Tuesday, June 25, 2019

MTV Reality: Welcome to Are You The One? Season 8 - Come One, Come All

BY DC CUEVA                        
■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This year marks five years since the addition to this MTV fan's reality diet of The Real World and The Challenge & a few other things of a dose of love. There, Are You The One? introduced a unique formula to a genre that was fairly light when it debuted in 2014 as one of the handful of new shows to debut in the coveted landing spot of airing after MTV's highest-rated shows, but has since become a hot commodity years later in reality dating shows. Thanks to it, the terms "Truth Booth," "Perfect Match" and "Boom Boom Room" joined the lexicon as did a number of notable entries into The Challenge draft pool... and introduced a growing trend in sports known as analytics to the game of analyzing and predicting the possibilities of running the table to $1 million.

The last time we got to watch this annual ritual of finding love and money in lights, lasers and loads of possibilities was last summer & fall, when the Season 7 cast confronted a bold new challenge: trying to look for their perfect match by not only getting coupled up in the house, but relying on fate to get them to the magic number of 11. Out were, for one season at least, the getaway challenges, and in was the fate button, which came up some surprising choices for the truth booth with some random choices. But along with all of what we came to expect from the show, the house found themselves in almost a similar rough spot as the Season 6 cast... but a late charge in the Truth Booth proved to be the difference as the cast of the Season of Fate took home the seven figures.

As we reconvene our quest for love with our latest set of new romantics, the game and the setting is very much different for Season 8 of Are You The One?. This season will commence amidst the backdrop of the annual celebration of an important segment of MTV's audience, as Pride Month sees the world take a moment to celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, which also includes those who identify themselves as Queer, Pansexual, Omnisexual and Fluid. Those who are part of this proud community have been part of the MTV Reality fabric since the first Real World season in 1992 with Norman Korpi being part of the original group of seven strangers in New York, and which have chronicled generations of the LGBT community taking up residency in the show that began an entire genre.

Those who proudly fly the rainbow flag, who grew up watching the likes of Katelynn from RW Brooklyn, Big Brother alums Natalie and Jozea on The Challenge and Ex On The Beach, and MTV's most notable LGBT alum in Queer Eye's Karamo Brown, will now have a season just for themselves in what is a first for the entire romantic reality sub-genre. This season, those who are sexually fluid make up the entire cast, all amidst the drama and romance synonymous with this show, and a season that promises to offer a new definition to finding love among those who know no bounds.

After the jump, our first look at Season 8 of Are You The One? - Come One, Come All. Welcome back, lovebirds...


 WHAT TO EXPECT... 

Like any other AYTO season, the premise is simple: single girls and guys from across America are chosen to live in a house with all of the usual suspects that make up any great MTV reality show, while matchmakers go through both science and analytics to determine who their most compatible romantic partners are. The rules of the game are simplistic: if all the stars align with the entire cast getting together with their respective perfect matches within ten attempts, they will split a jackpot worth as much as $1 million... and they can get valuable clues to solving the puzzle if a couple enters the Truth Booth and walks out a Perfect Match. And though only one true perfect match is still together, there have been so many memorable moments and characters spurred by AYTO.

Though 143 singles have tried their luck at winning love and money - with all but one season running the table to the money, never before has AYTO or any other reality dating show taken the step of having a season that's devoted entirely to featuring the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community... that will change here as the same house in Hawaii that hosted last year's season will welcome a group of singles who identify themselves as sexually fluid. The title of this year's season is "Come One, Come All" -- no limitations in regards to gender in the search for perfect matches, proving that in this season, love is fair game.

Just off of hosting the BET Awards red carpet over the weekend, the versatile Terrence J. will once again emcee the proceedings of this season as he will help guide the cast through this process and will dig deep into them as well. With this LGBT-themed season, Terrence will be joined by Dr. Frankie Bashan, a relationship expert who will work with the singles to improve their dating life, and to navigate their ride through the drama and pitfalls of this process, including offering advice on poor choices and recurring problems in their relationships. Dr. Frankie will also help the house identify alarming trends in disaster dating from ghosting to benching and stashing, and will test them on willing to fall into those traps -- a first for this franchise.

