The Snake, the new FOX realitycompetition series from longtime reality TV powerhouse SallyAnn Salsano, is something she’s tremendously proud of. WhileThe Snakeseason 1, set to premiere Tuesday, June 10, at 9 p.m. EDT, has some of the qualities of other reality TV competitions, it’s completely unique in its execution and point of view. In a world of reality TV shows that aren’t willing to acknowledge they’re made to be entertaining,The Snakechallenges the status quo in a way that resonates. SallyAnn, the creator ofJersey Shoreamong dozens of other shows, wants that to be clear.
AlthoughThe Snakehas somesimilar conventions to other reality TV competitionslike a focus on social strategy, lying, and deception, the focus on persuasion and understanding what relationships can do for you is heightened for the show. In the first moments of the series,The Snakelays itself out there. It’s a reality TV competition, yes, but it’s reaching for so much more than that as a series while making it clear that, as a product, the show knows what it is. Catering to viewers who enjoyBig BrotherandSurvivor, The Snake is a breath of fresh air.
While SallyAnn has worked on too many reality TV projects to keep count of, it’s clear thatThe Snakeis something she’s proud of.Hopeful, excited, and ready for the world to see the show,SallyAnn spoke to Screen Rant about the series and what she hopes the audience to gain from her twist on a reality competition. With a clear perspective and an intense knowledge of the industry, SallyAnn seems ready forThe Snaketo offer viewers something that’s missing from the genre.
Screen Rant: So obviously you are a veteran of the reality TV world. You’ve been part of so many iconic projects. What stands out aboutThe Snake?
SallyAnn Salsano: Here’s the thing. I’m a fan of this genre…I love the way that we cast this show. There’s two things that I love about it. I think that this show is cast the way people actually view each other. Like normally, like there’s a young girl, there’s an older girl, there’s a hot girl, there’s a regular person. This show is all about archetypes. Like we are all taught as humans to not judge a book by its cover. But as humans, we like only judge a book by its cover. Like I don’t care who you are, you are judging every person every single day.
And this show literally, we cast archetypes first and then people second that felt under those archetypes. So, rather than looking for people, so it’s like we have a pastor, we have an ex-con, we have a detective, we have a lawyer, we have an OnlyFans creator, and we went about it, we have a pro cheerleader. We went about it in the way that’s like, what would be the wildest mix of people that you would want to see?
The way that we thought about it was all of these people think that they could win anybody over. They could talk anybody into anything and they could manipulate any room that they walked into. Well, what happens when you put 15 mass manipulators together that have this skill and see who can win?
And like, look, when you think pastor, half the world thinks like, oh my God, he could do no evil. And then the other half of the world, like I don’t trust those people. And the same goes for police. We have a politician, like it is just, it’s every archetype in the world. And like in today’s America, everyone judges people by what they do and what they look like. And this show is kind of no different. The difference is, are you right or not? Just because someone is a lawyer or is a police officer is an ex-con, it doesn’t make them a good or bad person. And it’s up to you to do the, you know, do your diligence to find out.
Screen Rant: It sounds fascinating. We’ll get back to the cast in a minute, but in terms of the competition itself, I know there are challenges we’re going to be watching each episode. What can viewers expect from that?
SallyAnn: I think to be shocked and unlike every other reality show where it’s this is our show and these are the types of challenges we do, it is like a roller coaster ride of surprise challenges, things that are seemingly like Mickey Mouse, and then things that are outrageously scary and or disgusting. So every week we told our competitors, you don’t know what to expect. And just when you think you’ve figured the game out, it will change.
The thing that makes this really interesting, I think, is that on most competition shows, it’s a group vote, right? Everyone goes and hides and writes on a secret ballot and votes in a secret. And then they form these packs and it’s group decision. And you could lie and you never have to own up for what you’re thinking or what you’re doing. Like I could be like, oh my God, I love Amanda. Amanda, you’re so great.
