This Sunday, the launch of The Veronicas’ first reality TV show – The Veronicas: Blood Is For Life – will debut on MTV. The iconic pop duo have endured a colourful career timeline; and now, with their very own reality series, MTV will reveal to viewers an uncensored version of the twin sisters’ personal lives. One half of The Veronicas, Lisa Origliasso, spoke to Mediaweek about what to expect in the show, being constantly filmed, and what she and sister Jess think about other reality TV.
When asked about how the show came about, Lisa told Mediaweek that she and Jess always joked that they needed a camera following them around for their own reality TV show. “If there was a camera to caption our chaoticness every single day, we’d actually be able to laugh at some of the stuff that happens.
“I don’t think it was always a goal of ours. It just sounded like a really fun experience and when the opportunity came up, we jumped to it.”
Jess and Lisa on MTV
Lisa added that it’s been a really easy and fun experience filming the series. “We felt really comfortable with the idea of shooting a show because we’re so used to being around cameras for so long. It’s almost like our own documentary or video diary of our life. To have that to look back on one day will be pretty cool.”
Lisa said she and Jess are uncensored at the best of times, so they’re very much in the moment when the cameras are rolling. “Our fans can now see what it’s like when we aren’t on stage and cameras stop rolling. As I said, it was a very natural experience having cameras there, although it is a lot more personal this time around.
“We delve into more of our relationship as sisters and into our personal romantic relationships, our family, and our lifestyle. So while it did feel natural, it was also a matter of sharing those things for the first time on a more intimate level. Being twins, we can easily forget there are cameras around because it’s almost like stepping into our own world while we’re together, so we’re not always overly aware that there’s a camera in the corner of the room. People will get a real look into our lives.”
It seems the sisters had a lot of fun times on the show, and Lisa laughed when she said Jess taught her how to drive, since she still doesn’t know how to. “That was a personal highlight for me in the show, definitely.
“We also look at our personal relationships and our living situations in LA with me living with my partner – I got married a year ago – so a bit of mine and Logan’s (Huffman) life in LA. The show also follows the beginning of Jess and Kai’s (Carlton) relationship, where they’re just starting to get to know each other. They’re now engaged.
Jess and Kai on MTV
“The show also looks at what happens behind the scenes of The Veronicas in the studio writing sessions and making this album as well.”
Lisa revealed she believes reality TV has been an interesting phenomenon because these days there are a lot of shows out there are labelled as “reality” but they’re really scripted shows, and everyone’s quite aware of that. “We’re not actresses, we’ve never really been good at being told what to do. We like to do it our way. This is a very real and human side of who we are.
“We do love reality TV. We were big fans of The Osbournes which we very much can relate to, being family. Our show definitely does have that ‘Oscourne’ feel to it, especially with some of our fights. We also both loved The Simple Life.
“I’m really into the self-sustainable, DIY and home renovation style of reality shows and those sort of mini-documentary series on building your own home and how to live more self-sustainably. More than anything, we watch a lot of documentaries.”
Their upcoming show is very much a mix of what the twins appreciate watching. “Logan and I bought a house together and there is that home-reno aspect to it, which was really fun for us. There’s a little bit of everything in there.”
Lisa said what’s intriguing about the show – she imagines – is just the idea of how society thinks celebrities live their lives and what they are like when the cameras stop rolling. “Behind the scenes, we are all just the same. We have to do the housework and do the grocery shopping, we fight, we cry, we have vulnerable moments, family things going on, personal challenges, just like everybody else. It’s all about the humanity behind the construct of celebrity that I think is a bit different. And, of course, our relationship as sisters and the fact that we work together.
“When every episode ends, we want everyone to feel inspired. If they’re not feeling inspired, then we would feel disappointed.”
The audience will get a very good sense of who Lisa and Jess are outside the unity of The Veronicas. “You get to know us as individuals. Jess jokes it should’ve been called The Veronicas verse Lisa and Jess, because it very much feels like that. When we are The Veronicas and on stage, we get into these other worldly personas. And when we’re off stage, we’re normal human beings figuring out life as we go just like everybody else.”
The twins have such an interesting relationship dynamic. “Jess is like an extension of me and vice versa. So at times when I’m feeling more confident or business-minded or opinionated, I’ll step up and she’ll take the other role if that makes sense. It’s not like I’m more one way and she’s more the other way; we have this intrinsic bond where we mould the energy of each other. At any given day, we could almost switch roles.”
There are a number of upcoming plans in store for the duo. “We’re embarking on festival tours at the moment; we love playing in front of a crowd, especially if they haven’t seen one of our live performances before.
“We just played at Grass is Greener on the Gold Coast and Cairns, and both shows had unbelievable energy. We’ve got Lost Paradise coming up and a bunch around New Year’s Eve; so it’s pretty non-stop with festival touring.
“We have a new album coming out this summer as well, and a new fragrance we’re dropping around Valentines Day. And Jess has a wedding to plan in there somewhere!”
The Veronicas: Blood Is For Life will be premiere across MTV Australia on Foxtel, Foxtel Now, Fetch and mtv digital platforms at 6pm on Sunday 10 November, and available on global digital platforms from Sunday 15 December.