Joe Millionaire

''Joe Millionaire'' is an American reality dating show that premiered on Fox in 2003. The first two seasons of the series followed a group of single women, competing for the affection of a bachelor who was falsely billed as being a millionaire. If the last remaining woman still accepted the love of the bachelor despite the ruse, the couple would also win a high-value prize.

The first season of ''Joe Millionaire'' premiered on January 6, 2003. The series was highly successful, with Fox promoting that its season finale (seen by an average of 34.6 million viewers) was the highest-rated entertainment program (excluding Super Bowl lead-out programs) aired on network television since 2000. Fox renewed the series for a second season, titled ''The Next Joe Millionaire'', which premiered as part of Fox's fall lineup later that year.

The second season was not as successful, with its season finale only drawing 9 million viewers, and Fox's head of entertainment Sandy Grushow admitting that the network got "greedy" in trying to repeat the show's "stunt". The format would remain dormant until November 2021, when Fox announced a revival entitled ''Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer'', which premiered on January 6, 2022. This version features two bachelors, one of whom is secretly a millionaire.

First season

The women were not aware that the bachelor, Evan Marriott, was in fact a working-class construction worker. The Smoking Gun later discovered that Marriott had also been an underwear model. A theme throughout the first season was Marriott's attempt to ascertain which of the twenty contestants were sincere and which ones were simply seeking a wealthy mate. Season 1 was helmed by showrunner and co-executive producer Liz Bronstein, whose vision of the show as a spoof of '' The Bachelor'' and comedic send-up of reality shows was widely praised.

The show made a minor star out of Paul Hogan, the manservant whose role developed, in the words of the network, "into the glue that held the show together". Hogan was not actually the host of the program: Alex McLeod was the program's host, although she appeared only briefly on each episode for an estimated total of five minutes during the six-episode season.

Runner-up Sarah Kozer received notoriety when the media reported during the course of the show that she had appeared in bondage videos while she was attending law school. A scene from the show implied that Kozer and Marriott engaged in a sex act while out for a walk together. Marriott and Kozer claim no sex acts occurred. In the VH1 program ''VH1 News Presents: Reality TV Secrets Revealed'' she alleges that her statement, "let's go somewhere quiet" was in fact spoken while she was receiving a back massage from another female contestant and that the producers dubbed it in during post-editing and added suggestive sound effects and subtitles. The show's editors corroborated this fact later in an interview for ''Radar'' magazine.

Zora Andrich was the last woman to be chosen by Marriott, and they split a bonus prize of $1 million. Their relationship did not last.

''Joe Millionaire'' was filmed primarily at the Château de la Bourdaisière in the countryside of the commune of Montlouis-sur-Loire in the Indre-et-Loire. Marriott is said to have made upwards of $2.5 million between Fox Networks payout, personal appearances, and commercials. In 2004, he hosted the less popular (GSN) Game Show Network show ''Fake A Date''. Marriott went back to contracting in Orange County, California, and started his own business.

The series was highly successful for Fox; the two-hour season finale was seen by at least 34.6 million viewers, which made it one of Fox's highest-rated entertainment programs to-date. Fox stated that, excluding Super Bowl lead-outs, it was the highest-rated entertainment program on television since the first season finale of '' Survivor'' in 2000.

''The Next Joe Millionaire''

The second installment, following the same premise, was set in Northern and Central Italy, primarily at the Villa Oliva in Tuscany. Marriott was replaced by 24-year-old David Smith from Midland, Texas, who, viewers were told, had earned only $11,000 the previous year as a cowboy on the rodeo circuit. Needing to find contestants who were unaware of the first show, the producers went to Europe and cast 14 English-speaking European women from the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden. During casting, the women were told by Fox casting agents that the show they were going to appear on would involve a group of European women interacting with American men on an island somewhere.

There was also a new "hostess", a then-unknown Samantha Harris. The butler was, once again, played by Paul Hogan.

However, the show's popularity dissolved very quickly; Fox's head of entertainment Sandy Grushow stated that "our instincts told us from the very beginning that ''Joe Millionaire'' was a one-time stunt and I think we got greedy." He added, "We tried to sneak it by the American public a second time and we got called on it."

The show's climax occurred when one of the contestants, Linda Kazdová, from the Czech Republic, was brought back to the show after eliminating herself and was later selected by Smith as the winner. By that time, though, the show's popularity had irreversibly declined, and no more seasons were produced.

Instead of sharing a million dollars, as Andrich and Marriott had in the first show, Smith was awarded a ranch in Texas, while Kazdova received $250,000. As with the first installment, the couple's post-show interaction was short-lived, as Smith and Kazdova were separated by distance shortly after the show aired.
''The Next Joe Millionaire'' drew less than 7 million viewers a week with a season finale attracting only 9 million viewers.

''For Richer or Poorer''

In October 2021, Fox Alternative Entertainment announced that a reboot of the series produced by SallyAnn Salsano, ''Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer'', would premiere on January 6, 2022. ''For Richer or Poorer'' features women competing over two bachelors: one of the bachelors is a millionaire, but the women do not know which.

Cast

This season of ''Joe Millionaire'' has two bachelors: Kurt F. Sowers and Steven McBee. Sowers is a 32-year-old construction manager and CEO from Charlotte, North Carolina and McBee is a 27-year-old farmer and CEO from Gallatin, Missouri. For this season, the butler and host is Martin Andrew.

Contestants

There are 18 contestants this season.

British version

A short-lived British version called ''Joe Millionaire UK''Article about the British version (courtesy of ukgameshow.com)
/ref> ran on E4 from November 27, 2003, until January 1, 2004, hosted by Rebecca De Young while the bachelor, in general, was Dominic Lijertwood.

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Notes

References

External links

Website of the original series
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{{FOXNetwork Shows (current and upcoming)

2000s American reality television series
2003 American television series debuts
2003 American television series endings
2020s American reality television series
2022 American television series debuts
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
American dating and relationship reality television series
American television series revived after cancellation
Television shows filmed in France
Television shows filmed in Italy
Television shows filmed in Georgia (U.S. state)
Television series by Fox Entertainment
Television series by Rocket Science Laboratories