Paradise Hotel

Paradise Hotel is an American reality television program that aired on Fox in 2003, MyNetworkTV and Fox Reality Channel in 2008. In the show, a group of single people live in a luxurious hotel resort, competing to see who can stay in the hotel the longest. Periodically, someone is removed from the show, and others are brought in to replace them. Each week couples pair off and must share a hotel room together. One person is left over, and he or she has to leave. That person is then replaced the following episode. The format was created by Mentorn, a UK production company, which has produced various versions of the show around the world.^[1]

Season 1

The first season of Paradise Hotel aired on Fox from June 18, 2003 to October 1, 2003 with thirty episodes and was hosted by Amanda Byram. A similar show called Forever Eden was produced the following year. A second season of Paradise Hotel followed four years later on MyNetworkTV and Fox Reality Channel, both of which are sister networks to Fox.

The winners of the first season were Charla Pihlstrom and Keith Cuda, with Dave Kerpen and Tara Gerard finishing as the runners-up. In the finale, Charla and Keith won $250,000, but had to decide whether to split it with their respective partners. Keith decided to split his winnings with Tara Gerard, while Charla chose to keep the money for herself and to give Dave nothing.

Season 2

Paradise Hotel

Season 2 (2008)

Guests Name Entered Exited       Zack Ep. 11 Finale Stephanie Ep. 5 Finale Tidisha Ep. 1 Finale Ryan Ep. 1 Finale Krista Ep. 1 Ep. 15 Mike Ep. 1 Ep. 15 James Ep. 1 Ep. 14 Myrna Ep. 9 Ep. 13 Aaron Ep. 7 Ep. 13 Lauren Ep. 1 Ep. 12 Chris Ep. 7 Ep. 12 Tanya Ep. 1 Ep. 10 Raheim Ep. 1 Ep. 8 Johnny Ep. 3 Ep. 8 Chartè Ep. 1 Ep. 6 Nate Ep. 1 Ep. 4 Chelsea Ep. 1 Ep. 2 Winner Runner-up Eliminated

The second season began airing on February 4, 2008 on MyNetworkTV and Fox Reality Channel. It was aired four years after on Fox. Amanda Byram returned as host and Mark Thompson returned as the announcer.

New episodes aired on MyNetworkTV Monday nights at 9/8c with encore episodes airing Saturday nights at 9/8c. Fox Reality Channel aired more explicit, but still censored, same night TV-MA versions of new episodes at 1:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 p.m. (PT) with encores throughout the week.^[2] Episodes can also be seen on Hulu.

The winning couple was Stephanie and Zack but the runners-up, Tidisha and Ryan, were given the responsibility of choosing only one member of the winning couple to claim the "ultimate prize". Zack, was chosen and was presented with a US $200,000 prize. He chose to share $20,000 with Tidisha and $90,000 with Stephanie, keeping the remaining $90,000 for himself.

International versions

The Israeli version

The Israeli version premiered in September 2008 and aired on Channel 2 entitled מפרץ האהבה (The Bay of Love).

The Swedish version

The first two seasons of the Swedish version of Paradise Hotel aired on TV4 in 2005 and 2006. One of the contestants of season one, Sofia Hellqvist, later married the Swedish Prince Carl Philip.^[3]

A third season aired on TV6 in 2009-2010, followed by a fourth season that started to air November 15, 2010 on TV6. Season four was the last season to be aired on TV6 as the following seasons were aired on TV3.

A fifth season started on November 18, 2013 on TV3. Aina Lesse and Jesper Johansson won, with Johansson throwing the ball at 200 000 Swedish crowns, leaving Lesse with no share of the money.

In August 2014 a sixth season of Paradise Hotel started to air. Paulina Danielsson and Eric Hagberg won and shared the winnings of 500 000 Swedish crowns.

The following year, in August 2015, the seventh season started to air. Josefine Caarle and Robin Andersson won and shared the winnings of 500 000 Swedish crowns.

The Norwegian version

The first season of the Norwegian version was recorded in January and February 2009 and premiered in March on TV3. It was hosted by glamour model Triana Iglesias. Winners of the first season were Petter Pilgaard and Benedicte Valen and the prize was NOK 300,000 (about US $50,000) shared between the couple.

The second season began airing in March 2010, which was won by Tine Helene Valle and Carl Eliassen. Like Pilgaard and Valen, they shared the prize.

The third season followed up in 2011. The winners were Niklas Vindel, who was also in the finale of the second season, and Madelen Voreland Berås. They shared the prize as well.

The fourth season aired in 2012. This year Miguel Kristiansen and Vida Lill Gausemel Berge won the controversial contest, but Vida Lill dropped the ball, and won 200,000 NOK, and shared 100,000 with her former partner, Stian Thorbjørnsen. The show has begun to appear yearly on TV3.

In 2013 Tina Skovdal and Sander Kalstrup won the fifth season. Tinas partner Kristian Renè Johansen participated in the 2012 season without winning. Tina and Sander shared the money.

Aurora Gude and Nikolai Bennis won the sixth season in 2014. Aurora and Nikolai dropped the ball simultaneously, but slow motion reprise revealed that Aurora's ball hit the ground first. She won 100,000 NOK and shared 200,000 with Ann Marielle Lipinska.