This LGBT-themed AYTO season should also plenty of overtones of what those who've been watching Real World for years have been used to during that show's run as well as, to a degree, other MTV reality shows: a coming-of-age story wrapped around a reality romance competition series. As evidenced by the clip below of what we'll see this Wednesday, there will be powerful stories that will unfold this season, from the singles coming out for the first time, to deep dives into discovering sexual and gender identity. And for this season, those who are part of the LGBT community will have people to relate to this time... those who are sexually fluid being the stars of Season 8.







    MEET THE CAST    
Names Linked to Instagram Handles

A new cast for any AYTO season might all have the common trait of them not having success in the long-term romance department, and a usual new class might include those with large Instagram followings, good looks and with potential to cross over into other MTV Reality series if the chance came calling. But this year's crop is anything but ordinary, as besides their checkered dating history many of the castmates have fascinating backstories that will add a context and background to their community's struggle to gain wide mainstream acceptance.
   Much of the cast that are coming to Hawaii come from traditional hotbeds of the LGBT community such as New York City, South Florida and California, while a few others will come from traditionally conservative parts of the country like the Midwest and Salt Lake City, where three years ago Ammo flew from the third Real World season to be filmed in Las Vegas next door to Utah to resign from the Mormon church. There's even one who has ambitions on going on the show that the champ of the most recent Challenge season and an ex from last season's Ex On The Beach got to conquer.
   And unlike other seasons, the amount of singles living here is sixteen... which makes the magic number to $1 million eight, not ten or eleven as in the past. And with the complexity of gay, lesbian, trans, bi & queer singles in this year's mansion, there are just about millions of possibilities & a tougher road for this year's group to get to eight matches than the 40,320-to-1 shot (or in percentage talk, 0.0000248%) that supplements the morning line odds. And should this year's group go 8 for 8, they'll each receive $62,500 over 30 years, or a $45,000 lump sum after taxes.

♥ AASHA WELLS - 22, Miami Beach, FL: Aasha from Miami went to college and just graduated with a Communication and Journalism degree... and her eyes are set on being in the TV news business - perhaps follow in the lead of Kayla from Season 1 into that profession. Relationship-wise, Aasha has a to-do list that her partners follow, but it's when things get complicated that things unravel a bit, and her focus here is to try to establish a friendship before getting down & dirty.

♥ AMBER MARTINEZ - 23, Yonkers, NY: 23-year-old Amber from Yonkers, NY will sure to offer plenty of tea during this AYTO season... quite literally: she has a YouTube channel with her friends called "SPiLLL 3," and as a prelude to her being on the cast she and co-host friends Kim & Sealanna got to welcome EMoney from Season 5... wonder what advice he gave to her. For Amber, she goes all in and expects her partner to follow through, but has a fear that things may get out of control.

♥ BASIT SHITTU - 25, Brooklyn, NY: Basit from Brooklyn is one who's vegetarian, loved watching Insecure, and who is safe to say will be the one who will have the right outfit for the theme parties that will take over Hawaii. This self-expressive Nigerian native has a drag alter ego in Dionne Slay, and fits that big & bold persona. But relationship wise, Basit has a tough time to express how they feel... will they finally find their voice here in the islands?

♥ BRANDON DAVIS - 25, Salt Lake City, UT: 25-year-old Salt Lake resident Brandon is a jack of all trades: a former rugby and football player at Montana State University, a rapper and a model who got to take it all off in one of his Instagram pics. Growing up in a conservative military family that constantly moved around, Brandon got to read people and become blunt, which has pushed his partners way in the past. But will he let his guard down and land the one here?

♥ DANNY PRIKAZSKY - 27, San Jose, CA: Bay Area native Danny has the smarts and the humor as this season's resident nerd. For the former, he possesses a major in creative writing and theatre, and part of Twitch's Who Dunnit League. For the ladder, he performs at the L.A. Improv and has something in common with Chuck of Season 3: the ukelele... and loves donuts too. Love wise, Danny was engaged until that fling ended badly... now he seeks for redemption here.

