DARREN MCMULLEN SETS SAIL ON THE REAL LOVE BOAT

plus the talent that we see on our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you are currently watching and gives you a better insight into our television industry and our streaming services today. On the podcast, I have a TV presenter, actor, entrepreneur and jack of all trades. It is the host of The Real Love Boat, Darren McMullen. The original TV series The Love Boat was a huge hit around the world with fictitious characters falling in love. But now it is a reality show like we've never

seen before. The contestants are raw, a little unpolished, and ready to find love on a cruise ship sailing around the Meridian. I think the show might be a slow burn to begin with, but as the ship sets sail, I guarantee the viewers will be shocked as the show ventures into territories we have yet to see on a

dating show before. I will ask Darren why he said yes to the show, what he thinks of the contestants, how this show is different, and what we can expect from this format as it gets deep within the minds of young singles desperate to find love. However, let's get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome Darren McMullen to TV Reload.

It's very very hard, strenuous work, seeing the Mediterranean, you know, and all these awful locations like you know, Tuscany and Rome and the Greek Islands and Barcelona, and it was horrendous. But it's that's why they pay me the medium bucks, because I do the hard work. So I am looking forward to everybody seeing it. I think we created something that was quite different and special and something I've certainly never seen on TV before. We kind of make fun

of ourselves. We lean into the nostalgic cheese of the original series, and we break the fourth wall a lot and kind of invite the audience in to laugh with us a lot. I go eight shit at the contestants constantly. I hope they lieve all that in because I've never seen a host of that before. And yeah, amongst it all, there is the drama and the love triangles and the backstabbing and the partners swapping an ant. We even have

love blossoming. So I think ultimately it's got all the pieces there to be a phenomenal show, and I hope that comes together well in the edit.

Captain Poolo, who's an absolute dream boat. He was going to be cast, but we met the actual captain of the ship and he was so dreaming and sexy and camer ready that I think all the producers thought, no, no, this is the guy. He's the actual captain of the ship and he's fantastic. How could you cast better than that? And he actually has a great connection with the Love By himself. His grandfather was the chef on the original Love Boa TV series way back when, so so that

that was great. And then we've got Hannah Ferrier from Below Deck, which is my guilty pleasure. I love that show. We have Daniel Judy as a head of entertainment. So we have this cast of characters that are kind of meddling in the relationships and helping them kind of find love and putting people in the right situations and all

that kind of stuff. And we have the captain and we have these singles looking for Love, and I think the producers did a very good job of kind of weeding out the insta famous wannabes, you know, and actually got some people that truly were looking to find a long term partner and maybe had some issues in the past with different relationships, and they were beyond that part of the life. And I think when you see the cast of characters, they're not your quintessential reality TV show folks.

They're not all Jim junkies with the six packs and the you know, the bowtux and all the rest of that. They've done that not to say our cast is ugly. Sorry cast if you're listening, But I'm just saying they're

average Australians. You know, their every day is average. Even sounds like I'm saying they're they're every day Australian, which I think is good because you know, when you see these people on these other shows and all tat it up with a you know, like eight pack and the whole bit, you know, all these people are the same. This isn't real. But you know, I think we've done a good job of finding some real strat real Aussi's mate for the real Love Boat.

these people. But yeah, I don't think they'd be offended by that. I think it'll I think that's one of the parts that kind of leans into the kind of cheesiness and makes fun of itself a bit, you know, like it's kind of tongue in cheek when they're doing that. I mean, they're there for a very real reason. I probably will put them in a video village somewhere and had them watching actual cameras as opposed to like creeping

around the boat and hiding behind bushes. But I think, you know, that's a little bit of a tongue in cheek nod to the original TV series where that was going on all the time.

it is. So they have to come in and, you know, pitch for why their connection with their partner is the best and why they deserve to go. So I'd just come straight off Celebrity Apprentice, and I think I was probably channeling a lot of that Lord's sugar energy. And I was just going through these people like I don't

believe a word you say. I don't even think you believe your own bullshit, man, And it really shook them up a bit, you know, But we got some great, great things because sometimes what happens, especially people are new to TV or whatever else, they kind of get in this autopilot just kept saying the same soundbites over and over again, and maybe like playing into stuff they think you want to hear. And I think sometimes if you can just kind of shake that out of them with

some direct chat, you get some really good stuff. So I'm hoping they leave a lot of that in And yeah, and Hannah gets pretty fiery in there as well, and then Perdudi's in there basically to pick up the pieces. It was like good cop, bad cop. He's just so lovely and they need him in there to kind of balance my assholeery a bit. He's you know, like he's topping them off the ledge once I've g them all up. So it's a great little dynamic. We need a little

dooty in there. There's the comfort blanket and to yeah, get them all feeling nice. And happy after Hannah and I oprated them for a couple of hours. Can you hear that drilling?

