How to get cast on TV shows like Australian Idol, Farmer Wants A Wife, MasterChef from Melbourne: Your go-to guide
Thousands of people are applying each year to be on reality TV shows — but not everyone knows these top things casting crews are looking out for. From Survivor to Australian Idol, here’s how to land your spot.
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With thousands of people applying each year to be on reality TV shows, it is clear the lure of 15 minutes of fame is as strong as ever in Australia.
From Survivor to Married At First Sight, The Block, The Voice, Australian Idol, MasterChef, Gogglebox, Travel Guides, Parental Guidance, Love Island, Love Triangle, Alone, FBoy Island, MKR and the returning ‘OG’ of the reality game, Big Brother, to name a few, there are numerous opportunities for people to get their moment in the spotlight.
With the popularity of the genre, the trick is to stand out from the pack in the crowded casting process.
Each show has its own casting protocols, but all start in the same way: you have to apply.
Networks usually put a call out that applications are open for the following year at the end of a show’s season. The links are housed on a show’s web page or through a casting company such as mycastingnet.com.
Casting can also happen “in the wild” when a casting scout approaches someone cold in a pub, at a sporting event, a bar, a shopping centre, club or cafe, or via a DM on social media.
Some street casting undertakings are not so covert. There have been times when shows have sent casting scouts out to locations wearing a T-shirt reading “we’re casting” with the name of the show emblazoned on the garment.
How to get cast on MasterChef Australia
MasterChef Australia has made no secret that it is on the hunt for fresh and fabulous talent for the next season of the show and casting teams have been at markets and food events around Melbourne in recent weeks meeting and mingling with keen amateur foodies and encouraging them to apply.
Sarah Thornton, head of unscripted for Channel 10, said tips to get noticed in a casting process included having a clue about the show you were applying for.
“You would be surprised at the number of people that copy and paste applications for another show to the show that they’re applying for with you,” Thornton said.
“Immediately, that’s quite off-putting, there’s not many shows on television that are looking for the same people.
“My advice is to really think about the show that you would like to be cast in and why you fit on that show before you apply. We want people who don’t overfilter themselves and are really good storytellers. They also have to be memorable.
“Obviously with MasterChef, it’s about the food, but we have all sorts of personality types among the cast and not everyone is an extrovert on the show. When we do the auditions for MasterChef, we are looking for people who are deeply immersed in their cooking and have real depth of talent. We don’t just want people who are amazing, we want real heart and soul home cooks.”
Would-be contestants need to complete an online application and include photos of their recently prepared dishes along with a video of them cooking and introducing themselves. From there they may be selected to do an interview with producers or attend an audition.
How to get cast on Big Brother
The return of Big Brother to the ranks of Australian reality TV has created a huge buzz among fans of the show.
Ten is readying for a rush of applicants when casting opens in the coming weeks.
“With Big Brother, when casting gets underway, I would say take your time with your application,” Thornton said.
“Don’t rush it, show the essence of who you are and what it is that makes you unique and exciting to us. What we’re not looking for is a perfectly produced video (application). We’d be happy with something very amateur provided it’s authentic. In some ways the more polished it is, the harder it is for us to see you.”
Thornton said 10’s reboot of Big Brother would take the show back to its foundations.
“We are really aiming to cast it in the salt-of-the-earth kind of way that the original Australian series was cast. We are looking for people from all walks of life that bring slices of Australia to us as viewers.”
How to get cast on Travel Guides
Travel Guides, one of Australia’s most popular reality shows, has just finished casting a new group to join the Channel 9 production for the first time in two years.
Executive Producer Hugh Brodie said the show, which features a cast of regular people sent around the world to provide travel critiques, had been overwhelmed with the high quality of applicants. More than 3000 people threw their hats into the ring.
“We have got people in their late teens through to people in their 90s who’ve applied,” Brodie said.
“To be a Travel Guide there is no discernible talent that’s required. You don’t have to be able to sing, you don’t have to be able to cook, you don’t have to be able to build a house. All you have to do is enjoy travelling and have a sense of humour, which is probably 99 per cent of the population.
“The thing is, what our cast actually do is incredibly nuanced and they make it look and feel really easy breezy. They have a high emotional intelligence and they don’t have a filter. There are no airs and graces, they are 100 per cent themselves and they just find each other really amusing.”
Brodie said being real and enthusiastic helped people stand out during casting. The casting process starts with an online application that includes a video. The next stage is a Zoom call and then an in person audition.
“At the end of the day we’re looking for a lightning strike of chemistry,” he said.
“It is always thought the secret sauce of Travel Guides is how much our cast groups light each other up and that’s what I’m looking for in the audition process.”
