Reality TV is no stranger to the ridiculous; many times, the outlandish is what makes the genre so entertaining. In January 2023, TLC premiered a new reality show that grabbed viewers’ attention almost immediately. MILF Manor brings together a group of mothers and their sons for the ultimate experiment in cross-generational dating. How the show came to be was a feat in itself.
MILF Manor debuted in 2023
Daniela Neumann, managing director of MILF Manor‘s production company, recounted to The Washington Post how the idea for MILF Manor came about. The team came up with the idea after discussing dating across generations.
The idea came more into focus when she was speaking with a divorced colleague who told her about when he went on vacation with his sons and one of his children began chatting up a woman that he himself had spoken to earlier.
They combined that idea with another concept they had about the bond between mothers and sons and came up with MILF Manor.
How ‘MILF Manor’ got green-lit
Casting MILF Manor proved to be a challenge, according to Neumann. One of the biggest hurdles was finding a group of single moms with single sons who had the time to film a reality show in Mexico for a month.
Kelle Mortenson was recruited for the show by a casting director who discovered her on Instagram. “I didn’t know exactly what it was about, but I was like, ‘Okay!,’” Mortensen said.
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Even in the early days of making the show, Mortensen wasn’t aware of the show’s premise. The series was described to her as an empowering show about older women dating younger men, which Mortensen was interested in. She was told that her 20-year-old son Joey was invited to be her support system.
She didn’t even know the title of the show until her final interview after filming the series when producers asked her to read the line for the show promo: “Up next on MILF Manor.”
In other words, she wasn’t expecting her son to be living among the dating pool available to her. But rather than lose her cool, she made the best of the situation, becoming one of the series’ most outrageous stars who became the source of lots of drama.
“I’ll be in the hot tub at 10,” she announced after the show’s twist was revealed to her. “Sorry ladies, I might be sleeping with your son!” Her son, embarrassed, asked her to temper herself: “Ma, you have got to chill out.”
Production is aware of how ridiculous ‘MILF Manor’ is
The premise of MILF Manor shocked many who have heard about the new show. And while Neumann recognizes the unusual nature of the series and the reactions to it, she hopes that the show will spark conversations in the future.
“Isn’t that part of the purpose of TV, entertainment, culture, art?” she said. “It’s to get people talking about society and how we are and how we operate.”
