MAFS 2024
TV

Interview: The 2024 MAFS storyline the producers “wished didn’t happen”

"Mate. I wish you hadn’t told that story."

Married at First Sight returns in 2024 with a captivating new season promising unprecedented levels of drama. And while some may absolutely froth over the mess and chaos, there’s one storyline that the producers wish didn’t happen.

Speaking to Chattr before the January 29 series premiere, Nine’s MAFS exec producer John Walsh admitted there was a plot twist they didn’t foresee.

“They go in different directions we never anticipate,” he said of the storylines. “We have a hero kind of character this year where he revealed a story during confessions week.

John Aiken on MAFS
John Aiken, MAFS. Nine

“And we went, ‘Mate. I wish you hadn’t told that story.’ Because it suddenly derails momentarily or otherwise, his story arc.”

While he wouldn’t admit who the cast member was he was referring to, Walsh did divulge that he is a “complex character”.

“You see him one way for the first few weeks and then he says something else and you go, ‘Wow’ and it makes you stop and think. But that’s the show and you’ve got to follow that right through.”

During the same interview, Endemol Shine Australia producer Mollie Harwood said of the storyline: “You’ve got to trust the process and react. You’re like, ‘I wish that didn’t happen but we’ll go there!’” Ooooh juicy!

So, how much input do the producers have?

Endemol Shine Australia producer Alex Spurway revealed during the same chat that while they don’t write any sort of script per se, casting plays a huge part in how the stories will play out.

“A lot of that [the stories] comes down to the cast and the casting of the show, the matches,” Alex said. “When you’re casting 20 different people to what you cast in the last series, you’re always going to get completely different storylines, completely different reactions, dinner parties, weddings and relationships.

Natalie from MAFS
Natalie, MAFS. Nine

“We never truly know what will happen between each of these couples, and without a doubt, you’re always going to have something different.”

“While we don’t know what will happen”, Walsh added that they do “know something is going to happen”. Lol! Dah!

“We’ve got to follow those stories that come,” he said. “That’s the big job. Then, it’s about telling those stories because these people all have something to share. Something engaging about them.”

Watch Married at First Sight Sundays at 7.00 pm and Monday – Thursday at 7.30 pm on Nine and 9Now.

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