TLC is enlisting the talents of former 90 Day Fiance stars for a special limited series to help keep fans staying home entertained during the coronavirus pandemic. 90 Day Fiance: Self-Quarantined will feature more than 40 original cast members from the various 90 Day Fiance spin-offs talking with each other over video chat. The cast members will film themselves and taped confessional interviews with producers Sharp Entertainment without any professional crew at their homes.
Considering the 90 Day Fiance stars all have experience chatting with others over long distances, this was an easy idea for TLC to greenlight. Howard Lee, the president and general manager of the network, told Variety video chatting “is already in their DNA.” He said their crew will not be physically near them at all. “They will be helping them remotely,” he said of the Sharp Entertainment team.
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“And they have no problem with this, the couples,” Lee explained. “They’re seizing this opportunity. I think that they’re actually really enjoying it, being able to show a part of their lives at home.”
The show’s format will be very different from what fans are used to. Lee embraced this experimental version of the franchise, admitting “it will look like the paint has not dried.”
“I think our audience is incredibly forgiving right now, and I’m hoping that they accept the way it looks,” Lee said. “It will be messy.”
The show will include couples still living together, as well as couples who live apart. The cast leans heavily on fan-favorites and those fans love to hate. Before the 90 Days regular Darcey, along with couples Michael and Julianna, Alan and Kirlyam, Narkyia and Lowo, Tiffany and Ronald, Pedro and Chantel and Emily and Sasha are just handful of the stars taking part.
“For the couples featured across the 90 Day Fiancรฉ franchise, their relationships have been tested by distance, cultural and religious differences, skeptical families, language barriers and much more,” TLC teased in a statement, reports E! News. “Now, like the rest of the world, their lives and love are facing an unfathomable challenge of the global coronavirus pandemic.”
The coronavirus has already made an impact on the lives of 90 Day Fiance stars. 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way stars Jihoon and deavan are self-taping a series about life under quarantine in South Korea.
“So many fans have been curious about how their favorite couples and individuals are holding up during the crisis, so we’ve asked them to self-film and share their lives in quarantine with all of us,” Lee added in a statement. “Their stories hold a lens to the world, from anxiety and cabin fever to laughter and inspiration. We’re humbled and pleased they’ve opened their hearts and homes to TLC audiences during this unprecedented time.”
The new show will run five episodes, starting on April 20 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
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