There’s no hidden surprise to confront, no baked-in mouse in your sliced pan, just easy enjoyable TV. Wife Swap worked because most weeks saw another potato-faced Onslow gritting his teeth at the Hyacinth that just landed at the doorstep, one who would later dissolve at the Formica countertop when faced with the thoughts of making fish finger and mushy pea sandwiches. Wife Swap was less about family therapy or changing lives than about allowing its audience to be smugly judgemental. Now that reality TV has somewhat transformed to be slightly more slick and sexy there comes the inevitable fancy rejig of this format: The Seven Year Switch. The Seven Year Switch is not the groundbreaking, radical experiment it constantly trumpets itself as but Wife Swap in the sun with better teeth.

Source: The Irish Times March 11, 2018 06:00 UTC