What makes you unique and interesting? Why do you want to find love? How do you think you will play this game?

A number of reality shows have been nominated for excellence in casting at the Emmys. From Squid Game: The Challenge, which had to find over 400 contestants, to The Amazing Race, which needed teams willing to race around the world, reality shows’ casting requirements are incredibly specific. And yet, there’s a lot of overlap in the questions they ask potential players.

IndieWire asked all five Emmy-nominated casting teams what questions they use in the early stages of casting and in the final stages of the process. From Love on the Spectrum to The Golden Bachelor, the casting teams’ approaches were strikingly similar.

Ultimately, casting for reality series is about finding people who can be themselves whether the camera is on or off. Goloka Bolte, part of the casting team for “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” told IndieWire that they’re always looking for people who are already their own biggest fans. “As Mama Ru says, ‘If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love anyone else?’ Self-love (or being on the path to it!) is not only the foundation for success on Drag Race, but also for being an inspiration to viewers!” Bolte told IndieWire.

It’s not just relationship reality shows that look for this kind of self-love, although it was also the case on “The Golden Bachelor” and “Love on the Spectrum.” According to casting director Jesse Tannenbaum, one of the questions “The Amazing Race” team asks in the final stages of casting is, “How would racing around the world with your teammate affect your relationship?”

“The dynamic of each team is incredibly important,” Tannenbaum told IndieWire. “When casting a show, we’re always looking for the ‘diamond in the rough,’ which is difficult enough when you’re only looking for one person, but for this show, we need two diamonds who also happen to have a very special and unique relationship that the audience can relate to.”

Just like scripted shows, reality shows need to create a balanced cast with a range of archetypes so that every member of the audience can identify with and support them. someone. As Robyn Kass, one of the casting directors for “Squid Game: The Challenge,” pointed out, the cast of a reality series shapes the tone and direction of the show. Ideally, everyone, even those who are eliminated in the first round or only participate in the show briefly, have stories that casting teams believe resonate with the challenges of the show and the audience that watches it.

“Casting for reality shows is about a lot more than just finding attractive people or choosing people you like,” Kass told IndieWire. “There’s so much work that goes into finding each individual person. There’s research, outreach, interviews, phone calls, pitch sheets and pitching, but that’s not all. If people are accepted, they have to go through background checks, psychological evaluations and medical exams to make sure they’re a good fit for the show. During that process, some people will drop out and others may not meet certain qualifications.”

Kass and her casting colleague Erika Dobrin had to go through this process 456 times for “Squid Game: The Challenge.” On a show like “Love on the Spectrum,” which doesn’t have to attract nearly as many candidates, but does Because you have to find them in a demographic that doesn’t often see themselves as reality show stars, the casting process never really ends.

“We’re always open to new people coming to us, especially when it comes to finding suitable partners for our lead actors,” Love on the Spectrum co-creator Cian O’Clery told IndieWire. “As we film with them and get to know them better and they learn more about their own preferences (many are dating for the first time), we’re always willing to adapt and do our best to find the right match for someone, which means casting continues throughout production.”

Bolte said the process of unscripted casting is not entirely dissimilar to that of investigative journalism. “We look for stories that are like finding a needle in a haystack, and hidden gems that might never have thought of appearing on television. And once we find them, we have to get them to open up in an on-camera interview and tell their own stories. So sometimes we feel more like psychologists than casting directors,” Bolte said.

Gaining the trust of potential contestants with great stories was key for The Golden Bachelor casting director Jacqui Pitman, who said the team had to take a more targeted approach than most dating shows on TV, which focus on people who are (usually) already actively involved in dating.

“Many people over 60 have retired from the dating scene, so we relied heavily on recommendations and nominations from loved ones. Our survey was similar, but also had to be adapted. We were dealing with people who had 30 to 40 years of romantic experience, so our interviews took much longer to get a snapshot of their lives,” Pitman told IndieWire.

Casting directors aren’t just looking for a snapshot, but what that snapshot can communicate to the audience. “That’s why we always want a very diverse cast so that everyone has a voice and all stories and experiences are represented,” Kass said.

This diversity also requires diversity within the casting teams. O’Clery stressed the importance of having both neurodiverse members on the team for Love on the Spectrum and neurotypical people with autistic relatives. Because everyone experiences autism differently, the team behind the scenes needs to have different perspectives, but still all speak a similar language.

Tannenbaum told IndieWire that while he is ultimately the one who presents The Amazing Race contestants to decision makers, “each of us has a different idea of ​​what makes a great duo for ‘The Amazing Race,’ and we listen to each other,” Tannenbaum said. “The casting process is a collaborative effort.”

In the final round of casting, all five Emmy-nominated casting teams ask a question like, “What are you hoping to get out of this experience?” The answers from potential cast members can vary widely, but the casting teams’ hopes of finding people with great stories are the same. And the effort to actually find those people is great.

“People often think casting is all fun and games, but we’re usually working against a ticking clock. When we take on a project, we commit to delivering sometimes over 100 people to narrow the final cast down to 10 people. We have strict deadlines and work long hours, often six to seven days a week,” said Pitman. “Sometimes I even forgo my salary to make sure we deliver what we’re contracted to within the set time frame. It’s a demanding grind that I really love and enjoy. It’s just not as easy as it looks.”