♥ JASMINE OLSON - 21, Oxford, MS: Jasmine comes from the same college town of Oxford, MS as that aforementioned OG Kayla, as well as Layton of Season 2. She has her sights set on The Challenge thanks to her tomboy persona, but also shares a trait with Kailah in rocking any hair color & type that's out there. But love has not treated Jasmine well as she's yet to meet those high expectations in the romantic department... will that change?

♥ JENNA BROWN - 25, Bloomington, IN: Five years ago, Shanley McIntee came to AYTO Season 1 from Bloomington, IN, fell in love with a Navy man right away and got burned by the first-ever Truth Booth. This time, the hometown of Indiana University brings 25-year-old Jenna to AYTO8... and if you love Marvel and Harry Potter, you have your perfect match. But when she came out to her family, things didn't work out well... so did her love life. She has eyes on reversing that trend here.

♥ JONATHAN MONROE - 28, Panama City Beach, FL: Panama City Beach is, of course, where the kids of Floribama Shore got to let loose, but it's also home to 28-year-old Jonathan. He's a bank manager there in the Panhandle, but if there's a winner for Best Hair in this cast, it's him getting to prove that Long Hair rules. But this free spirited Tarzan hasn't had much luck on the romantic front in going beyond the first impressions. Will long-term await Jon?

♥ JUSTINAVERY "JUSTIN" PALM - 24, Palmdale, CA: Justin is a 24-year-old California native now bartending in New York and studying forensics at a criminal justice institution. Before that, he spent six years in the Navy, and when he went to a concert in his first week in the Big Apple, he began to embrace his bisexuality, and through connections he won his way to Hawaii. His goal is try to score a relationship, but most importantly go beyond the fear of abandonment in the battle for love.

♥ KAI WES - 26, Chepachet, RI: Ten years ago, newly transgendered Katelynn came to Real World Brooklyn and foreshadowed what would happen with Bruce Jenner. This year, Kai comes to AYTO from outside Providence having studied film in college and now pursuing that passion in LA, but before that Kai became a pioneer in high school when he came out, eventually becoming a non-binary transsexual man. Now will he find love from anywhere in the spectrum in Hawaii?

♥ KARI SNOW - 23, East Hanover, NJ: Jersey girl Kari has a few sides to her, including one who loves rock, grew up listening to Nirvana and Queen, and who dropped out of college to pursue that passion. But beneath that love of music is someone who went through a traumatic episode: Kari went through a night of domestic violence, and has become an advocate for female empowerment and leadership. Love wise, this AYTO & Catfish fan and cosplayer hasn't had as bright or colorful a story in relationships... she's hoping that the bad love history won't follow her to paradise.

♥ KYLIE SMITH - 24, Salt Lake City, UT: Like Brandon, Kylie also has common roots being from Utah, and who not only loves AYTO but also Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kylie looks a bit like Kaylen from Season 4, and like her she has plenty of good vibes that should radiate in the house. But when it comes to love, she has habits of falling hard & fast, getting revenge, and falling out of it before it gets deep. Kylie's goal is to look for a partner that's strong yet keep her persona grounded.

♥ MAX GENTILE - 25, Columbus, OH: At first glance, Max would be that guy who loves to go to raves... and he's got the pics of being at Coachella as proof before flying out to Hawaii. Max already has TV experience having competed on one of the many made-for-YouTube college versions of Survivor, and is eagerly awaiting his chance for maybe two chances at $1 million. But it's when he moved from conservative Ohio to vibrant L.A. that he saw who he really is in being bi. The challenge for Max: look for someone who can celebrate being themselves.

