Fox is reviving “Paradise Hotel,” one of its sleazier reality-competition shows, and a Utahn will be there when the show premieres on Thursday.
Hans Wiener will be one of the, ahem, “sexy singles” who check into a luxury beach hotel and compete for big bucks.
“Eleven sexy singles will do whatever it takes to win the competition,” host Kristin Cavallari says in a promo. “And the rules are really simple — hook up, or you’re checking out.”
One part of the game is that the contestants must pair off in male-female couples and spend the night together. It’s sort of like musical chairs, and the contestant who doesn’t “hook up” is out.
Wiener grew up in Park City and competed as a freestyle skier before graduating from Trinity College in Connecticut and then moving to New York and “dabbling in the corporate world,” according to his LinkedIn biography. He’s a model and aspiring actor.
He and the other contestants will stay at a beachside resort, where they will wear “minimal clothing” — to expose lots of abs and cleavage — and down “a few cocktails,” according to Cavallari. “Those types of places just make for a very sexy environment, and people tend to do things that they wouldn’t normally do at home.”
Judging by two previous American incarnations of the show, as well as 18 international versions, those things will probably include lying, cheating, backstabbing, casual sex and drunkenness.
Fox is being somewhat vague about how all this will play out. According to the network, “Each week, these singles will vote off one of their fellow residents to make room for a new guest. In a new twist, viewers can play along at home, using social media to try and influence what happens on screen, including helping to decide who stays and who goes.”
We know it will play out three nights a week — 7-9 p.m. Thursdays and 8-9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays (plus a few repeats on other nights) on KSTU-Channel 13.
Way back in 2003, the original version of “Paradise Hotel” ran from mid-June through Oct. 1, drawing unimpressive ratings and often savage reviews. A little-noticed second season aired in 2008 on the now-defunct Fox Reality Channel and MyNetworkTV.
For the 2019 reboot, the creators/executive producers of the original show have been joined by executive producer SallyAnn Salsano, whose credits include “Jersey Shore” (and its spinoffs), “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” and “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party.”
“When love, power and money are the stakes, doing the right thing can sometimes take a backseat,” Salsano says. “Guessing who will do what’s right to find the one, while others are focusing on the jackpot, makes this super exciting.”
Right. Super.
