HUMANIZE REALITY

“It's one of the biggest shows on Netflix, and it's so unique to have a show that is actually socially responsible but it's also scratching the itch that people have to watch reality dating series. With other dating series, I think that even if viewers say, oh, I'm watching for the romance, the moments that are really sticky are often the most dramatic and, as you said, exploitative. And what people say is, oh, the people who go on those shows signed up for it. So whatever happens to them, they deserve it. This, I think people genuinely want the best for the people on the show.”

“Baz used to say to me, it's like you're invisible, which I thought was actually a really nice thing, and he would meant it as a compliment that, you know, I was able to get really close in on, you know, him working with the actors on these sets with a camera filming, and kind of people wouldn't really even notice me. And so I was able to capture this really great intimate footage. And then, Kian used that footage to make a big career pivot into reality television.”

“There were people in psychosis. There were people with extreme depression. I mean, you know, I was interviewing someone several hours after they've attempted to take their own life in the emergency department. I mean, it was quite actually some really quite heavy stuff. Previously, I directed, like, segments or, you know, a particular, cast member for a show, but this was, like, one docuseries, three parts, directing the whole thing. So this was my first kind of real directing assignment in a sense.”

“The consent process involved people double, triple consenting. He would try and get consent before, but often people were in psychosis. He would talk to their family members if they had them, and then he would speak with them after they were out of psychosis. Mhmm. But they didn't get to see the footage. So they had to trust Kian to put themselves out there when they're, like, really, really unwell to the point where they had been hospitalized.”

“Kian believed that it was really important for the public to see people who society might believe don't have a future, but see them when they do get treatment and when they are properly cared for, that they can get better. It was a documentary series about people with disabilities who were looking for meaningful employment. I think that the people who are making the show want the best for the people who are on the show. And that's not always the case when you're producing reality television.”