The new French contest Don’t hate the player on Netflix feels familiar and fresh at the same time. In the great tradition of shows like Survivor, pits a group of contestants on an island in a battle of wits and physical endurance to win a cash prize (and a more comfortable place to live). The twist here is that none of the contestants knew what kind of game they were signing up for. So here they are, arriving on an island with cute bathing suits and fake eyelashes, and they’re told they’re going to have to rough it at camp… and they’re No happy. Once they get used to the rules, will they adapt and become skilled strategists or will they continue to fight without the luxuries of life?
DON’T HATE THE PLAYER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: An initial title card explains that 13 contestants agreed to participate in a strategy game without knowing any of the rules beforehand, in an attempt to win 150,000 euros (which is roughly equivalent to 160,000 US dollars). The card then asks, “Will they play fair?”
The essence: Thirteen players have gathered in Mexico to play a game for which they are completely unprepared. It is a game that requires some survival skills, as initially everyone must struggle in an outdoor camp where they have to cook their food on a campfire, sleep on cots or hammocks, and use an outhouse as a bathroom. It is also a strategy game, in which they have to form alliances and eliminate each other from the competition. However, to be eligible to vote, they must compete (and win) challenges of physical and mental strength.
Presenter Claude Dartois, former competitor of the French versions of Survivor and The traitors, is here to leave information about the game to the contestants little by little; The first surprise he reveals to them is that the beautiful, luxurious villa the players saw when they arrived by boat at their tropical destination is not the place where they will live during their time on this show, at least not yet. No, they have to sleep in a camp on the beach, with no real shelter and hardly any food, and this is a shock for everyone. The cast is mostly made up of people in their twenties, and even though they show that it is clear that they were not told anything about the type of game they would be participating in, they all seem surprised that they will have to live. out of the earth. But when a couple of men in the group, a big, bearded guy named Benjamin, and a man named Lucas, take over and start telling people to gather food to cook and firewood to burn, the rest of the group seems irritated by be having someone give them orders instead of feeling relieved that someone knows what they are doing. There is a very “No one says it” me what to do” between the players, and while that seems great as a way to stoke conflict, I feel like these people wouldn’t know how to stay warm or fed if it weren’t for these few heroes.
The larger group quickly splits along gender lines, with all the women (and the gay man named Jordan) initially forming an eight-person alliance, and the remaining five men forming their own clique. Claude appears to tell them that the next morning they will hold a vote to elect a leader; This person will have to live in the camp, but will have the power to determine which people will move into the village. The women all agree that Jordan should be the leader, and since they all have the majority, it seems like an easy election victory, while the men choose a man named Anthony as the person they plan to vote for. However, over the course of the night, a rift forms between a woman named Leslie and Jordan, and Leslie changes her alliance. (This all happened because, in this food-rationed camp, Jordan ate Leslie’s lentils and she had to go hungry. Their subsequent fight was nasty and petty, but to be fair, I’d probably be pretty upset if I went hungry too.) and I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from.) And then, in a surprise move, another woman, Clémence, also reversed her vote in Anthony’s favor, securing her place as their leader.
It hasn’t even been 24 hours and alliances and strategies are already in play, and the contestants are furious and frantic about who they can trust. And now their fate is in the hands of Anthony, who decides who stays at the camp, who moves to the villa, and which contestant will be eliminated.
What shows will it remind you of? Don’t hate the player Initially it appears as a survival program like Naked and scared (minus the nudity), as this group of people has to rough it in the wild with only a few tools at their disposal. The big difference here, however, is that this cast is not at all prepared for the outdoors. They may be content creators, DJs, and beauty influencers, but not survivors. There are also some obvious similarities with shows like Survivor and Island of agreement or no agreementsince the contestants have to form alliances and try not to be fooled by their co-stars.
Our opinion: There are a lot of rules in this game, too many to lay out here and follow properly, but what makes this game interesting is that just when you think you know where the game is going, twists and new elements appear. The show is cleverly edited, with episodes ending on pivotal moments and cliffhangers that keep the intrigue at its peak. For example, while episode one ends with Olivanie’s fate hanging in the balance, episode two takes a twist that leads to a very surprising elimination that shocks everyone.
Don’t hate the player seems to be made up of mostly like-minded players; Most of them seem competitive and are easily triggered if someone says the wrong thing or looks at them the wrong way. It’s a quality I personally don’t like in my reality contestants (give me Phaedra Parks’ biting comedy on The traitors or the gentle energy of Aron Island of agreement or no agreement instead, just to shake things up, but on this show, everyone has taken a more aggressive, play-to-win stance, which they wear with pride. So it’s hard to pick someone to root for right off the bat because no one stands out as especially charming, funny, or sympathetic yet. The show lives up to its claim that it is a social experiment, and even we, the audience, are a part of it, because both we and the players are learning the rules of the game together and our relationship with the game evolves as we learn. further. about how to play.
Sex and skin: There is some flirting that is used, at least so far, as strategic play, not because of actual attraction, but so far there is nothing more lewd.
Parting Shot: An outspoken contestant named Olivanie stands in front of a box that leader Anthony has chosen for her. Inside the box is a card that will reveal whether she should stay at the camp, move to the villa, or be eliminated from the show. But she has the power to choose a new box, and as the show’s first episode ends, she’s torn over how to decide.
Performance worth seeing: So far there are some contestants who have tried to show their dominance, among them Olivanie, Inés and Benjamín. Since luck seems to have as much effect on the contestants as strategy, it will be interesting to see who sticks around for the long haul.
Memorable dialogue: “They say they’ll do anything, but they don’t know anything, not even the rules,” explains host Claude at the beginning of the game.
Our call: STREAM IT! While Don’t hate the player iInitially it seems like just another “survive and outwit on an island” game, its novel approach and the surprises it brings are addictive.
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show. Chain reaction.
