Show of the Week: Eden

Reality dating formats remain in huge demand from broadcasters and streamers alike, but fresh twists can be tricky to come by.

Enter Eden. It was a desire to shift the dial on the genre that lay behind this new show emerging from Germany, which represents a contemporary reimagining of the dating reality genre with some unusual twists.

Ute Brendel, exec producer at producer Redseven Entertainment, says the original idea was to develop a show that explored truth, sincerity and deception, with a lie detector as part of the format.

“Then we started thinking about the Fall of Man and the Garden of Eden, and the first lie that precipitated this,” Brendel explains. “It seemed like an interesting way into a contemporary dating show - taking the first romance and reinterpreting it for an audience that is very familiar with the conventions of reality dating and social media. There’s something playful about it, but the underlying questions are very real.”

During production, some contestants were more interested in finding out the truth than protecting the prize fund - it created some very revealing choices

The format was developed closely with streamer Joyn, which wanted a dating show that would appeal to younger viewers. Much of the process revolved around the right balance between the mythology of Eden and the mechanics of a reality dating format.

“The Garden, the Tree of Knowledge, the snake and the lie detector all became part of the same world, Brendel says. “At the same time, the relationships had to feel genuine, and the rules had to be very clear. The format ultimately grew from that combination of story, character and game.”

The show features 13 singles who chase love and money in paradise, but must face regular lie detector tests along the way. And with every lie detected draining the prize pot, the dynamics between the contestants is flipped form the normal mechanics of reality dating shows.

Sincerity becomes the name of the game, and Brendel says the format is really about truth, trust and the tension between love and money. “The lie detector gives contestants a way of testing what they are being told, but the interesting part is what they do with the information.

“During production, we found that some contestants were more interested in finding out the truth than protecting the prize fund, which created some very revealing choices.”

The visual world also helps distinguish the show. The Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge and the AI snake give the format a recognisable identity, while the lie detector provides a strong recurring device.

And just how accurate is the lie detector? Brendel says an expert was attached to the show and he placed the accuracy at around 80–90%. “Of course, a lie detector is not an infallible way of establishing whether somebody is telling the truth, and that’s part of what makes it interesting within the format.

“The contestants, however, took the tests seriously and generally trusted the results. We didn’t have situations where anyone dismissed results as false positives or negatives. Instead, they had to decide what to do with what they had learned.”

Eden recognises that audiences are familiar with the conventions of dating reality and plays with those expectations

The German version was filmed in Thailand, where it was produced back-to-back with a sister production meaning an existing mansion, camera set-up and local production infrastructure could be used.

“Turning it into the Garden of Eden was a different challenge, of course – particularly as Thailand doesn’t offer a supply of apple trees. Our art department did a brilliant job transforming the location and creating a world that felt connected to the concept, while allowing the contestants and their relationships to remain at the centre of the show,” adds Brendel.

The format is now heading to Mipcom and Tobias Schulze, senior vice president of global sales for Seven.One Studios International, is clear about why it is appealing to buyers around the world.

“The format has a simple premise that is easy to understand but gives dating a different dynamic,” he says. The lie detector creates regular moments of uncertainty and revelation, Schulze adds, while the prize fund adds a financial consequence as well as an emotional one.

“It also recognises that audiences are familiar with the conventions of dating reality and plays with those expectations. Most importantly, the relationships feel and are real: two couples from the series are still together. There are plenty of moments to discuss, but the emotional stories remain at the heart of the format.”