I Wanna Marry "Harry"

I Wanna Marry "Harry"
Genre Competitive reality dating show
Created by Danny Fenton
Starring Matthew Hicks
Paul Leonard
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 8
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Danny Fenton
  • Kevin Utton
  • Matt Gould
  • Ryan Seacrest
  • Adam Sher
  • Heather Schuster
  • David Tibballs
  • Rebecca Eisen
Production company(s)
  • Zig Zag Productions
  • Ryan Seacrest Productions
Release
Original network Fox
Original release May 20 – June 11, 2014 (2014-06-11)
External links
Website

I Wanna Marry "Harry" was a reality television show that premiered on May 20, 2014, on Fox. The series has a premise similar to Joe Millionaire,[1] and follows twelve American women who are led to believe that they are competing for the affections of Prince Harry. However, in reality the bachelor is Matthew Hicks, a Prince Harry look-alike. On June 12, 2014, it was announced the show was pulled from the air in the US and cancelled after airing only four episodes.[2] Although not broadcast, the last four episodes were made available on Fox.com, Fox NOW, cable On Demand and Hulu.[3] The complete series was broadcast on the ITV2 channel in the UK, on Latin-American E! Entertainment Television throughout Latin America (especially in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina) in February 2015, and on Network Ten in Australia.

Background

At first, the contestants are not explicitly told that the bachelor is Prince Harry; they are merely led to make that inference on their own by Hicks' close resemblance, the royal setting of Englefield House,[4] the lavish dates, and being surrounded by real professional servants and a security detail that really does have experience protecting heads of state.[5] Hicks is referred to in the contestants' presence only as "Sir."[6] However, in the 5th episode, Hicks tells Kelly while they are alone that he is Prince Harry and later butler Kingsley announces to all seven remaining contestants at the dinner table that "Sir is indeed His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales."

Contestant Andrea Fox, in an interview on the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning radio show, said that prior to filming the contestants were told they were going to be on a TV show called "Dream Date" and that it was more about "the experience for the girls" instead of "finding love", and that people with the show kept saying "Don't compare it to The Bachelor".[7]

The butler on the show, only referred to as Kingsley, is portrayed by English actor Paul Leonard.[8]

The series first aired in the USA on May 20, 2014, on Fox. On June 12, 2014, Fox cancelled I Wanna Marry "Harry" after four of the eight produced episodes due to low ratings but announced it would air the remainder on Fox.com, cable On Demand,[2] Fox NOW and Hulu.[3][9]

It began airing in the UK on ITV2 on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 9:00pm.[10]

It began airing on Network Ten in Australia on May 30, 2014, originally at 8:30pm Fridays, later moving to a 10:30pm-11pm start due to poor ratings.[11]

Ratings

The first episode aired on Fox following the last season 13 American Idol performance show and had a 1.5 household rating, with a 0.7 for adults 18-49. The second show, which followed Riot, had a 1.0 household rating, with a 0.4 for viewers 18-49.[12] The third episode had 1.04 million live + "same day DVR" viewers with a rating for adults 18-49 of 0.4 (adults 18-49 share: 1).[13]

The first Australian broadcast of the show on Network Ten on Friday, May 30, 2014 drew 341,000 viewers which placed it 24th in OzTAM's overnight ratings for that night.[11]

ITV2 broadcast the first and second shows on the same night (June 4, 2014) and the first show drew 286,000 viewers (1.2%) from 9pm-10pm, while the second show drew 274,000 viewers (1.7%) from 10pm to 11pm.[14]

Reviews

Time magazine reviewed the US premiere, comparing it as "weirdly similar, down to minor details" to Joe Millionaire. However, unlike Joe Millionaire, the magazine noted, there is no shame or guilt in the deception, which Time attributed to reality TV learning to become "lighter in tone yet more slick and ruthless."[1]

In the UK The Telegraph headlined its review "fodder for the braindead" and commenting "the floundering Harry lookalike wasn't a wild or weird enough character to carry the show, entertainment derived solely from the foolish bachelorettes." But it picks out the butler, Kingsley, as a "genre-bender of genius" who strays far from his brief.[15]

The Bachelor

The bachelor, Matthew Hicks, works for an environmental consultancy firm. He had previously done some very small-scale impersonations of Prince Harry, but otherwise had no prior acting experience. Before filming began, Hicks had his natural blond hair dyed red to match Prince Harry's hair colour, and was given brief training in "princely" activities he would need for the show, such as horseback riding, fencing and ballroom dancing. Hicks was also taught extensive information about Prince Harry, to help Hicks be able to respond to contestants appropriately.[16]

