Channel Seven's $1 million 'mistake' revealed as new series announced for 2025

It’s been well over a year since Channel Seven announced they had what they believed would be Australia’s next big dating series - Stranded on Honeymoon Island. The reality show, which is narrated by radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, follows 12 singles looking for love on a South Pacific island and is tipped to be a mix between Married At First Sight and Australian Survivor.

Seven revealed at their annual Upfronts event in 2023 that the show was “raw, honest and utterly absorbing” and viewers would find it “completely irresistible”. Since then, the premiere date has been repeatedly pushed back, the cast has been left in limbo, and Yahoo Lifestyle understands executives within the network are no longer as confident about its potential – but are unable to shelf it.

“The premise sounded great on paper and everyone was excited when they signed it as the format has done well overseas, but after getting the first edits back to watch at the start of the year, a lot of people [at Seven] started doubting it’s potential and thinking they’d made an expensive mistake,” a source involved in production for the reality show tells us.

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The insider explains that producing a prime-time show overseas and to this scale would have set the network back “up to one million dollars”.

A second insider from Seven adds: “They hoped bringing Jackie O in to narrate each episode would lift it and bring some star power and they paid big to make this happen, but there’s only so much a familiar voice can do.”

When will Stranded on Honeymoon Island air?

At the network’s 2025 Upfronts event this week, Seven announced that Stranded on Honeymoon Island would be part of their primetime schedule next year – but gave no indication when it may air.

It has now been 13 months since filming wrapped, with most of the cast having moved on with their lives.

Daily Mail reported earlier this week that several participants have since entered into new relationships and one participant is even engaged to their new partner – but they have to keep their personal lives a secret until their on-screen romances play out on TV, whenever that may be.

“We’ve had enough. We’ve all put our lives on hold for this, and now we’re just sitting here waiting for a decision,” one anonymous bride told the publication.

Yahoo Lifestyle also understands that making the matter even more complicated is the fact there’s a “growing pressure” within the network to “make the show work” following recent hits they’ve faced with their other reality shows.

Samantha Armytage quitting Farmer Wants A Wife and leaving Seven has been described as “not ideal”, Made In Bondi flopped earlier this year, and SAS Australia and Dream Home appear to have been shelved for 2025.

What is Stranded on Honeymoon Island about?

Stranded On Honeymoon Island is a spin-off of the popular Danish series which follows 12 singles who have been unlucky in love. The show begins with a speed dating event where participants will be paired off and “marry” each other, but instead of being whisked away on a nice honeymoon, they will be dropped on a remote island in the South Pacific with nothing but their wedding attire.

They'll remain on the island for three weeks as they get to know each other, with Channel Seven describing the concept as removing people from “all modern dating obstacles, with no devices, no distractions, and nowhere to hide”.

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Seven shared a first-look trailer at the new series earlier this year, with the contestants shown talking about being unlucky in love and calling the experiment “the craziest thing they've ever done”.

“I just wanted it to be Honeymoon Island, and it's Nightmare Island,” one bride dramatically remarks in the teaser.

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