Hook up or check out! That’s the motto at Paradise Hotel, the show returning to TV (8pm ET tonight on FOX) for the summer. And since hookups always involve a cocktail or seven, it’s definitely my kind of show.
This time around it’s hosted by reality queen Kristin Cavallari, who is taking a brief break from her own show, Very Cavallari. She talked with The Cocktail about what’s going down, and how we can play along and control the game from home.
For Love or Money
The show boasts sun, fun, and romance. I have no doubt about the first two, but with hooking up being the key to winning a big cash prize, I told Kristin that I’m a little skeptical.
She totally gets it. “Well, yeah, maybe a little more hooking up but maybe some of these people are incredibly romantic. You’re going to have to watch and see.”
“The ultimate question is are these people going to win the big cash prize that’s at the end or are they going really to find love? You know it’s interesting. At first I was like obviously all these people are going to be going for the money. But I’ve talked to a lot of women who would absolutely go for love.”
Hopefully the show is cast with greedy people along with hopeless romantics. “I think we’re gonna have a good mix. I’m sure some people are really hoping for both. So it’s gonna be really interesting. As a viewer, that’s what you’re going to constantly be thinking like are they playing for the money or are they really falling in love with this person?”
Hopefully they have an open bar on set!
Social Studies
You know you’re gonna watch. You may not brag about it to your friends, but this is a ready made, summertime guilty pleasure. So make sure your phone is charged, cuz Kristin says you’re gonna need it! “So there is social media involved. You as a viewer at home can be voting who you want to go, also who you want to come in.”
“Each week somebody will be eliminated, but then somebody new will come in. So this new person will completely change the dynamic of the house and it will be really interesting to see. The ultimate goal is to couple up. You don’t want to be the single for the week. There’s always gonna be an odd number. Somebody will always be single and the goal for them is to pair up with somebody so they don’t end up going home.”
It seems obvious that there’s a possibility that the odd one out could try to form a thruple. Kristin hadn’t even thought of that possibility.
“I would say probably pair up. But, hey, you never know. We’ll see what happens.”
No Privacy
Unlike most hotels, Paradise Hotel doesn’t offer a “Do Not Disturb” sign to hang on your door knob. And while she’s a reality veteran, Kristin says she’s never been in a situation like the contestants guests are in.
“One of the things I find most fascinating about Paradise Hotel, especially coming from reality TV, is that it’s essentially hidden camera. So of course the contesstants know that they’re being filmed. But the cameras are going to be hidden throughout the resort. And so, as a contestant, that’s where it becomes a little scary and a little dangerous because they will absolutely forget that the cameras are there.”
They can’t even find refuge in the bathrooms! “There’s really no such thing as go in the bathroom, have a private conversation with somebody or having a private moment. Everything is being filmed.”
And that’s unlike anything Kristin’s ever been in. “Coming from Very Cavallari or Laguna Beach or The Hills, I always knew that the cameras were on me, they’re always on eye-line. So I never once forgot they were there. I’m myself, but I never really tuned them out.”
“On a show like this? This is as real as it gets. So I think it’s gonna be really entertaining to say the least.”
Reliving the Past
The best part may be what we don’t see, which is the sobered up contestants watch their antics on the screen.
“I know that people are gonna watch it back, the contestants, and go ‘oh my god, they got that conversation? They were filming me? I thought it was just the two of us.'”
“But that’s the thing. There’s no such thing as just sneaking away for a minute. Everything is gonna be on camera.”
The Critic’s Cocktail Recommendation
A Mai Tai. It’s simultaneously sweet, bitter, and acidic. Just like the contestants by the time the second commercial break rolls around!
Cheers!
Critic's Cocktail 