In March 2022, TF1 announced a risky bet: to revive one of their cult telecrochets, the star academy. Seven months later, viewers discovered the 13 faces of this 2022 promotion, during a first prime followed by 4.84 million French people.
Initially, many explained the success of this revival by the nostalgia of thirty-somethings eager to discover the evolution of the program from their adolescence and the successors of Jenifer, Georges-Alain and Jean-Pascal. But as the shows progressed, viewers became captivated by the daily lives of these new students.
And this, until the grand finale of the program that will take place this Saturday live on TF1. For the occasion, a review of the success of this 2022 season of the star academy who brought a breath of fresh air to the reality TV scene.
Tired of the classic reality shows
Pamela, 20, a host of the “Star Ac’ Community” discussion server on Discord, had never watched the previous seasons of telecrochet. Follower of “confinement” programs such as secret historybut tired of the current reality shows, she decides to give the first Star Ac bonus a try, on October 15, 2022.
“Today young people, like me, are much less interested in reality shows because it seems that it is becoming more mechanized and that the candidates know all the tricks of it,” he says.
From the first diaries, Pamela was conquered. the star academy combines the confinement format that she likes with a direct that can be followed live every day thanks to a paid subscription to TF1 max. A transparency, far from the reality shows of the moment, filmed abroad months in advance.
“The direct is what makes the strength of the program. We enter the privacy of the candidates, we discover them without artifice and we feel involved in the process of the show”, says Pamela.
“Real Life” Candidates
The naturalness of the students is also one of the strengths of the star academy this year. Throughout the diaries, viewers discover the “normal” personalities of the candidates: like them, they are not perfect, they crack up, doubt and don’t care about their appearance in front of the cameras, which makes it easy to identify them.
“In some shows, the candidates are 19 years old but they are already 25 physically. These are superficial profiles. Whereas in the ‘Star Academy’ they have faces that we could meet in real life. In that, TF1 has really managed to change the perception of reality TV to make it more natural,” says Pamela.
The uniqueness of these “realist” candidates is also pointed out by Nathalie Nadaud-Albertini, a doctor in sociology from the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS).
“In the people of Marseillaise, for example, we find very extravagant, extroverted and expressive personalities because the program is built on the relationships between the candidates. It takes friendships, confrontations, love stories…”, explains the specialist in reality shows. .
“At Star Academy we also have encounters and friendships like Louis and Enola’s, but these are more encounters that we could have in everyday life,” he adds.
inexhaustible kindness
If this rebirth of star academy It also stands out positively from other reality shows and previous editions, also because of the benevolence that reigns among the students. In the castle of Dammarie les Lys, without spectacular disputes, without mockery. Any tension is quickly resolved through discussions.
“Unlike a program like ‘Les Marseillais’, based on relationships, à la ‘Star Ac’, what is essential in the narration is the artistic development of the students, punctuated by the evaluations, by the preparation of the bonus, the fear to not having a voice or being sick”, analyzes Nathalie Nadaud-Albertini.
In these moments, despite the competition, the candidates support each other, support each other and comfort each other. An unwavering benevolence, “in contact with today’s society” but which contrasts with the old seasons of musical telecrochet, according to the specialist.
“In the first Star Ac’ during the bonuses we had scenes that illustrated the opposition between the candidates, with flames, the idea of fighting… But this year, the competition seems much lighter, we feel that we are in another era,” he adds. Nathalie Nadaud-Albertini.
But to be too nice and realistic, the candidates for the star academy don’t they get boring? “At first I was afraid of that,” says Pamela. “I thought there was going to be no storytelling, because there was no love story and no fighting.”
“We are so used to having candidates who know the tricks of TV and who go straight to the shock that we forget that reality television can be played on something else, such as the collective side, artistic development or benevolence,” continues the young woman. . .
“In real life, you don’t crash or fall directly for someone,” concludes Pamela.
The power of social networks
The other force of star academy 2022 is your intergenerational success. “As it already existed 20 years ago, we can watch and comment as a family, it helps to unite the public”, specifies Nathalie Nadaud-Albertini.
But the great novelty of this year is the enthusiasm of young people for musical telecrochet. Since its first broadcast, Star Academy has invaded social networks.
From Twitter to Instagram through TikTok, the madness is such that dedicated fan accounts He fervently comments on the show every day. Some even launch election campaigns, accompanied by polls before bonuses, worthy of a political election.
“I have friends who follow Star Ac’ only because of the live clips that are broadcast on TikTok. The platform has really allowed us to run the show machine and attract a younger audience,” explains Pamela.
On her Discord chat server, launched two weeks after the start of the program, the young woman exchanges and shares her passion with more than 1,400 Internet users.
This enthusiastic community promises to be there for a 2023 season, already ordered by TF1, which should last between 12 and 15 weeks, according to entertainment television.
Source: BFM TV
