Walberg tempted back to ‘Island’ 18 years later
Mark L. Walberg has been working in television most of his adult life but he has never seen anything as bizarre as his latest job.
“Waiting 18 years for another season of a show is a little unusual,” Walberg says. He quickly adds that it was worth the wait.
What’s stuck Walberg as being so unusual is the return of the reality dating show “Temptation Island.” When the series launched in 2001 on Fox (long before anyone thought about “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” franchise), it brought together a bevy of beautiful people to a tropical setting. The idea was to see which couples were committed and which just wanted to have fun.
Flash forward to 2019 and “Temptation Island” is back with the same concept. Four couples are at a crossroads in their relationships when they visit Temptation Island (better known as Maui) where they will be tempted by 24 singles. This time the sunand-sex series premiered on the USA Network on Tuesday.
Television is filled with reality dating and marriage series these days but there was nothing like “Temptation Island” when it launched. Today’s program in the genre can look at what has worked in the past but Walberg and company were treading on uncharted grounds during the three seasons the show aired.
“My memory might not be completely accurate but I feel like we were making it up as we went along. It was a new genre and a genre I didn’t particularly think was going to stay around. Nobody knew,” Walberg says. “There wasn’t a lot of script. I remember having meetings before bonfires and asking what they (the producers) hoped would happen at the bonfires.”
What the South Carolina born host remembers about the first incarnation was that the production team showed up with detailed plans of how they were going to follow the lustful ways of the participants. That quickly changed as the relationships started to get heated and the decision was made to just turn the cameras on and let the stories unfold.
Walberg takes great pride in how well the series turned out considering most of the time everyone was just reacting to what was happening. He found working under such loose constraints to be both freeing and stressful at the same time.
Since his first time on “Temptation Island,” Walberg has gone on to work as a host on a variety of television series including “Antiques Roadshow,” “Russian Roulette,” “The Moment of Truth,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “Home & Family.” He is one of the hosts of “The Price is
Right, Live” traveling game show. Walberg laughs and says getting to host “Antiques Roadshow” and “Temptation Island” has given him a wide arc of jobs to do.
All of that experience made it relatively easy stepping for Walberg to step back into the job 18 years later.
“What I do as a television host is, it’s really about trying to be authentic. They have chosen this experience that I may or may not agree with what they are doing but my job is to be there 100 percent,” Walberg says. “It doesn’t matter what kind of show I’m doing. It could even be comedy, I approach the work the same way. That’s why I can host ‘Antiques Roadshow’ and ‘Temptation Island’ at the same time. I just try to be the same guy.”
He does admit being back on a show that ended so many years ago as a surreal experience. But, the hosting duties felt very comfortable from the first day of taping the new batch of “Temptation Island” episodes.
Walberg, who was 39 years old when he hosted the original “Temptation Island,” is happy that the older version of himself is getting to host the new episodes because he brings a more grounded perspective to what is taking place. He still believes in the philosophy that he had years ago in that you should always be careful for what you wish.
One of the biggest differences between then and now for Walberg is that he now has children who are the same age as the “Temptation Island” participants.
“I hope I am more mature now,” Walberg says. “So instead of being like an older brother in the first season of ‘Temptation Island,’ now I am definitely more in the dad role. But, I didn’t look at my position as an advice giver or a judgment person. It am more of a facilitator and to ask the questions that would inform everyone the best.”