What would you do for €100,000? I guess many of us would be willing to put ourselves out there a bit for that amount of money Fight for Paradise: Who Can You Trust?.
But on the new German reality show Fight for Paradise, the contestants don’t have to do much – they just have to spend a few nights in a fancy villa. Easy, right? Nah.
As we’ve all come to expect from reality shows these days, there’s a twist. The competitors start off in the luxury villa but when the show’s host, model and singer Bonnie Strange, turns up, they realise life isn’t going to be that simple.
To earn their place in this paradise home, they must work their way up. This means relocating themselves to the nearby jungle which, let’s be honest now, doesn’t look quite as rough as you might’ve thought.
This comes as bad news for our original line-up of players – Marc, Shima, Eleyna, Mika, Greta, Samira, Nam, Lena, Elisabeth Delano and AJ.
Some take it on the chin while others act like their world has ended around them. Some could call these people brattish; sulky is certainly one word that can describe a few of them.
To become ‘insiders’ and get back into the villa walls again (without seeing another rainy day in a tent), competitors must win challenges. Going by episode one – four all at once dropped on Netflix this week – none of these are as gruelling or dangerous as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’s trials and tribulations.
Fight for Paradise: Who Can You Trust? In episode one alone the two chosen ones – Marc and Shima – had to go on an extremely unchallenging trek through the jungle to find a box.
Inside this box? A snake? A hairy spider? An ex-Survivor contestant? No: just an innocent card which offers them the chance to sleep in the villa. But by saying ‘yes’ they have to eliminate another player. Their decision is obvious, and the unlucky individual who gets picked is even more disappointed.
It’s hard to feel sympathetic for any of Fight For Paradise’s players as very few of them are particularly likeable. These people could backstab and bitch for Germany, which is only fun when someone else does it back to them and calls them out on it; otherwise their pettiness is unbearable, especially when they start crying because they have to spend another night away from a soft mattress and warm shower.
But hey, you know what these shows are like – there’s the usual mix of dancers/influencers/models (all under 35 with perfect exteriors even after a night in the bush) so really we should expect nothing less.
In the last few years, some reality shows featured a mix of contestants in terms of age, looks, occupations and backgrounds. Fight for Paradise: Who Can You Trust? is what made shows like The Traitors or Squid Game: The Challenge so interesting – they show people who are relatable and don’t all look like they stepped off the catwalk.
But that’s not the case with Fight for Paradise. It’s pretty boys and girls, beautiful on the outside but (in some cases) not so much on the inside.
There is a certain joy to be had from watching elimination rounds when daggers are thrown (metaphorically) by those who have been chosen to go. And some of the twists are rather delicious; in one episode, for example, a contestant chosen for elimination is saved by others only to live in a villa with them anyway – awkward!
But this is mostly just another reality show: vacuous and formulaic. In many ways it’s worse because as predictable and boring as camp missions get, at least there’s still room for surprise among the contestants.
To be fair, this review is based solely on the first four episodes; our opinion (and rating) could change after next week when we see another four. For now though: give it a miss. There are far better competitive shows on Netflix right now (Outlast), or even something more original than this tedious flop – Squid Game: The Challenge.
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