on the map here. I think because of that show, a lot of people in Australia caught the bug for Cruising. But I just like the sense a bit weird. I don't know if I want to do this. And I looked it up online and I saw Eureka Productions were doing it, and I know those guys really well. So I called Chris Coldner and I knew he was the kind of the brains behind it, and he's a genius. He's praised so many phenomenal shows, you know, like Holy

Moly and Frogger and The Chef's Line. I mean, they do they just they just do everything that's you If you guys are killing it, the luck's listing, So I know they know how to make a great show. And I said, mate, run me through this, because you know I'm going to pass on this. But I saw your name attached, and you don't really make ship television, So give me the elevator pitch, and he did. He gave me a phenomenal pitches. It's going to be brilliant, it's

gonna be phenomenal. We're like leaning into the old seventies show. We need a host that is not We don't just need a standard house. We need a host that can be cheeky, funny, a reverend, take the piss out of himself and the contestants, and but get the business done as well. And you're the guy, like, we'd love to have you on it, and he essentially said the same thing. It was kind of like it was, Oh, Hannah, Fario is calling me. Stop annoying me, Hannah, I'm on I'm

on a podcast. He said. It's like it's like Love Island meets Below Deck and Below Decks probably the only reality show I watch, you know, like it's my guilty pleasure. And during COVID especially, it was fantastic to watch that, not just for the drama and all the salacious stuff that happens on that show, but because they're going to these beautiful destinations all round the world, and it was kind of like living the cares through them and just

throffing on the opportunity to travel again one day. And I hope people get that from this as well, because we're going to all these beautiful destinations around the world and you get to see that aspect of it as well as the love and the drama. And then it ensues. But yeah, so he really sold it to me, and he said, you know it's going to be it's going to be incredible show. CBS are picked up Channel ten and Paramount are really really getting behind this show. They

want this to be a big success. And I think it's going to be. You're going to be the right guy for the job. And he says, your bloody's sailing the Mediterranean for a month anyway, so stop being an idiot. Do the show. And I was like, yeah, you're right, but I don't think. I mean, I think we know the show on paper. It was like, all right, yeah, cool, it's a Dani's show and it's on a ship s

leaning into the love boat. Yet cool whatever, And then they had the beats of you know, like normal dating shows where people go on dates, they get on, they don't get on, and people are eliminated. But what actually happened in the reality of being there. The show took on a life of its own, which is a great thing when you're doing a first season or something. You know, so many times nowadays, people especially in Australia, they're just

not taking those risks on new formats. It's like, well, unless this show was a success and you know three other regions, we're not going to take a punt on that. So then you end up doing the same shows over and over and over and over again, and rehashing old shows that you know went away ten years ago and going, oh, well that's that's we'll just bring that back even though it work ten years ago, rather than you know, picking up some of these phenomenal new ideas that young creators have.

And maybe if they picked up more ideas that the young creators have, they would appeal more to the young people, and young people would actually start watching television again instead of like getting television hits elsewhere streaming services and whatnot.

But they rehashed the old shows. But this is I mean, this is one of the first shows I can remember in a long time that was straight off the paper in Australia's that you know, the first one is doing this, having a crack at this show and trying to make it a hit. So yeah, back to what I was saying is, you know, it became, it took on a life of its own and organically changed into a whole

other show that none of us expected. You know, it does have elements of maps, and it does have elements of Love Island in it, and Below Deck and travel shows as well. You're getting all that, but you know all the other drama that unpacked between the contestants and then that Captain's table when we get a chance to really grill them and put them through their paces and make them sing for their supper. It was just like it was really good stuff, really good stuff. And I

hope that comes together in an edit. Obviously you should so much content on these shows, and then you've got it all down to like an hour worth of television. So I hope it comes across. I've seen the first couple of episodes, and I think we do stay true to that. We do. We do keep in the irreverence, We keep in things that would normally get shaped out of reality shows, like the warts and all. We leave

that in. We leave in mistakes, We leave in silly things and break that fourth wall and kind of, you know, give that little nod and a wink to the audience at home, like we're letting them on the joke as well. And I think that's all important. I think while a lot of younger people are turning away from television and getting their media elsewhere, is because of the authenticity of it.

