Married At First Sight Season 18 Is The Best Yet (How It’s Saving The Franchise & Boding Well For Show’s Future)
Married at First Sight season 18 is the best season yet in the franchise, which spells positivity towards saving the franchise and securing the show’s future. Married at First Sight season 17 ended in late April 2024, and the divorces, lackluster drama, and weak cast did damage to the show’s credibility and viewer reception. Not only did all five couples end their marriages in divorce, but there was also a first ever runaway bride, and the first ever group dupe. While those elements made for heightened and wild situations, what was presented in season 17 was not what viewers wanted.
Married at First Sight’s premise is for the show’s experts to match couples who are compatible on deep levels, which is meant to help them grow in love and understanding. However, as season 17 demonstrated, the show has not shown MAFS high success rates. Season 17 was preceded by several seasons of low success rates as well, and the franchise in general only has a success rate of 18.75%. Out of 64 couples, 12 are still together. This puts a lot of pressure on MAFS season 18’s success, but it has every indication that it will not let down viewers.
MAFS Season 18 Is Standing Out
Married at First Sight season 18 premiered in mid-October 2024, and several episodes are already out. Viewers got to know the cast originally through the “Matchmaking Special,” which saw the experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Pia Holec, and Pastor Cal Roberson, go through their list of potential participants and select the matches. Moreover, as the couples are getting to know each other both through the weddings (via @mafslifetime) and the subsequent time together during the honeymoons, fans have gotten a base impression of the 10 cast members.
What is standing out in season 18 is the maturity of the cast, who are an older group than what has been presented in past seasons. Each particpant has deep reasoning for wanting to be married, and they are highlighting their emotional intelligence in being able to understand their partners and the longevity of marriage. Ikechi Ojoré has written letters to his future wife for years, proving that marriage is an absolute for him. Thomas, although he ended a long relationship that involved cheating on his end, is ready to be vulnerable, and has done the work on himself in therapy.
The cast members seem very hopeful about the outcomes of their marriages, which is inherently engaging for viewers. Season 18 will have a cheating scandal during the season, and while that is a negative arc, it speaks to real-life nature and pitfalls that can happen in relationships. Married at First Sight is about a unique process that plays out differently for everyone, and the cheating scandal is one wild situation that will arise in the season that will give fans an unexpected storyline.
The MAFS Season 18 Scandals Have Made Things Interesting
Outside of the cheating scandal, there will also be a first-ever couples swap. It’s unclear who the couples swap will be between, but regardless of who, the narrative is wholly enticing. Even if the show doesn’t end with all the original couples together, if anything positive comes out of the swap, it could be in the show’s best interest. Having scandals of the cheating and swap nature are storylines that viewers will want to watch, if only to find out how it all shakes out. What’s more, the scandals are making season 18 more interesting than if fans were to watch couples in rosy situations.
MAFS Season 17’s Failures Have Helped Season 18
The pitfalls of Lifetime‘s Married at First Sight season 17 have actually helped the anticipation and viewer engagement with season 18.
Since all the couples of season 17 failed, viewers would be happy if even one season 18 couple worked out.
What’s more, the drama and tension among the season 17 cast members over the attempted group dupe did have entertainment value, and it looks like season 18 will be following that up with a different kind of animosity via the scandals. While the drama among the cast is not ideal for the participants themselves, it does make for good reality TV.
Since season 17 was the longest season in Married at First Sight history after being six months long, fans are ready to build attachments to an entirely new cast with unique journeys. The hiatus in between season 17 and season 18 was also six months long, so fans are ready to let go of any qualms they had with season 17 and look forward to season 18 meeting their expectations. There was also an attraction issue between several of the season 17 couples, and all of the season 18 couples have attraction towards their spouses, which is already a win.
MAFS Season 18 Is Saving The Franchise
It’s become clear over the last few failed seasons of Married at First Sight that the franchise is headed in a new direction. This new direction leans into participant drama, expert involvement, and a layer of drama presentation that is focused on the interpersonal situations among the couples and individual cast members.
While this new matrix is unlike the earlier seasons, which focused more on the couples’ journeys themselves and less about the friction or friendships among the cast, it has proven to be more entertaining.
Married at First Sight has all the markings of being a high value season. Between the wild nature of issues the two scandals will create and the charismatic nature of the cast being one that viewers want to root for, season 18 is poised to have positive viewer reception. With so much season left for viewers to engage with and the potential for positive outcomes still hanging in the balance, season 18 has the legs to be one that keeps viewers enjoying the show. Because of the last few lackluster seasons, season 18’s critical perception is saving the franchise.
