The trout rules of reality TV in the pandemic

04/28/2021 19:13

• Clarín.com

• Shows

• TV

Updated 04/28/2021 7:13 PM

It does not matter if it is with celebrities or with non-famous participants,

reality shows invent their own rules to get their contestants in and out, beyond those established by the

original

television game

.

And that elasticity seems to have been accentuated with the pandemic.

There was a time, when the genre was born, more than 20 years ago, when

reality shows had strict regulations

, almost always tied to a universal format that did not allow adaptations of any local television.

That sort of regulation, with exceptions, was strictly adhered to.

However, those rules became very elastic in this time of pandemic.

Thus, since last year to this part, both

Cut and dressmaking

, as

Cut and dressmaking Famosos

(both from El Trece) and

MasterChef Celebrity

(Telefe) have implemented the fashion of

putting several eliminated into the game, arbitrarily , for the simple game.

Or by the rating

.

With these returns, which do not always go down well with the other participants and sometimes even mislead the public that follows them, the producers of the cycles try to inject a quota of impact, either out of controversy or to stretch the program, if it is working very well.

In other words, the resource of bringing back the person who was fired can have a double function, and it is almost a bet on the best performance or, in the worst case, a drowning slap.

The rules to determine who and how any of those who left the ring depends on each reality show

, they are sui generis rules: it can be camouflaged as a playoff (almost always) or directly because the production of the program, halfway through the contest, so decide.

This year, the first example was with Pachu Peña in

Famous Tailoring and Dressmaking

, the reality show La Flia hosted by Andrea Politti, in the afternoons at El Trece.

The comedian - although he didn't have much idea about sewing and design - had won the sympathy of his colleagues, the public and also the technicians and cameramen from the first day.

Pachu Peña.

The actor left and re-entered "Famous dressmaking" thanks to the sui generis rules of the El Trece reality show.

However, the actor's occurrences failed to convince the jurors Benito Fernández, Verónica de la Canal and Fabián Zitta, who at some point decided to eliminate him.

What happened next was

a barrage of criticism and requests for Pachu to return to the program

, mainly from social networks.

This is how the comedian's return to the program came to fruition

, to make his followers happy (something that was never whitewashed) and Pachu had his new opportunity.

Until, a few weeks later, he was out of the contest again.

To return to?

In addition, the cycle summoned two new participants, Jimena Cyrulnik and Geraldine Neumann to replace Miriam Lanzoni and María Fernanda Callejón, isolated by Covid.

However, after a week, Cyrulnik left the program and Valeria Archimó entered her place, without explanation. 

Last year,

Tailoring

, this time without celebrities, had made a playoff that allowed the return of some participants, before the semifinals, stretching the definition of a winner a bit. 

MasterChef Celebrity

also played that card in the two seasons marked by the pandemic.

In 2020, halfway through several celebrities had their chance to return to the cycle, after being on the road, and so did Martín "Mono" Fabio, the leader of Kapanga, and Rocío Marengo. 

The departure of the Mono had generated an effect similar to that of Pachu Peña

.

Beyond his culinary skills, scarce, the musician had won the sympathy and affection of his colleagues, also adding thousands of fans among the audience of the reality show hosted by Santiago del Moro.

Mono by Kapanga and Andrea Rincón.

The musician returned in the repechage of the first season of MasterChefCelebrity.

And he was also a guest in the second edition with his ex.

This year, there was also a playoff to give a new opportunity to those who were eliminated in the rounds of

MasterChef Celebrity 2

.

And those chosen this time were not two, like last year, but three: Sol Pérez, Daniel Aráoz and Juanse.

The detail is that the playoff had, in turn, its own new rule.

After the jury decided to give Sol and the actor another chance,

the production allowed the participants themselves to choose another of them to return to the kitchens

.

And the one chosen by his former colleagues was the musician.

The saying goes that the one

who leaves without being thrown out returns without being called

.

In reality shows, 

those who are thrown back because they are called

.

Look also

Guests at MasterChef: Nito Mestre, Pepito Cibrián, Mery del Cerro and Rochi Igarzábal, among others

The revenge of Pachu Peña, a "Tinelli boy" who reinvented himself in a pandemic