But then behind her back, be like, f******g get her out of here. But like, on this show, there’s nowhere to hide. So it’s one person is all you need to save you. And basically, here’s how the game works. If you win the competition, you become the snake. The snake is immune. When you get to that week’s saving ceremony, which is our version of elimination, it sounds nicer, but it’s actually even more brutal. Because it’s like, everybody’s playbook is actually an open book. Like people normally have a playbook and it’s secret.
Your playbook is out in the open. So let’s say I’m the snake. I win, I pick Amanda. Amanda then chooses to save you. Everybody gets one pick. And then when you get down to the final two, the snake decides who goes home.
Screen Rant: Wow, that’s a lot of power.
SallyAnn: So if you kind of want to screw over the snake, the people in the middle would put like my two best friends down at the bottom, so that they’re breaking up my little trio. But also, if you’re like, yeah, yeah, yeah, going along to get along, people stand in that line that have been lying the whole week about what they’re doing. And then they get up there and they’re like, we’re definitely you know, we’re sending you know, Amanda home, right?
And then it’s like, yeah, and then you stand up there and it’s like, essay, who are you going to save? And I’m like, and then it’s like, it throws off the whole game. And the thing that resets is every week, a different person’s the snake. So if everyone hated me, and they wanted me out, and then I win the next week, does everyone like, you know, I know we weren’t getting along, but like, maybe we can find a common ground. It like really shows who has the gift of gab, who’s the most manipulative. And basically, do you have to be evil to win the game?
Or is it better to just be honest, like I could just be like, look, share, I’m not picking you. Um, you should know that because find someone else, which is actually is that more admirable? Because if I don’t tell you that, and I let you think so, you’re like, look, essays gonna pick me, I don’t need to worry. And then I pick someone else and you’re screwed. Yeah. Social strategy is everything. It was like social survival of the fittest.
The Snake’s Cast Members Are A Power Hungry Bunch
Each Cast Member Was Carefully Selected For Their Manipulation Prowess
The Snakeseason 1 cast is full of self-proclaimed master manipulators. While people may wonder if the cast members are truly as persuasive as they say, a pillar of the game itself is going to unpack whether or not these gamers are able to manipulate, deceive, and control their way into getting others to trust them.The Snakecast aren’t reality TV veterans, but according to SallyAnn, they were able to make some incredible moves throughout the duration of the show’s filming.
Screen Rant: I love it. You were talking about the cast. Everyone’s really everyone thinks they’re really persuasive. What surprised you the most about watching them actually play the game?
SallyAnn: It is so funny, you would leave and go to the bathroom and come back five minutes later, and someone will have said something that completely changed everything. Oh, wow. It’s like, what was interesting is like, who would play it cool.
And like, when people were telling the truth, who was trusting them, and who wasn’t, and how some people wanted to keep people who were smart around, and other people were like, they’re too smart, get that person out of there. So I think what was interesting is that and also, this is not a relationship show.
But there are for sure a lot of hookups. So it’s interesting, there were people like kind of falling for people. And then they were like, wait a minute, do they actually like me? Are they just using me? And that was kind of interesting. Because I also think like, look, if you go on The Bachelor, like, yeah, you have to make out with someone. That’s sort of why you’re there. But like on a show like this, you don’t. So when it starts happening, you’re like, what in the hell is going on?
Screen Rant: That’s a really interesting vein to play into. When you approach a show like this, like breaking into a competition show, how is it different than something more unstructured, like aJersey Shore, like a docu-series kind of reality show?
SallyAnn: Look, I’ve done both in my day. And I will say, making a docu-series is so much harder than making a competition show, because you’re telling a story that is completely unstructured. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Anything could happen or nothing could happen. A story can start and it never ends. And when you’re doing a competition show, and your edit can be from anywhere in the world, as well, when you’re doing a competition show, it’s like you wake up in the morning, there’s a competition, you watch that competition, there’s a winner, that winner then goes to elimination.
