10 Details Behind The Making Of MTV’s Ghosted

When a person abruptly cuts off all forms of communication with someone else and doesn’t respond to the other person’s attempts to reach them, it’s called ‘Ghosting.’ Though the term first appeared in the mid-2000s, it’s gotten more attention with the prevalence of social media and dating apps.

So MTV decided to spotlight this phenomenon with the show Ghosted: Love Gone Missing. Released last year, it’s a spinoff of MTV’s popular Catfish show but with two different hosts: Rachel Lindsay from TheBachelorette and music artist Travis Mills. So here are some interesting details behind the making of this show.

10 Legal Waivers Are Involved

Upon initial release, Ghosted drew a lot of controversy for seemingly promoting the idea of stalking as the hosts Rachel and Travis reconnect people who’ve stopped communicating. After all, there are legitimate reasons why someone might want to cut ties with another person.

These include things like verbal and physical abuse, which a victim has every right to get away from. So having Ghosted’s hosts bring up things that should’ve just stayed in the past comes across as insensitive and even borderline invasive. But for everyone’s legal protection, waivers are signed in advance as quoted by famous MTV writer Alicia Lutes.

9 Individuals Must Sign Appearance/Consent Forms

In addition to a waiver, those who appear on reality shows like Ghosted are required to sign appearance/consent forms prior to being filmed. This is done to ensure the people involved are willing to have their images put on TV, regardless if their faces are blurred out or not.

That implies both parties involved in ghosting agreed to appear on Ghosted instead of one trying to stalk the other. Yet there have been cases where people have been coerced into appearing on a reality show by force. But even if the person wasn’t forced to appear, they don’t exactly have a say in how they’re depicted.

8 There Are Nationwide Casting Calls

For those who ever wondered how one gets to appear on Ghosted or any other reality shows for that matter, they have nationwide casting calls. Now that sounds odd since one often associates casting with being put into a specific role for media that requires some kind of performance.

But looking at reality shows objectively, the ‘real’ stories they tell are staged to an extent in order to create the most amount of drama per episode for entertainment purposes. After all, it is still television whether it has real-life elements or not. Plus, casting calls help filter out those who are truly crazy and difficult to work with.

7 ‘Roles’ Are Given To The Individuals

While we would like to believe that the people who appear on reality shows are being themselves, they are actually fulfilling certain ‘roles’ the show has set up for them. Take Ghosted’s casting call, for example, which offered two roles: ‘The Ghost’ and ‘The Haunted.’

As their names imply, these are the roles that the individuals fulfilled themselves in the relationship that ended up with one of them getting ghosted. Hence, we have ‘The Ghost’ who stopped communicating and wants to open up about why they did it. Then there’s ‘The Haunted’ who was cut off and wants to know why.

6 The Required Age For Being In The Show Has Changed

Depending on the subject matter, a reality show might have certain requirements such as the age of its participants and Ghosted is no exception. For instance, a recent casting call was made for the upcoming second season asking for people between the ages of 18 and 39 to participate.

However, the first casting call from last year was completely different as it simply asked for people who were 18 years old and up. So why the change? Well, given that MTV in general appeals to a teenage demographic it would make sense to have people show up who are relatively young.

5 Payment/Compensation Is Offered But Not Specified

Whether it’s a reality show or a regular television series, anyone who’s involved in such a production is usually given some kind of payment. For reality show participants, this can range from prize money to compensate for any possible harm that may be inflicted on them.

Now on Ghosted’s casting calls from last year, they don’t mention any specific details about the payment and/or compensation amount though it’s implied it will be determined at a later time. Now, this could mean that either the production company Sharp Entertainment won’t release these details publicly, or the payment/compensation depends on the situation(s) that might arise.

4 The Individuals Are Taken To A Set

Due to the sensitive nature of relationships, the hosts of Ghosted and the production staff take several precautions to assure nothing bad happens when the people involved in a ghosting meet. So once ‘The Haunted’ and his or her ‘Ghost’ are located, they are taken to “A secured set” according to Rachel.

This is visibly demonstrated in every episode of Ghosted as the people sit across from each other in a large space with cameras rolling and the hosts sitting behind a curtain listening to the audio. For obvious reasons, the set acts as a neutral ground for ‘The Haunted’ and ‘The Ghost’ to discuss the ghosting experience.

3 Security Personnel Are Present

As implied by Rachel’s words, a set that is secured means there is security personnel. While this is certainly a given for any set, whether it’s a movie or a TV show, it is an important detail.

Because depending on the personalities of either ‘The Haunted’ or ‘The Ghost,’ as well as the reasons behind the ghosting itself, the confrontation of the issue could get messy. So by having security within the area, it ensures things won’t get out of hand (even if they ultimately don’t). Additionally, it shows Ghosted’s production staff are genuinely concerned about the participants and their safety.

2 A Therapist Is On-Site

While the security personnel ensures there won’t be any physical damage done to the individuals, what about the psychological damage that may result from the confrontation? For that, there is a therapist on-site, which Rachel has also stated.

Now whether the therapist consults the individuals before or after their official confrontation is unclear, since we never see them in Ghosted. But it might explain the sudden cuts during the confrontations between ‘The Haunted’ and ‘The Ghost’ as they’re heating up. After all, a therapist could step in between cuts and calm things down before security has to get involved.

1 Resources Are Offered To Help The Individuals

In addition to filming at a set with security and having a therapist on hand, Rachel has said that there are resources offered to help the individuals that were involved in ghosting. Now she doesn’t specify the types of resources, but they’re probably related to therapy.

Of course, it does depend on the circumstances that led to the ghosting in the first place. For instance, if it was alcohol-related one could suggest groups like Alcoholics Anonymous seek out for help. But since we don’t see any indications of extra resources offered in Ghosted, it’s hard to say if this promise is true or not.