Stan Original Reality Series Love Triangle is back for a second season in 2023 and this time, there’s a huge change that is sure to shake up the entire series.
Speaking to Mediaweek ahead of the October 5 premiere, executive producers Tara McWilliams and John Walsh admitted that a revamp in casting was paramount to the show’s continued success.
“We found that some of last year’s] cast was maybe a little bit introverted,” McWilliams said, “And so many other couples had to do more of the heavy lifting, whereas this year, we needed people that were going to be straight up from the very beginning. They were going to embrace it and going to wear their heart on their sleeve, be themselves and be authentic.”
McWilliams, who also EP’s the juggernaut that is Married at First Sight with Walsh, added that we “see that from day one”.
“They may have some regrets about that but it’s great because that is what modern dating is about.”
Two of the series’ Singles, Nellie and Sam, are polar opposites. Nellie genuinely is looking for love, whereas Sam, well, he’s looking for someone to check off his long list of requirements.
Nellie and Sam. Love Triangle 2023. Stan
“He’s got very high standards,” McWilliams said of the 35-year-old WA business owner. “He’s very picky and probably a little bit judgmental. And so you’re looking at these two sides.”
Further to this, both Walsh and his co-producer said that there were some other “learnings” they took from their first outing with the series.
“Our learnings were showing more of the diversity of people out there that are doing modern-day dating. There’s no point putting six lonely hearts that have tried everything and they get rejected because that’s not true. That’s not indicative of what’s going on out there.”
There’s a major twist (sort of) coming to Love Triangle
Last year, the twist saw the third party move in with the Single and their original chosen party, causing havoc for all involved. This year; however, McWilliams and Walsh wanted to do something even more unexpected.
“In the first series, the twist was that the second the rejected person comes in and forms a triangle,” she said. “Obviously, that’s no longer a surprise to them coming into this series, so we’ve brought in a new twist, something that would challenge them even further.
“It’s not a twist. It’s like a twist. It’s something that we felt organically that fits really well. It’s an extension of what we’ve already done and it really had very quite controversial results.”
Tamera. Love Triangle. Stan
Adding to this, Walsh admitted that “something” happens within the “twist” that wasn’t accounted for.
“There’s a twist that was planned and then there’s a bombshell within the twist that we hadn’t anticipated,” he said before McWilliams joked: “You basically have to watch with a calculator!”
“Contrary to popular belief we’re not in the business of going, ‘Oh, this needs to happen’,” she added. “No, we’re not driving the car, we’re not steering it in any particular direction.”
“We’re watching, we’re observing and we’re actually pouncing on anything that could be a storyline, but it comes from there and so we’re at the mercy of the cast. And when you’re at the mercy of the cast, you have to cast it really bloody well to ensure that you are going to get interesting content.”
Stan Original Series launches on Thursday, October 5 on Stan.