Show creator Danny Fenton said in an interview on Good Morning Britain that he talked to over 100 potential Harry look-a-likes from multiple countries before selecting Hicks.[17]

The Contestants

The contestants are the following twelve women:[18]

Name Age Hometown Job Crown Suite Eliminated
Kimberly Birch 24 Malverne, Long Island, New York Social worker, model and actress Week 2, 6 Winner
Karina Kennedy 25 Palos Hills, Illinois Physical therapist Week 3 Week 8 (Runner-Up)
Kelley Andrews 25 Mobile, Alabama Hostess Week 4 Week 8 (3rd Place)
Rose Copeland 23 Westlake Village, California Special preschool teacher Week 1 Week 7
Meghan Ramsey Jones 26 Tustin, California Artist Week 5 Week 6
Jacqueline Conroy 25 Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York (Fox biography gives New York, New York) Nutritionist/model/actor Week 6
Maggie Toraason 25 Peru, Illinois Account executive Week 5
Anna Lisa Matias 24 San Francisco, California Miss LA Week 4
Chelsea Brookshire 22 Long Beach, California Actress/model Week 4 (Quit)
Carley Hawkins 24 Buffalo, Missouri Instructional pre-med student Week 3
Andrea Fox 25 Longview, Texas Lead development representative Week 2
Leah Thom 24 Fort Worth, Texas Cocktail waitress[19] Week 1

Aftermath

The series was filmed in August and September 2013. Nine months afterwards Hicks and the winner Kimberley Birch were still in touch and planning to meet up. "We genuinely like each other and have spoken regularly from the moment we stopped filming," said Birch in June 2014.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 REVIEW: I Wanna Marry “Harry”: Welcome to Bucking-sham Palace - TIME, 20 May 2014
  2. 1 2 Bibel, Sara (June 12, 2014). "'I Wanna Marry Harry' & 'Riot' Canceled by FOX". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (June 12, 2014). "Fox Pulls 'Riot' & 'I Wanna Marry "Harry"' From Schedule". Deadline. PMC. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ Vincent, Alice (April 1, 2014). "I Wanna Marry Harry makes women compete for 'Prince Harry's' hand in marriage". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Gomez, Patrick (April 2, 2014). "I Wanna Marry Harry: How 12 Women Were Duped". People. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ Lovece, Frank (May 20, 2014). "Marry Harry? Could it really be?". Newsday. New York / Long Island. p. B7.
  7. ↑ "Andrea Fox from I Wanna Marry "Harry"". youtube.com. KiddNation. May 22, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ Rosenfield, Laura (May 27, 2014). "Kingsley on 'I Wanna Marry Harry' Is Not Really a Butler & He Has a Leg Up On Russell Crowe". bustle.com. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Heredus, Eric (June 20, 2014). "'Marry Harry' winner still seeing fake prince". New York Post. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ "US reality show I Wanna Marry Harry to air on ITV2". http://tv.uk.msn.com. MSN UK. June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  11. 1 2 "I Wanna Marry Harry flops in ratings". http://www.dailymail.co.uk. Mail Online. May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  12. ↑ Cantor, Brian (May 28, 2014). ""I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" Ratings Sink in Week Two". headlineplanet.com. Headline Planet. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  13. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (June 4, 2014). "TV Ratings Tuesday: 'America's Got Talent' & 'The Night Shift' Dip, 'Celebrity Wife Swap' Rises to Season High + 'I Wanna Marry Harry' Flat". http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Zap2it. Retrieved June 5, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  14. ↑ Farber, Alex (June 5, 2014). "I Wanna Marry 'Harry' lures 300k". www.broadcastnow.co.uk. Broadcast. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  15. ↑ McLaren, Iona (June 4, 2014). "I Wanna Marry 'Harry' review: 'fodder for the braindead'". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ Seikaly, Andrea (May 3, 2014). "Meet the 'Prince': 'I Wanna Marry 'Harry'' Star on Living Like a Royal". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ "TV producers meet 100 Prince Harry lookalikes for new dating show". http://indiatoday.intoday.in. India Today. June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  18. ↑ "Meet The 'I Wanna Marry Harry' Women". Inside Edition. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  19. ↑ Gomez, Patrick (May 22, 2014). "I Wanna Marry 'Harrys Leah Thom: It Was Like 'Speed Dating of the Worst Kind'". people.com. People Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
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