Zora Andrich
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Joe Millionaire'' is an American
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
series broadcast by the
Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...
(Fox). The series premiered on January 6, 2003, and concluded with the finale of its second season on November 24, 2003. Both seasons followed a group of single women in competition for the affection of a
bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...
. The women were under the belief that the bachelor was a
millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...
; however, he was actually a
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
average Joe The terms average Joe, ordinary Joe, regular Joe, Joe Sixpack, Joe Lunchbucket, Joe Snuffy, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe (for males), and ordinary Jane, average Jane, and plain Jane (for females), are used primarily in North America to refer to a comple ...
. If the final remaining woman still accepted the bachelor after learning about the ruse, the two split a $1,000,000 reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter
Alex McLeod Alexandra Ann McLeod (born December 21, 1968) is an American television host and entertainment news correspondent best known for being the original host of TLC's hit cable show ''Trading Spaces''. She got her start as a comedic actress and hoste ...
. The first season of ''Joe Millionaire'' experienced high success in ratings, with its season finale being the highest-rated entertainment program (excluding
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
lead-out programs) aired on network television since 2000. The second season, titled ''The Next Joe Millionaire'', experienced disappointing ratings throughout its run. In 2005, ''Joe Millionaire'' and ''The Next Joe Millionaire'' were among several television programs cited in a
class-action lawsuit A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
filed by the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...
concerning labor law violations. In November 2021, Fox announced a revival entitled ''Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer'', which aired from January 6 to March 10, 2022. The revival featured two bachelors, one a working-class man and the other a secret millionaire.


First season

The women were not aware that the bachelor, Evan Marriott, was in fact a working-class
construction worker A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...
.
The Smoking Gun The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Most ...
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 Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...
, 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 Alexandra Ann McLeod (born December 21, 1968) is an American television host and entertainment news correspondent best known for being the original host of TLC's hit cable show ''Trading Spaces''. She got her start as a comedic actress and hoste ...
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 Sarah Ann Kozer (born December 16, 1973) is a television personality best known for her appearance in the reality television series ''Joe Millionaire'', finishing as the runner-up to Zora Andrich. Personal life Kozer was born and raised in the ...
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 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
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 Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
'' 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 Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.département in France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...
. 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
Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along wit ...
show ''Fake A Date''. Marriott went back to contracting in Orange County, California, and started his own business. In hiring a bachelor, Marriott explained that Fox "needed a guy that was in construction but didn't have kids, hadn't been in jail, wasn't on drugs." 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 Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
'' in 2000.


''The Next Joe Millionaire''

The second season, released in 2003, was set in
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
and
Central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...
, primarily at the Villa Oliva in
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. Marriott was replaced by 24-year-old David Smith from
Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...
, who, viewers were told, had earned only $11,000 the previous year as a
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
on the
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
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 Samantha Harris (born Samantha Harris Shapiro; November 27, 1973) is an American television presenter, model, and entertainment reporter and actress, known as the co-host of seasons two through nine of ''Dancing with the Stars'' with Tom Berg ...
. The butler was, once again, played by
Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...
. However, the second season of the show was much less popular than the first; Fox's head of entertainment
Sandy Grushow Sandy Grushow (born April 3, 1960) is an American businessman, and the CEO of Phase 2 Media, a board member for The Weather Company (parent company of The Weather Channel) and works with MediaLink in the role of senior media advisor. He is the ...
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 The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, was brought back to the show after eliminating herself and was later selected by Smith as the winner. But this failed to significantly boost the show’s ratings. 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 fewer 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 Fox Entertainment is an American entertainment company owned by Fox Corporation known for television production and distribution. The company was formed in 2019 after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, with offices in ...
announced that a reboot of the series produced by
SallyAnn Salsano SallyAnn Salsano (born c. 1974) is an American television producer. Her company, 495 Productions, has produced several television reality shows for MTV and syndication, including ''Jersey Shore (TV series), Jersey Shore '' and ''The Real (TV serie ...
, ''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 Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
and McBee is a 27-year-old farmer and CEO from
Gallatin, Missouri Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Daviess County. History The territory now known as the county of Daviess, was initially inhabited by the Sauk ...
. 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'' 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
* * * * {{IMDb title, 15838704, Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer 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 2022 American television series endings Fox Broadcasting Company reality television shows American dating and relationship reality television series American television series revived after cancellation Television shows filmed in France Television shows set in Florida Television shows filmed in Italy Television shows filmed in Georgia (U.S. state) Television series by Fox Entertainment Television series by Rocket Science Laboratories