Married At First Sight Australia (MAFS) is set to get a new executive producer and face some big changes in the 2023 season after its long-time EP, Tara McWilliams, stepped down from the influential role this year.
McWilliams, who has produced for the past six seasons, is stepping into the role of director of content at Endemol Shine Australia, the production company behind the hit reality TV show.
Endemol Shine CEO Peter Newman told So Dramatic: “Tara is without question one of Australia’s most outstanding unscripted creatives.
“Her phenomenal experience and passion will now plug into even more of our exciting unscripted slate,” he added.
Meanwhile, a MAFS production insider told Daily Mail Australia that the show is set for a very different look in the new season.
According to the source, while McWilliams will have less direct involvement moving forward, she will still have a hand in the controversial social experiment.
Tamara Djordjevic
This comes after the executive producer spoke to Mediaweek earlier this year about bringing together the show’s biggest season yet.
The million-dollar question has always been what exactly is it that draws people in to the show. For McWilliams, it’s the unpredictability of people’s emotions.
“It’s a show that is based on a lot of emotion – and very raw emotion. It’s a show that resonates with a lot of people because you’re seeing the curtain come up on relationships, you’re being led in to see how intimate a relationship can be.
“These couples really embrace the process and experiment where they drop their guard, and they are completely them – the good, the bad, and the ugly. You never know what you’re going to get when you tune in every night because of that, and so therefore, it makes addictive viewing.”
Jack Millar and Domenica Calarco
It’s not just the viewers who have no idea what will happen next. MAFS is a highly unpredictable show, for the team behind the scenes as well. McWilliams says that took some getting used to.
“I took over in season four. As producers, we like to know: this is the beginning, then the middle, then the end. We like to know what’s happening.
“On this show, I think the shock for a lot of us was that we’re completely along for the ride in many respects. I found that really difficult at first because you’re kind of like, ‘Oh God, I don’t know how to plan for the next day’. I’ve now completely embraced it. I love making the show that way, I love that we come in with a plan and in many respects hope that it doesn’t go to plan – because that’s what makes the show so exciting,” she added.
See also: “It’s a cracker of a season”: Lifting the veil on the ninth season of MAFS