For more than a decade, Gogglebox has invited Australians into some of the most ordinary spaces imaginable. Living rooms, family couches and homes where the television is on, the snacks are out and the real chaos of life continues around it.
There is no studio audience, no elaborate set and, according to one of the show’s longest-running stars at least, not much need to manufacture the reality either.
For Matty Fahd and wife Sarah Marie, the cameras have been rolling for 19 seasons, giving audiences a front-row seat not only to their reactions to television, but to their lives as a family.
“When I started the show, Sarah and I, my wife, we were dating, we were living in our rental apartment and throughout the show have bought a house, had two kids, and created a life together,” Fahd told B&T.
“The special thing about Gogglebox is that people have been on that journey and when I meet people, they say ‘It’s so strange, I feel like I know you’.”
The show, which first launched in Australia in 2013, is now heading into its 25th season overall, with Fahd and Sarah Marie returning for their 19th.
Rather than simply watching the cast react to the latest television shows, audiences have watched the families change around them — from new relationships and homes to children growing up in front of the cameras.
For the Fahds, that now includes their two sons, six-year-old Malik and three-year-old Leon.
Fahd said audiences will see more of Leon’s personality emerge this season as he becomes increasingly vocal.
“I think the biggest thing will probably be Leon, my three-year-old, being a little bit older and a little bit more vocal,” he said. “He’s his own personality, that kid.”
Leon’s older brother Malik, meanwhile, is now old enough to understand that what happens on the couch will eventually make its way onto television.
Fahd said his eldest son has started to understand that he is part of the show — and increasingly feels the need to contribute.
“Now that he’s aware that there is this thing that’s happening and then he’s going to be on TV the next week, I think he feels like he needs to contribute now,” Fahd said.
The difference is particularly noticeable when the family is watching something Malik knows well.
“He kind of knows like, ah, I’m watching an animal show. I’m going to shine here because I love animals and I’m going to tell you guys all about animals,” Fahd said.
For Fahd, that unfiltered behaviour is precisely what makes the format work.
The children are not required to sit neatly on the couch for an entire episode, nor are they expected to perform for the cameras.
“They’re free to come and go off the couch when they want,” he said.
“You’ll see them in a couple of bits in the show, but they’re not always sitting there because they just won’t.”
That messiness is all part of the appeal, according to Fahd.
Whether it is children wandering in and out, toys scattered around the room, pets moving through the house or food being consumed while the family watches television, Fahd said the show captures the reality of how people actually live.
“It is our real homes, our real lives, our real reactions, so it is a nice way for brands to tap into authenticity,” he said.
And importantly for a format increasingly used as a platform for commercial integrations, Fahd said audiences are generally seeing a genuine reflection of the family’s lives rather than a collection of strategically placed products.
“Largely, when you’re watching the show and what we’re wearing and the things in our house, none of that has been placed there,” he said.
“That is things that we’ve bought and that we are just part of our life.”
When a brand integration does occur, Fahd said it needs to work within that existing reality rather than disrupt it.
“I think when there has been an actual brand integration, it definitely still feels really natural,” he said.
That authenticity can also create an unexpected connection between viewers and the homes they see on screen.
Fahd said viewers regularly ask about furniture and other items they have spotted in the Fahd household.
“They feel like one of them,” he said. “It doesn’t feel forced. It doesn’t feel like a TV set. It is our home the way it is.”
That sense of familiarity is also a key reason Fahd believes audiences continue to return.
He said viewers often tell him they feel as though they know the cast, while another part of the appeal is being able to experience multiple television programs through the eyes of the families.
“It’s this incredible way to watch 10 different shows without having to watch 10 different shows,” he said.
But perhaps most importantly, Fahd believes Gogglebox has retained its ability to bring families together in front of the television at a time when audiences increasingly watch separately.
“We don’t sit and watch TV as a family as much, but I think Gogglebox is a time where families watch together and can agree on one thing,” he said.
That proposition will now be tested in a new timeslot, with Gogglebox moving to Sunday nights at 7pm on Network 10 for its upcoming season.
Fahd said while he didn’t know the network’s reasoning behind the move, he welcomed the shift into Sunday prime time.
“Sunday night viewing is like a big family time viewing of the prime time shows, so it’s good to be in the mix with all of those guys,” he said.
Tamara Simoneau, VP content, Paramount Australia described the new timeslot to B&T as “family friendly” and that it provides a great way to “start a week by kicking it off with a laugh”.
