Once upon a time there was a sumptuous castle lost in the heart of nature in the Paris region.
The owner, hidden under an imposing lion costume, cohabited with servants disguised as rabbits, dogs or foxes.
One fine day, they decided to welcome fifty personalities from the world of reality TV in order to subject them to numerous tests.
This story, which has nothing to do with a fairy tale, sets the starting point for the new reality show "Les Cinquante", broadcast this Monday, September 5 at 6:10 p.m. on W9.
During this extraordinary competition, the mechanics of which recall the
Squid Game
series , broadcast on Netflix, the 50 players will have to participate in eliminatory tests according to the desires of the lion.
To discover
TV program: Find tonight's TV program
Read also“The Fifty”: who are the 50 candidates for W9’s new reality show?
Maeva Ghennam, Julien Bert, Simon Castaldi or Amélie Neten will fight to become the Chosen One and win a prize pool of up to 50,000 euros.
The latter will go to a member of the public registered in the winner's support club, via the mobile application "Les Cinquante".
Each viewer will be able to download it for free from Monday, the day the first episode is broadcast.
The pre-credits of this new 100% French format was posted on the channel's Twitter account on August 29th.
This post has been shared almost 4000 times, with an enthusiasm that has become rare for a TV show.
“It is extremely pleasing to see that this meeting is expected.
We put a lot of heart and energy into it.
It's galvanizing.
But that puts pressure on us because we hope to live up to the expectations of the public
, ”says Florence Fayard, the general manager of Banijay Productions, the company that signs this new program.
“With the castle, we wanted to tell a fantastic story”
Florence Fayard, general manager of Banijay Productions.
Generally, the teams that make reality TV shows turn to gigantic villas.
There are many examples, from “Secret Story” to “Angels” via “Les Marseillais”.
For "Les Cinquante", the producer decided to set up her cameras in a castle because this setting, which guarantees a telegenic setting, corresponds perfectly to the desired atmosphere and to the editorial line.
For a month, the candidates and the little hands, who work in the shadows, found refuge at the Château de Bertichères, in Chaumont-en-Vexin, in the Oise.
“We first wanted to stand out from other programs.
But above all, we wanted to tell a fantastic story, with a lion who reigns supreme over his domain in the company of other animals.
In the collective imagination, the château is part of this universe”
, explains Florence Fayard.
Read alsoWhen reality TV pushes the English to afford the castles of Creuse
In recent years, many entertainment shows have taken over these majestic residences: “Le Meilleur Pâtissier”, “And if we met each other?”
on M6, "XXL renovation: welcome to the castle", on NRJ12.
Without forgetting that the next season of “Star Academy” (TF1) will also invest a monument worthy of the glorious past of this program.
In recent weeks, M6 broadcast in the first part of the evening a game called "The Traitors", during which fourteen personalities lived together in the castle of Beauvoir, in the Allier, to track down the two intruders who were hiding among them.
“Renting the castle allowed us to cover half the cost of the work”
Ingrid Streichenberger, wife of the owner of the Château de Beauvoir.
When the directors of Studio 89 contacted Ingrid Streichenberger, the owner's wife, to tell her that they would like to turn the entertainment into her establishment, the chatelaine welcomed them with open arms.
In 1890, her husband's family acquired this building, the foundations of which were laid at the end of the 12th century.
But castle life does not always rhyme with rest.
The work required to preserve this heritage is colossal and therefore costly.
“Last June, we went through a terrible hailstorm,”
reports Ingrid Streichenberger.
The rental of the castle as part of the
“
Traitors
”
enabled us to assume half of the repairs.
It's not Peru, but they're willing to shell out a lot of money."
Read alsoDavid Douillet and Clémence Castel, winners of the “Traitors”: “We shared our kitty with Elsa Esnoult”
Beyond this non-negligible bill, the managers of the castle benefited from major advertising at prime time in front of several million French people, with particularly polished images.
“
Viewers have discovered the castle thanks to the program and have even come to see us
,” says the owner's wife, adding that the building hosts weddings the rest of the year.
On the other hand, when the members of the shooting invest the walls, they are free to organize the decoration as they wish, provided that they return the places in the original state.
And Ingrid Streichenberger has no say in the arrangement of elements in her pieces.
"
They brought their decor, and it wasn't very pretty!
The canapes, the paintings: all that was in bad taste.
They even installed fake flowers on the terrace
,” she laments.
Read also"The traitors": the new M6 game, between lies and betrayal
But the administrator of the premises has an idea in mind.
As Studio 89 intends to shoot the second season of the program at the Château de Beauvoir, it wishes to put the production teams in contact with local craftsmen to guide them on the furniture, or the canvases that they hang on the wall.
And thus recognize his castle when he appears on the small screen.