The whole season of 48 episodes is recorded in January and February, and the show is aired from March to May, everyday from Monday through Thursday with about 45 minutes per episode. Every episode can be watched for free on TV3s own site called TV3 Play.

Paradise Hotel has gained huge popularity and debate in Norway.

The Dutch & Belgian version

The Dutch & Belgian version aired on the Dutch TV channel Veronica and the Belgian-Flemish TV channel VIER in September 2005.

The Danish version

The Danish Paradise Hotel is the most successful version of the UK format in the world. The Danish version of Paradise Hotel premiered in September 2005 and is aired on TV3.

The shows first host was Ibi Støving, she was the host from season 1, but stopped after season 3 due to pregnancy and was replaced by former contestant from season 3 Rikke Göransson, who has been the host since.

In 2011 a talkshow "Paradise After Dark" was introduced in season 7, which featured contestants from the show. It only aired one season on TV and from 2012 it was moved to Viaplay online.

In 2012 a "Reunion" season was introduced right after the eighth-season finale, which featured former contestants from previous seasons. The winner of that season was Frederik Lilja who also won the fifth season back in 2009.

Paradise Hotel has gained huge success in Denmark, with a substantial number of viewers. It has set its mark on Danish television, sparking debate about sex and alcohol in online forums and news channels, among them the main public service station in Denmark, DR.

Also many celebrities has been involved with the show, including singer and rapper Joey Moe, the music group Sukkerchok, professional boxer Patrick Nielsen, business man and former European Parliament member Klaus Riskær Pedersen, reality star Linse Kessler and American socialite Paris Hilton.

Season 12 premiered in the spring of 2016.

The Russian version

In the Russian version, called "Kanikuly v Meksike" premiered in 2011 an aired on MTV Russia. The contestants are fighting for a prize of one million rubles and during the show, the Boys and girls are in a luxury hotel in Mexico. The host of the show was popular singer and TV presenter Zhanna Friske.

In March 2012, season two of the hit show premiered. The new contestants moved into a new luxury hotel in Mexico, also hosted by Zhanna Friske.

The first part of the season finished in July and the second part started with a new host Alena Vodonaeva. The final contenstants from the first part moved again into a new luxury hotel in Mexico and was joined with new contenstants. Also during the second part, former contenstents from season one returned including notable contestents Demid Rezin and Nastya Smirnova. The size of the prize depends on the amount of money earned on tests every week.

The second part of the season continued into 2013 and in January, the show got a new presenter, a popular Russian TV presenter Victoria Bonia, who is also known from the hit Russian reality show "Dom-2".

In June, 2013, started the third season of the Reality Show now called "Kanikuly v Meksike. Cuperigra". In this season, previous contestants from previous seasons are brought back, and are living in a luxury villa next to the beach. The contestants will participate in different challenges and tasks to add money to the winning prize. The show was opened by the famous TV producer Yana Rudkovskaya. During the show she was replaced by popular TV presenter Tahir Mamedov.

The Hungarian version

The Hungarian version titled "Éden Hotel" set in Colombia premiered on March 7, 2011 on Viasat 3. The final episode was aired on May 26, where Kristóf – who dropped the "Ball of Faith" against Alíz – won 12,500,000 HUF (about US $65,000), and the couple of Linda and Robi also won 12,500,000 Forints, the remaining of the jackpot.

The second season in Hungary set in Mexico premiered on March 5, 2012 once again on Viasat 3. The final episode aired on May 24, where the couple of Máté and Edina completed the "Test of Faith" thus shared the jackpot of 25,000,000 HUF. The other finalists Roland and Anikó won nothing.

The Czech & Slovak version

The Czech & Slovak version titled "Hotel Paradise" premiered on March 5, 2012 in Czech Republic on Prima Love and in Slovakia on TV JOJ. TV presenter in hotel was Martina Gavriely and night talkshow called "Night In Paradise" were presented Petra Poláčiková a Milan Junior Zimnikoval. Prize for the winner was €50 000. Hotel is in Dominican republic. The show ended on July 6, 2012. The winner was Nela Slováková from Czech Republic.

The Slovenian version

The Slovenian version was launched on 7 November 2012, on Planet TV. The program is recorded in Costa Rica. The grand prize is 50,000 Euro. Maja Martina Merljak is presenter of the program. Slovenian musician Matevž Šalehar - Hamo wrote theme song called "Po jabolka v raj". The final episode was aired on 31 December 2012, where no one dropped the "Ball of Faith" and the winners, Deni Sebastian Eferl and Sara Tahirović split the grand prize.

See also

• Forever Eden
• Love Island
• Temptation Island
• Love in the Wild

References

1. ↑ "'Paradise Hotel' is finally coming back". TODAY.com. Retrieved 22 September 2014. 
2. ↑ "PARADISE HOTEL 2" SIZZLES THIS WINTER ON MYNETWORKTV AND FOX REALITY CHANNEL
3. ↑ "Sweden royal wedding: Prince Carl Philip to marry ex-reality star". BBC News. Retrieved 13 June 2015. 

External links

• Paradise Hotel 2 official MyNetworkTV site
• [ Paradise Hotel 2 official Fox Reality Channel site]
• Paradise Hotel at the Internet Movie Database
• Paradise Hotel at TV.com
• Zap2it: Contestant Dave Reflects Back On Show
• Boracay Paradise Hotels Directory