Top reality TV producer reveals why Channel Nine’s Married At First Sight is so successful

 Married At First Sight is arguably one of the most successful shows on Australian TV.

And now, co-founder of Eureka Productions Paul Franklin has revealed why Channel Nine’s dating show has continued to dominate the ratings.

Mr Franklin told the TV Reload podcast the dating show is successful because the drama ‘resonates with audiences’.

‘That show is human drama playing out so that’s why it resonates through,’ he said. 

‘As much as people say they might dislike certain elements of the show, they’re still watching it,’ he explained.

Mr Franklin continued: ‘MAFS is a show that dominates so I think there is an audience out there for it.’

Married At First Sight holds an untouchable position in the ratings, forcing other networks to schedule their programming around it.

The last five season premieres have topped the ratings with more than one million viewers.

The season eight premiere of MAFS in February was the most-watched program of the night with a peak national audience of 1.486 million.

Despite boasting a large number of viewers, Nine’s social experiment has generated plenty of controversy this season.

Almost 15,000 Australians have signed a Change.org petition calling for the network to apologise for failing in its duty of care towards participant Melissa Rawson.

The petition argues Melissa has been subjected to ‘gaslighting, emotional manipulation, isolation, and countless other textbook signs of a controlling and / or abusive relationship’ at the hands of her ‘husband’ Bryce Ruthven.