♥ NOUR FRAIJ - 25, Kenilworth, NJ: Nour from New Jersey is one who confesses to watch Grey's Anatomy and was inspired to audition for AYTO after having a crush on Malcolm & Clinton and fangirling Nurys on Season 6. Nour is of Middle Eastern descent growing up in a Muslim household of Jordanian descent, but when she saw herself as bi early and got married... only for that to collapse. Nour has regained the wheel since she got divorced, and will she slow down and score the one?

♥ PAIGE COLE - 21, Allen, TX: 21-year-old Paige comes to us from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, but who currently calls New York home. Tonight, she'll make the AYTO cast among the first to know that she's bi, something that she's kept inside of her since she grew up in a small Texas suburb. It's when she came to NYC that she embraced her sexuality but her relationship tendencies of involving sex came along for the trip too. Will Paige finally find love and learn something too?

♥ REMY DURAN - 27, New York, NY: Of all the cast, New Yorker Remy seems to be the most socially active tweeter and the one with the most Twitter love on cast reveal day. And for one who loves anime, this clubber kid also happens to be one of the most catfished people on Grindr. Remy is over the top, but if a partner says no to his extreme side then they won't see the softer side of him. Will he find that one who can get into his mind before he seals the deal?


One thing that binds all sixteen of these singles is something they all have in common: they take pride in who they truly are in being proud that they are gay, lesbian, trans, bi and queer. And when this journey begins tonight, instead of the usual game of "truth or dare" to break the ice in the first days, they'll have a different kind of family get-together as they embark on this historic season.





When AYTO Season 8 premieres tonight, it will be during a week of reflection and celebration: four years ago today on June 26, 2015, a ruling by the Supreme Court decreed that same-sex marriage can become legal in all fifty states, sparking celebrations from Pride weekend in San Francisco to out & proud USWNT player Megan Rapione at the Women's World Cup in Canada. And fifty years ago this Friday, an early morning raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village in Manhattan spurred a weekend of rioting by gay, lesbian, trans and bisexual people in New York City that sparked the modern-day LGBT movement, and for which its 50th anniversary will be marked this weekend.
   This season of summer reality dating television will be the first sexually-fluid one of its kind to ever air in America, and it comes during a tense time for those in the LGBT community when they are fearing what might happen next to them from the man in the White House and his colleagues. The AYTO8 cast got to discuss below the unique opportunity that's being given to them tonight of having a season like no other, and how they hope that this season will help to spark greater interest in casting more of people like them on future seasons of other shows, as well as equal media representation.








The Real World has documented generations of those who live proudly be themselves, which for its newest season two of those similar to Nour and Brandon of this group make their way to Atlanta and Facebook in Middle Eastern-born Yasmin and black gay man Dondre. The Challenge has also had those out & proud compete on that show as well, and Season 2 of Ex On The Beach saw Jozea, Cheyenne, Murray and Cory become the U.S. version's first LGBT representatives.
   Tonight sees more history in store as Aasha, Amber, Basit, Brandon, Danny, Jasmine, Jenna, Jonathan, Justin, Kai, Kari, Kylie, Max, Nour, Paige and Remy write their names into MTV lore as castmates of the first sexually-fluid reality dating series in U.S. TV history, and a season of Are You The One? that will be like no other. As they say, "Love Wins."





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DCBLOG takes great pride in having followed Are You The One from the very beginning, and this year is no exception. We'll be offering our exclusive SocialPulse coverage of the episodes and the action, reaction and interaction of the episodes from the cast, alumni and fans each week, in addition to our own take on the traditional recaps, analysis and opinions -- including the ever-important match chart. And we'll have all the stories behind the story with ExtraTime as we'll be delving into what's becoming the Summer of Love in MTV Reality, as Season 3 of Ex On The Beach will debut next month starring familiar AYTO faces and MTV names popping up on the sand.
   Join In on the conversation over on the home of my live Twitter commentary on the episodes each Wednesday on DCNOW at @DC408DxNow, where after tonight's premiere I'll have a late night viewing party for Episode 2 of The Real World Atlanta. Enjoy tonight's premiere, and see you here this weekend. Welcome to the summer, friends...

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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