“Los Montaner” and the Challenge of Setting a Precedent in Reality Shows: Will they Succeed?

"Los Montaner" made their reality TV debut for Disney+. Since it was announced, the production has been the victim of comparisons and ridicule with the already positioned “Keeping Up With The Kardashians'', from which the Latin American family bites its format. This release is now expected to stand on its own to secure a second season.

This reality show is not the first proposal that the Montaner family offers its audience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, family members such as Ricardo, Camilo, Evaluna and Mau & Ricky did a streaming concert. From there, they began working together and as a sequel to that concert comes this series.

What is “Los Montaner” about?

In total there are 10 episodes, but 5 are already available on Disney +. From what has been seen, key moments were prioritized in each member in a different chapter except for the first and third. Episode 1 is the cover letter and Episode 3 sees how the family interacts after they document a vacation.

In addition, the viewer can witness events such as Evaluna's pregnancy, Ricky's marriage or the first Latin Grammy that Ricardo received in 2021 for his collaboration with Juan Luis Guerra in "Dios lo quieró así" for the Best Tropical Song category.

The patriarch is the axis of this production, but Ricardo, as the banner of the Montaners, gives prominence to his wife Marlene and the integration of the children's partners is evident with Camilo Echeverri, Stefi Roitman and Sara Escobar in the background.

The problem with "Los Montaner"

Probably the only Latin American family with the potential to do a reality show was the Monaners. However, it is impossible not to fall into the comparison with the American success of the Kardashians. Precisely, in the comparison there are gigantic gaps in proportionality that leave room to doubt the success of the new Disney + series.

In the Kardashian show, who are global icons in show business, the seconds involved are also widely known characters. When they are not music stars (in the case of Travis Barker, Kanye West or Travis Scott), they are sports stars (in the case of Tristan Thompson, Lamar Odom or Devin Booker), with some exceptions of Hollywood figures.

In that sense, Ricardo Montaner, Camilo and perhaps Evaluna are the only figures who could have an established audience on a large scale. The figures of the other characters are closer to the niche: in the strictly musical, with Mau & Ricky, in social networks to Sara and in the performance to Stefi Roitman. Another of the errors that would threaten the success of the production is to start by focusing several chapters on Mau & Ricky, when there are heavier characters to engage.

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Famous families who did reality shows

Being the most successful product, it is normal for people to take “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” as a pioneer in the reality shows of famous families. However, the first celebrity to make this happen was Ozzy Osbourne with "The Osbournes" for MTV in 2002.

A year before the Kardashians did, the one of the Carters also came, which was led by the member of the Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter, along with his recently deceased brother, Aaron Carter in “House of Carters”.

In addition to those named, other celebrities who had a reality show broadcast with their families were Pamela Anderson (“Pam: Girl on the Loose”), Lindsay Lohan (“Living Lohan”), Snoop Dogg (“Snoop Dogg: Fatherhood”) or Kevin Jonas (“Married to Jonas”), among many others.

The public will be in charge of deciding if "Los Montaner" will set a precedent in the 'reality show' format of famous families for Latin America. His target audience with the weight of Ricardo, Camilo and Evaluna is diverse, it remains to be seen if there is any dramatic construction that moves emotions in the viewer or if it will be another flat product that will pass without pain or glory.