Reality show’s popularity far outlasts 90 days
TLC has turned ‘90 Day Fiance’ into a spinoff factory, with 18 variants of series
TV spinoffs have been around for decades as a way to build brand recognition and reduce risk.
Norman Lear came up with “The Jeffersons” and “Maude” from “All in the Family.” Dick Wolf ’s “Law & Order” begot spinoff “Law & Order: SVU,” which has outlasted the original. Andy Cohen’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” has led to housewives spinoffs all over the nation — and the world — from New Jersey and the Potomac to Australia and South Africa.
TLC has now turned one of its reality shows into a spinoff factory: “90 Day Fiance.”
The show, eight seasons in, features Americans who meet mates overseas and bring them to the United States using a K-1 visa.
The clock begins ticking because the foreigner must get married to said American within 90 days to qualify for a green card — or go back home.
The premise, inspired by a “Dateline NBC” story, generates a melange of tensions: a ridiculously tight time limit, mixed motivations, suspicious relatives, culture clashes and wedding planning all melded into one show.
TLC executives sensed demand for more about these couples. So they obliged. And then some.
There are a whopping 18 variants of the original — the newest called “90 Day Fiance: Foody Call” on the Discovery+ streaming service, in which couples from past shows cook their favorite dishes while “dishing” advice about keeping the romance spicy. Discovery+, in fact, has been home to seven spinoffs, all released since January.
“90 Day” is currently TLC’s most popular franchise, beating staples such as “Dr. Pimple Popper” and “My 600-lb Life.” And TLC is not shy about airing expanded two-hourlong episodes on Sunday nights without fear of diluting their audience or testing their patience.
Of the 100 most watched shows among 18- to 49-year-olds the past eight months on broadcast and cable TV, “90 Day Fiance” and four spinoffs of that series made the cut. Four “90 Day” shows also made the top 100 among all viewers, each drawing more than 3 million viewers.
“90 Day Fiance” brought in more viewers in the 18-49 demographic than NBC’s “New Amsterdam,” Fox’s “The Resident” and ABC’s “The Goldbergs.” It also trounced Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
TLC executives knew they had a great concept in 2014 that complemented shows at the time like “The Little Couple” and “Breaking Amish.” But they had no clue it would become such a genuine hit until the second season when word of mouth enabled them to cast a more dynamic cast including the rocky marriage of Ohio resident Danielle Mullins and Tunisian-born Mohamed Jbali.
“That was a game changer,” said Dan Adler, the show’s executive producer. “We were really able to push the envelope with that couple.”
Monica King, a 50-yearold Georgia resident who works in corporate regulatory affairs at a health care company, said she is drawn in by the authenticity of the relationships.
“They feel human, not like cartoon characters on ‘The Bachelor,’ ” she said. “They seem like real people
seeking true everlasting love. I really want to find out what happens next in their lives.”
Once TLC realized through social media how rabid the fan base had become, they began casting shows focused on relationships prior to the K-1 visa process (“Before the 90 Days”) and shows featuring couples well past the 90-day period (“Happily Ever After?”). They delved into the lives of now single people whose K-1 visa relationship failed. They follow Americans who do the reverse and move to another country to marry someone.
They even have a metastyle show where popular “90 Day” couples sit in bed (“Pillow Talk”) and make snarky comments while watching another “90 Day” show.
One of the most popular couples in the show’s history hails from Atlanta: nurse Chantel Everett and Pedro Jimeno, a Dominican Republic man she met and fell in love with while learning Spanish virtually.
Everett brought him to Atlanta to start the K-1 visa process while lying to her family, saying he was on a more permissive student visa. Her wary family did not like Pedro at first, and Pedro’s family in the Dominican Republic clashed with her family. It became a case of star-crossed lovers akin to “Romeo and Juliet” that viewers ate up.
After appearing on “Happily Ever After?” TLC gave them their own show, “The Family Chantel.” It featured Chantel’s brother Royal falling for a woman from abroad, in his
case, the Philippines, and Pedro’s sister Nicole dating a married man. The second season aired last year. Adler said it did well despite the fact that a good portion of the dialogue is in Spanish.
Jason Sarlanis, senior vice president for development at TLC, said he loves how they have “been able to highlight people of all races and cultures. It’s one of the most diverse shows on TV. We’ve told stories about LBGTQ couples and how different countries view marriage.”
To Sarlanis, “I think this show really gives people out there hope that no matter where you look in this world, your other half is out there.”
Some fans do watch with more cynicism.
Bobby Gaines, a 50-yearold Georgia resident said he began bingeing the various
“90 Day” shows during quarantine and enjoys it more than his wife.
“Over the last year, I had my toe amputated,” he said. “My life felt pretty bad.
But after watching ‘90 Day Fiance,’ I feel like the king of the world. I don’t have problems compared to these people!”
TLC is continuing to mine the franchise and has more spinoffs planned.
They glean a lot from the fan base. Sunday night social media commentary, Sarlanis said, is “like a live real-time focus group.”
And a surprising number of the couples remain together, Adler noted.
“We don’t put these people together,” he said, alluding to shows such as WE-TV’s “Married at First Sight,” which is generating its own share of spinoff shows. “They fall in love.”