A cast of familiar friends and family from The Bodashians universe is joined by a lineup of celebrity advisors, including reality star and influencer Francesca Farago (Too Hot To Handle); chefs Lynn Crawford and Audrey MacKinnon (Junior Chef Showdown); news anchors Nathan Downer and Sandie Rinaldo; Toronto Raptors broadcaster Jack Armstrong, former Canadian NBA star Jamaal Magloire, Canadian basketball coach Tamara Tatham; renowned drag queens Priyanka and Lemon; and The Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Darby.

RANGE caught up with Martinez-Reid to learn more about how this new series came to life.

How did Made For TV come about and were there any hesitations making the leap from TikTok to television? 

Crave had ideas of what they wanted, but it was challenging because how do you make that jump to television in a way that makes sense, that also isn’t just doing exactly what I do on social media? Because people have done that before and it doesn’t always necessarily work. So me and my showrunner, Natalie Metcalfe, we sat in a room together and just bounced around ideas. Eventually, Crave said, “Just make the show that you want to make and pitch it to us. Make whatever show makes sense.” And we created this concept. Because I’m known for these reality TV parodies and things, we created this concept where each episode I tackle a different TV genre. But me and Natalie come from a sketch comedy and improv background. So we were like, what if we make this show that feels so ridiculous, that’s scripted, but unscripted, and we lean into the improv and the sketch of it all to make it into a mockumentary of sorts? 

I understand you had a reality TV show when you were younger for yourself, what did you call it?

It was called Reid It & Weep. Reid, like my last name. I fell in love with the Real Housewives, so I basically made it my goal to make my life into the show. It was me and my friends creating drama, and making a TV show out of it. Of course, nobody watched it despite the fact that we made four seasons of it. This was grade 12 and first year, so I was like, 18, 19, maybe I was 20. I just recently went back and watched some of them. 

Is that when you knew you were made for TV? 

One of my earliest memories is being at a family get-together on Christmas or New Year’s and me in the middle of the room dancing. But it was the world’s worst dancing! In the moment, of course, I thought I was like, killing it. Looking back, it probably looked so stupid. That’s why everybody was laughing and enjoying. But I remember thinking, “Oh my god, I can’t wait until next New Year’s when I get to go do that again.” That was like my fuel for the year. So I’ve always been entertaining and that was always my goal.

Do you take inspiration from any other shows? What are some of your favourites?

I told someone the other day that my inspiration is Raven-Symoné. She was my generation’s Carol Burnett, she was on that show making a fool of herself in like the funniest way possible. And now there’s a whole generation of people that reference her. So That’s So Raven, Mad TV and Key & Peele – shows that I used to watch when I was growing up. But then also we were very inspired by Nathan For You and The Rehearsal. These shows that feel like they’re not real almost but they are.

In episode one, Boman Martinez-Reid is joined by Reality TV star Francesca Farago as he dates seven strangers with the hopes of finding one person to love him forever.

What was different about working with friends and family on set than at home?

It’s so much easier on set. It’s not up to me, I don’t have to tell them what to do. Somebody else has to. When I film with my family for TikToks, it’s fun. But there are times when I have to film a brand deal with my mom and that’s not as fun. So I’m like, “Okay, I just need you to say it exactly like this.” But they’re always great sports. They’re so used to me doing this. So there wasn’t really that much of a difference. It truly felt very natural.

How did you choose who to work with for each episode? 

We had an amazing line producer, Kenzie Brooks, who did so much behind the scenes to get all of those amazing celebrity guests. I was very surprised at the network that we had to choose from. Some of them are my friends, like Ashley Darby, Priyanka and Lemon were just a call away, which was so, so sweet that they showed up for that. But even getting to work with Nathan Downer and Jack Armstrong, and just having Crave’s network to make those happen was so wonderful.

What was the most fun episode to film?

The episode that was the most fun was the sports episode. I think I was having the most fun filming that episode because there were no stakes. And there was no way I was going to win in that episode and so I just had to have fun with it. I also really loved filming the drag episodes, despite how emotionally intense it was for me to tackle doing drag. It was so fun to actually do it.

What do you think fans should go in expecting from Made For TV?

Expect a ride. You truly don’t really know where things are gonna go. I think that’s the joy of this show. It just takes wild turns. Expect to laugh, expect to have some moments of sentimental value, which we didn’t even expect to happen, but it just happened in the moment which was really wonderful. I think that where I start at the beginning of the series and where I end is very different. You watch me learn so much about myself and tackling television and how challenging that is. And also just how real it all truly was. Even though we had a full writers room, it was all very real.

Were there any concepts or TV genres that you weren’t able to touch on but you really wanted to?

There are many genres that we want to test. I could be doing Say Yes to the Dress, My Strange Addiction. TLC is its own genre. And I think that that also is the joy of this show, realizing how ridiculous some of these genres are. When you put a normal average person in those scenarios – because that’s what I am, normal and average – you realize we accept these shows as fact. But they’re ridiculous.

This was your first time executive producing a show, how was that?

I learned what the industry sees as an executive producer role and what I had in my head as an executive producer role. Being just a guy from TikTok, I don’t think people expected me to show up and do the work for it. But it was so important for me that I show up and do the work. People watch me and they know I have a certain tone, pace and perspective to my comedy. So being involved and being in those rooms was so important to me because the last thing that I wanted was somebody to turn on Made for TV and go, “This feels nothing like Boman.” Getting to do the show and be in the show was one thing, but getting to help create the show was my dream. That’s why I went to the Radio and TV program at TMU. That’s why I was making my TikToks and Reid It & Weep. So it just felt very natural that I stepped into that role.

Made For TV with Boman Martinez-Reid is streaming now on Crave Canada.