Nothing we see on Lebanese television today compares to the reality TV wave that hit our small screens in the early-to-mid 2000s.
Unforgettable pan-Arab editions of popular talent shows like ‘SuperStar’ and ‘Star Academy’ held our attention and will always hold a special place in the back of our collective memory, followed by a few others that may not have lasted as long but are still worth a trip down memory lane!
Which one of these do you recall the most?
1. The Perfect Bride [قسمة و نصيب]
The quest for the perfect bride began in 2007 on LBCI when a group of guys and their mothers [to fully reinforce the wife vs. mother-in-law stereotype, you know] joined a larger group of girls from different parts of the Arab world with one desired objective: finding their soulmate [romanticized term for ‘a partner to spend the rest of their televised life with’]. Bassel, the last man standing from season 1 hosted by the graceful Rola Bahnam, won fan-favorite Pati’s heart [who earned more than half of the public vote among the four remaining girls] by the end of the final prime and the two eventually got married. The show was renewed for a second season hosted by the bubbly Razan Moghrabi in 2009, which ended 11 weeks later with Yahya & Nawal claiming the top spot [and accompanying live wedding ceremony]. We haven’t heard much from either of the winning couples after the show [we hope they’re still going strong anyway].
2. Project Fashion
Presented by former Miss Lebanon Norma Naoum, this pan-Arab adaptation of American fashion design reality TV series ‘Project Runway’ first aired on Future TV in 2006, featuring French haute couture designer Stéphane Rolland as a judge and Lebanese fashion designer Rabih Keyrouz as the contestants’ mentor, and was subsequently renewed for a second season. Not to be confused with MBC’s recent version [and more grandiose production] of Project Runway Middle East, Project Fashion similarly featured an unconventional design challenge in every episode, by the end of which one designer was eliminated. My personal favorite [if you’d by any chance care to know] was the supermarket challenge from S02E01 where the winning dress was created using superimposed black-painted washing gloves and the jury’s least favorite design was entirely made out of pita bread [maybe I was just hungry that night to still recall all of this].
3. Mission Fashion
A few months after Project Fashion aired on Future TV, LBCI brought its own fashion design reality show to the table under the name ‘Mission Fashion’ and with Elie Saab as the key figure. Broadcasted for three consecutive seasons in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the show involved two simultaneous competition tracks/titles: one for designers and another for models [thereby borrowing from not one, but two popular American reality TV formats: Project Runway and ANTM]. Besides launching the careers of memorable names such as season 1 winner Lebanese fashion designer Antoine Kareh and fellow season 1 winner gorgeous Tunisian top model Rym Saidi [who later appeared on Dancing with The Stars and is currently happily married to host Wissam Breidy], Mission Fashion was also Anabella Hilal’s initial big break in TV presenting following her first runner-up placement in Miss Lebanon. [You could also watch the contestants 24/7 on Nagham channel when handpicked afternoon dailies were not enough for your curiosity, good times.]
4. Al Wadi
It’s been almost 13 years since this show aired on LBCI but I still do not fully understand the premise behind it [yes, it was that confusing, not to mention slightly pointless]. Basically, 14 already [***somewhat***] famous figures from nine different Arab countries gather up under one roof i.e. the farm, and try to adapt to the conditions of a simpler life while surrounded by cows, lambs, chickens, rabbits and a donkey for a duration of three months under the watchful eye of Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe, portrayed as the ‘manager’ of the farm. There was also a weekly prime [also largely revolving around Wehbe], by the end of which one contestant would get kicked out of the farm [how sad ☹] on a certain basis [still unknown]. Long story short [that was not exactly short, Christina], Kuwaiti celebrity Mashari Al Ballam [whom I have no vivid memory of/had to google the name in three different spellings] won the title.
5. Deif El Beit
Remember when some of your favorite Arab celebrities [and Star Academy alumni] had to babysit kids for five days [also known as sustaining a family] on a limited budget while their parents went away for a much-deserved hotel vacay? PLEASE TELL ME YOU DO and if you don’t, that’s practically what Deif El Beit was all about. Did you ever wish you were one of these kids back then because they seemed to have lots of fun [and their own mini reality series, kinda]? PLEASE TELL ME YOU DID and if you didn’t, then I can do nothing to revive your memory.
6. Survivor
Last but not least [mainly because it doesn’t take the most careful of readers to know least has already been mentioned], the 2004 Arab version of Survivor was nothing short of a thrill. Featuring 16 contestants from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen, the reality TV adventure took place in Kenya for a challenging 15 weeks, after which the contestants returned to the small screen [fairly unrecognizable] after a period of rest for the live finale. Following a number of segments summarizing the highs and lows of the adventure, the last seven contestants to leave the program had to pick between the two remaining contestants fighting for the prize: Hussein from Saudi Arabia and Ahmad from Egypt [final result: Mabrouk Hussein, hard luck Ahmad].
