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Shaun Micallef: ‘Married at First Sight is not a social experiment’

The 'Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation' host gets real about his own show - and the reality TV phenomenon
Channel 9

Shaun Micallef, 56, has returned to host a new season of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation (continues Wed., May 8 at 7.30pm; Nine).

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Are you glad to be back for a second season on Nine?
It’s always a pleasant surprise to get asked back for a second run. We thought the baby boomers would have their noses out of joint because they don’t like being left out, but I was hopeful last season that I could be seen to be representing the baby boomers.

What do you love most about making this show?
Because the other show I do on the ABC [Mad As Hell] is a lot more regimented and disciplined in terms of it being written, this is more like a holiday. The thing I like about it is that it’s really loose – I give [the producers] a whole lot of stuff and they can use what they want. 

But you get a laugh out of it?
At the end of the day, that’s why we’re there. We’re not really an educational program despite the fact that we pretended in the early days to be an interesting social experiment. It’s like most of these shows that suggest they’re a social experiment – Married at First Sight is a fine show and a lot of things, but it’s not a social experiment. 

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Do your sons watch the show?
They claim to. We all have different TV sets now. And they are older – first time round [on Ten] we watched as a family but they are 21, 18 and 16, and all out or doing homework. I am hopeful families with children of a particular age feel safe watching without their finger hovering over the mute button.

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