I think people crave off authenticity, man. And you know, when people are just doing raw TikTok or Instagram videos, there's no glitz and glam to that, and people really identify with that. And although this is a sexy show, we've taken out some of that polish that you would normally get on these kind of shows and left it a bit gritty. And I think that's going to appeal to the younger demographic because it's real and it's honest and it's raw and it's keeping its integrity.

show is going to be. And I think that's where we are really seeing some things that are really different. I mean, I rewound a part of it back because I think you managed to tackle I think you managed to give us the first real example of bisexual people on a dating show, you know, which is hard to do because bisexual men probably have the hardest job in

getting mainstream media to understand them. The way in which that it was handled was it just subtenly was slipped in there, and it gives us something new to digest. You know, how are they going to do this? This is a really hard topic, but for some reason the producers are going to try and tackle it. And that's where for me, your point of difference comes out, where it's like, oh, this is going to be really uncomfortable

as well as being familiar. And I think that's the magic of this show and I hope that's when people will give it a chance.

really comfortable in uncomfortable situations. And I've worked very hard over my career to be at that point where I can I can just let I can just sit quietly and let it unplay, and I'm very comfortable in uncomfortable silences, and that's when you get some really really great stuff. So, yeah, the show is uncomfortable, but it's real, you know, like all that stuff played out like it played out. It's

so fun, Like don't you talk to me? I mean, it's even so many radio interviews that I'm like, yes, But it's all scripted. There's a reality TV script, Like reality TV is very rarely scripted, like actuals, like like we're handing out scripts to these people and saying this is your line, and then you say this, and then he's going to say that. That never happens, like unless you're

talking about the hills or something like that. Yeah, there's like there's definitely manipulation of real people in some shows to bring out the worst of them. But I think the people you see on these shows that become the villains become the villains because they're actually assholes in the real life, and they do a great job of kind of keeping the asshole hidden for the for the a

few weeks. A bit like when you're in a new relationship, right, you don't really find out who you're dating until after that three month mark and you're like, oh shit, what happening here? You're so nice? Now you let that wall down. But the reason these producers try and manipulate the situations is because you've got these people for just a matter of weeks instead of a matter of months, so they've got to get to the grip a lot sooner. So yeah,

I mean there was very little. In fact, there was none, and this show will say like, this was a show where these people were just left to be themselves, putting these situations on a boat and left, you know, to go on the dates. And we just sat back and were flying the wall, and we were very comfortable just sitting in uncomfortable scenes and letting them play out rather than getting in and meddling with them. Just let it play out. I mean, that's life, and that's that's hopefully

why the authenticity will come across. I agree with you. I hope people stick around. I will even say, like, because I mean narrating all these episodes, so I would say six, seven, and eight are actually I think, phenomenal bits of television. And that's when the show really pops from me. It's actually later episodes. I think by that time, you know the cast of characters, you're invested in them two.

But the drama that kicks off in six and it plays out all the way through like three episodes and just creates this domino effect on this ship where every

trapped is brilliant television. And it's one of those shows. Unfortunately, you know, if you shot I don't know, if you shot like say a big music quiz like I did, and all the rest of it, you shoot a whole bunch of episodes, and then you have the opportunity to kind of cut in and decide what your strongest episode is and you can put that first, and your second best episode will go second, third, all the way down to the end, and then your last couple episodes probably

what you consider the weekends. Unfortunately, because of the story line of this show, you have to play it out how it played out. Yeah, I would say, you know, first couple of episodes, everyone's getting to know each other, learning about you know, who they are, and they've got those walls up still you haven't really they forgot about the cameras. And then as you get into it just keeps getting better and better and better. And it's and six as I say, six, seven and eight are just

phenomenal bits of television. So I hope it's something people stick with or you know, even binge later and go through the whole thing and it gets good.

So the hosts aren't really involved either. But I'm on a ship like there's nothing else to do, right, So I'm sitting I'm watching every day on play and really like over what's going on on that ship. So I know when I'm going in, I'm interacting with them at all these elimination ceremonies and all the rest of it,

which we call the test of ceremony. I know what's happened on every date, so I can can dig into it and if they pick up, if they say something and I don't quite believe, I can jump into that. And the Captain's table was great for that because you've got me hand and Diddy like really grilling these people of why they deserve to be on these date. What is it that you've found with this person, and why

do you think this connection is real? And I was quite vulnerable in those in that room too, because I made a decision Earlier's like, listen, if I go in there as a host and not as one of them, then they'll close up and they'll get into TV email. But if I go in there and I'm open and I'm vulnerable, and I talk about my mistakes and relationships I've made and all the things that I've learned about and great relationships I've had, bad relationships I've had, and

I put all my dirty laundry out there. Then they feel comfortable in doing the same. There's something quite beautiful, especially when we had the guys in there, you know, because Australian men a bit like British men, we have this ridiculous stigma like that we try and live up to, like you have to be match showing eyes, don't cry, and guys don't have emotions, and guys shouldn't have the therapists. You just have a being make get on with it.