Tamara Simoneau, head of creative production and entertainment for Paramount Australia, encouraged reality applicants to “wow” the casting team from the get go.
“Show them your vibrant personality and all the reasons you would be great on their show,” Simoneau said.
“Don’t be shy. If you get a phone call or get in front of a casting producer, make the most of it. Also, do your research. If you come in without knowing a decent amount about the show you’re applying to be on, that can be a turn off.”
Simoneau said “talent spotters” in the field were important in finding strong reality applicants.
“TV producers and anyone in casting has their radar on all the time. Social media is another great place we trawl to find potential cast,” she said.
How to get cast on Farmer Wants A Wife
Channel 7’s much loved dating show Farmer Wants A Wife takes a different approach to casting than some other reality romance focused offerings.
Seven’s head of reality, Sylvia D’Souza said Farmer was about matchmaking, love and logistics.
“Women apply directly to individual farmers they’re drawn to, often more than one,” D’Souza said, adding that the farmers then choose a shortlist of potential matches from the initial applications.
“They’re not applying to ‘be on TV’, they’re applying to meet him. We cast a wide net, with the application promoted on social media, national TV promos, in rural publications, and yes, we even ask Aussies to dob in a farmer.
“That community insight can be gold. On top of that, our casting producers reach out directly to rural councils, agricultural shows, produce markets, even livestock sales. If there’s a gathering of farmers, chances are someone from casting has ears to the ground.
“If we’re at a country pub or a sheepdog trial and someone walks in with charm, warmth, and that spark — you bet we’ll introduce ourselves.”
D’Souza described the casting process as “rigorous and thoughtful.”
“It is far more layered than people realise,” she said.
“We’re not just casting a show, we’re potentially changing someone’s life. From written applications, there is a rigorous review process internally before we pitch to the Network and the final cast is picked.”
Being ‘you’ was the key to standing out from the show’s hundreds of annual applicants.
“Don’t try to be what you think we’re looking for, be unapologetically yourself,” D’Souza said.
“Tell us why you’re ready for love. Show us what you’ve lived through to get here. One of the most memorable applicants simply wrote: ‘I don’t want to be famous. I want someone to have dinner with every night.’ That’s the kind of truth that cuts through.
“Drop the mask. We respond to vulnerability, self-awareness, humour and heartache.”
How to get cast on Australian Idol
Applying for a talent based show like 7’s Australian Idol can be done via an online application at idolauditions.com.au form or turning up on an audition day.
At the audition day hopefuls meet producers and may then be confirmed to audition for the judges.
Thousands apply to be on the show each year and producers are constantly on the lookout for people with the ‘it’ factor.
Seven’s director of content, unscripted, Majella Hay said having a unique song choice, making a song your own and dressing the part were good tips to getting noticed among the hopefuls.
“Treat any stages of casting like they’re the real deal,” Hay said.
“Don’t tone down your performance or energy just because it’s a Zoom call.
“Ultimately Idol is an entertainment show so any contenders need to be entertaining. Beyond a great voice, producers on Idol are looking for authentic, charismatic, hardworking performers who are in it to win it.”
How to get cast on The Voice
For The Voice, Hay said casting began with an application at thevoicecasting.com.au.
That application goes through an initial assessment by producers before a first round of audition either in person or on Zoom. A second audition round takes place in person.
“We’re always casting,” Hay said of The Voice.
“If any of our team hears someone great they always encourage them to apply. We love recommendations too.
“In the application sing well and answer the casting questions with as much detail as possible. The more information, the better.”
‘Being on a reality show stays with you forever’
One of the headaches with casting reality TV comes when good talent is found, but they don’t want to be on a show.
One bayside resident told of how he had been approached three times out of the blue to be on shows including MAFS and The Bachelorette. On each occasion he declined.
“I was at Sorrento Hotel a couple of years ago, having lunch with a friend, and this girl came up and introduced herself and asked if I had had any interest in doing reality TV,” he said.
“She was casting MAFS. I thought someone was setting me up. She followed me up on Instagram. I did have a phone conversation with her, but then I thought about it for half a second and said it was not for me. Being on a reality show stays with you forever.”
Former TV producer turned TV and pop culture podcaster, Alexandria Funnell, said reticence to appear on air sometimes meant the best applicants did not end up in a final cast.
“When it comes to casting, so many people apply but when it comes to those final stages of weighing up the risk factor that comes with signing up to reality TV, a lot of your straighty 180, average Joe Blows, they tap out,” she said.
“Sometimes the best talent ends up watching at home on the couch.”
Originally published as How to get cast on TV shows like Australian Idol, Farmer Wants A Wife, MasterChef from Melbourne: Your go-to guide
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