alone there has only been one successful couple. However, the couples that have been successfully paired and are still together are very inspirational and have great marriages that new cast members can look up to.
The only ones responsible for the bad pairings, the experts, refuse to take accountability for their mismatches and instead, stand on precedent. They also tend to blame the couples for giving up too soon and not being open to being steered in the right direction.
To redeem themselves, the experts need to be able to identify any false fronts happening, and they need to step in sooner when couples are obviously troubled.
Once the experts take accountability for not seeing issues with their matches, then they will be able to have better, and more clear, judgment
MAFS Fans Love The Show & Won’t Give Up On It
Despite the poor success rate for the Married at First Sight couples, fans continue to watch. That is because the show is highly entertaining. However, fans want to see more couples that give the full experience a chance, and that’s what future seasons should deliver. Reality TV fans who love dating shows expect a certain number of pairings to work out so that the show retains its credibility and so that there is more reason to watch a season all the way to the end.
Married at First Sight fans are unlikely to give up on the show. That’s because each season brings new hope and a fresh cast with compelling drama. No seasons have been the same in terms of what they’ve delivered, so that’s what keeps viewers coming back.
However, the show needs to improve its credibility in order to redeem itself and become more talked about for its entertainment quality and not its shortcomings.
MAFS Season 18 Needs To Entertain Viewers
There is a lot of room for Married at First Sight to redeem itself with season 18. Since there is a several weeks to months-long hiatus between season 17 and season 18, Married at First Sight season 18 is highly anticipated by viewers. While there are some red flags in the season 18 trailer, like another possible runaway bride and a hot-headed cast member who screams profanity at their partner, viewers don’t know any of the contexts yet and how the experts will respond to these situations.
If Married at First Sight season 18 can at least present two couples who have been matched well and say yes to each other on Decision Day, then that will be a huge success over season 17. If those couples that do say yes continue their relationship through the Reunion and the “Where Are They Now?” episode, the entertainment value of the show and how true it stays to its premise will increase. In season 18, the experts will need to step up their therapy approaches so the couples don’t derail and the season can be successful.