You know, she'll be right. All that can attitude. Yet we're living in a country with the highest rate of males SUSAE almost in the world, this beautiful country. So

we're not doing something right to a young boy. And I think when the more we can show like big burly man on television, crying, breaking down, being emotional, being real, I think the better it is for a society and maybe hopefully people out there watching that going oh wow, that's really that's really beautiful, you know, not like I'm not gonna pussy. Why crying that bullshit has to stop.

All the guys on the show are beautiful, lovely, vulnerable men, and they really are open up over those captain's tables. There's a couple of assholes in there too, not saying that there's definitely assholes in there as well.

be a different show, and you know what's interesting. And I know a lot of people a going to talk about how attractive these men are because when you first see them, you're like, they look like the last six blokes at three am at a nightclub when they first turn up. And I could be rude by saying that However, as you watch the show, they become more I don't know, maybe that's what it's like being at a pub at three am, but they be more attractive as the show

goes on. Like to start off with was like that one not attractive, but then now I'm watching it and I'm like, he's hot. It's it's very strange, it's a very surreal experience.

bag after bag of shit. So all of a sudden, when you get this bag for twenty five dollars and you think you've got the deal of the century on this bag, and then you get it home away from that environment and you empty it on the floor and you realize, holy shit, I just paid twenty five dollars for an old TV week magazine, a red skin and a couple of like plastic toys. I've been absolutely had here, But in the environment when you're stuck in there, it seemed like a great deal, seems sexy.

They genuinely look like people you do know in the real world, and I think that's the selling point.

There is a couple of the other types as well, and they stand out pretty quickly, and maybe that's why actually, to your point, maybe that's why they are so confronting those other types, because it just seems so out of place on this show when you've got other people like going really deep and trying to to form real connections with people. The muscle Mareyas of the world. They don't really they seem very out of place.

to you know. That's where television needs to lift at the moment, is that we need to be seen and we aren't being seen if we're just watching Muscle Mary's Date girls that all look the same because they've been to the same plastic surgeon. Like, it's just not relatable anymore. I mean, it's I think they thought it was aspirational for us all to be going, oh, I want to be on Instagram. I want to be insta famous. But it's not the magic of television and it never has.

to pick up your point too, you do. Actually, they do become more attractive as they go on, for sure, because there's either like there definitely is people that you're like, oh yeah, whatever, and then as you get to know the personality and see everything on Oh my god, I got a man crush on this guy. This guy is amazing. He sings too, he's a hit and he sings and he looks like that, and he's a swaggy dresser and he's really deep and he's emotionally intelligent. Fucking hell, sign me up.

hope people do it. We are kind of running out, a little running out of time here, a little bit just to go back to your point on being on Celebrity Apprentice, Has that changed the way in which you see reality television now that you've been a contestant.

with this industry. Yet like a couple of the producers on that, I think we're very green and probably had come off shows where they'd been working with people that never been on television before and probably just wanted to be famous. Whereas we were on there, we've all got industries in our own, our own right. When they speak to you like a certain way, it was like, mate, don't speak to me like that. Who the fuck do you think you are? Like, you're barely out of high

school and I've been doing this for eighteen years. I know how television works, and I know what you're trying to do, and I know what you're trying to manipulate out of me, and I'm not going to fucking say that for your sound grab. So I did get really frustrated with some of the younger producers on that, and that did give me a bit of an insight into perhaps how they acted on other shows as well, and how other people might have fallen for that had they not been television wide exactly.

that isn't left in. I've actually asked Digital to send it to me and I'll will put it on Digital or we'll put it on my Instagram. So look, it is a pretty open show. As I say, we're breaking that fourth wall. It's something that we were all pretty keen to do and welcoming that audience in. And Stephen Taate Channel ten is all over the show's phenomenal as well. He's all about that too, and he's very excited about this show and how different it is from other things have done.

people are here for, Darren. I have to say, I am such a big fan of yours and I have been a fan of yours because so I think that you are a breath of fresh air in the Australian television industry, very much like this podcast You'll lose. You are real interesting and you have got some fantastic things to say. Good luck with a real love boat. I hope they make ten more seasons and you can buy a big million dollar mansion, but mostly we can.