This is what happens. So you kind of get into a rhythm. Now, yes, it can be wacky and crazy in between. And this show is 100% that it definitely has a little bit of the 495 personality, comedy, I like to call it comedy mixed with a little bit of f**kery that I kind of enjoy. But I would say, top to bottom, I think a competition show and I know people will roll their eyes at me is way easier to make than a docu. But what I will say is the only people that wouldn’t agree with me is people that haven’t made a docu. I think anyone that made a docu would be like, she’s not lying. But if you’ve only made competition, you don’t realize that how much the structure actually helps you.
Screen Rant: Yeah, you have that structure there. I feel like that makes a lot of sense. In terms of so okay, with everything going on in the world,The Snakeis really tapping into that fascination, deception and social manipulation. What do you hope that audiences are going to take away from this show in terms of trust, strategy, and relationships?
SallyAnn: I think, listen, everyone is taught to not judge book by a cover, but we do it. And I just think that I wonder if this show is going to make people realize that that’s true. Because I think like, even like, you know, our OnlyFans creator, she’s like, you know what, I play the role of the dumb blonde, but am I? And this girl is like a massive college graduate. That’s a freaking genius.
That kind of runs her own stuff in her own business. It’s just how she choose to do it, you know? And it’s funny, one of the most accepting people of her job and what she does and how she makes a living is the pastor. Oh, wow. So it is kind of like, not that the others were not accepting, but like, the people that you think would be like, what is going on? And what are you doing?
Or actually the people that I think were, you know, like I felt, you know, whatever we see our ex-con, like when you think about who did 22 armed robberies and was in a million police roundups and spent years in prison, like, is this that guy? Like, is this what you would think that you would see? So it is interesting. Like we put a lot of people on these shows, like normally when you’re casting, like you don’t put someone in that has an OnlyFans background. You don’t put someone in that has been to prison or like whatever. And it’s like this show, we’re like, no, this is what our world is.
This is the makeup of society. Let’s not make it this petri dish of like perfectly curated people that want to be insta-famous. And I think that this show does not cast people. We did not cast people that are just like influencers or had a big following. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but this show is like the more real, the person, the better off we think it’s going to be.
The Snake Host Jim Jefferies Was A Surprising Choice
The Australian Comedian Keeps Things Real
Screen Rant: Last thing for you - I’m very curious about the choice for Jim Jeffries as the host. How did that happen? Obviously he’s so funny, but I am very curious to see him in this kind of role.
SallyAnn: Well, it’s funny, like joking around behind the scenes, I would call him funny [Jeff] Probst because I feel like it’s like, not that Probst is not funny. I’m not, but like, he’s a comedian and he’s trained, but like, it’s really interesting. He’s like, like me a little bit.
He likes to look at things and find the, this is off here. Can, how can I make this funny? And I think that in one of these shows, everyone always plays it so serious, even though when you step back and you look at it, you’re like, we’re a bunch of adult people doing what to try and compete. We’re all living in this house together. Like there’s nothing about this that is actually normal. And like, I would just say that Jim is not afraid to say that.
And I think that in all of our shows, what I always try and do is put a bit of a comedic spin on it. And I always feel like when I’m watching a show, if the show is not telling me what I’m thinking, I don’t trust that show. Like the audience is not stupid. The audience knows. And if it’s slightly crazy and a little bit off or something weird is happening, we’re all thinking it. So to me, what the cast is actually thinking it and saying it. And so as the host, it kind of makes me laugh.
Screen Rant: That’s incredible. I’m so excited to see the show, it sounds like everything I love.
SallyAnn: Well, that’s the thing. It’s everything is like, if you love a competition reality show, all the elements are here. If you love a docu-series, I think it’s here. If you love a loud, crazy personality, it’s here. But also if you like a little things where you’re like, oh, I love those shows, but they haven’t changed very much. I watch all the oldies and I love them. But like, this is almost like everything that you love with a massive jolt of energy and through a more comedic eye.
The Snakepremieres Tuesday, June 10 at 9 p.m. EDT on FOX.
