What do $50, an outdoor park, a live show, and a vegan restaurant have in common? If you guessed (which you probably didn’t) that they are requisites for participating in the new Hearst TV series My Amazing Cheap Date New Orleans, you’re right on the money.
Developed by director/director of photography Jeremy Lavoi and his wife, Abby Berendt Lavoi (also a director), the new series focuses on a lesser featured aspect of New Orleans life: dating. “Very Local approached my partner Abby and I and asked us to develop a pilot around the premise of a competition dating show where two couples are given $50 dollars each and asked to have the best date possible around town. From that basic idea we developed what is now My Amazing Cheap Date New Orleans.”
Jeremey is nationally recognized for his work in documentaries, unscripted television, and branded content. Abby is a film director with television credits which include MTV, MTV2, mtvU, TV Land, Nick@Nite, and Current TV.
“We fleshed out the premise by adding a host with a comedic acting background [Amy Brassette-McKeon of Bad Moms fame], creating the framework of challenges that each couple must complete and approaching the dating aspect with documentary sensibilities.” The production company thought it would be crucial to highlight New Orleans from a local’s perspective, spotlighting business and locations that aren’t always seen on the national circuit. One episode even showcases OffBeat fan-faves Delores Galore and Poose the Puppet performing at a local laundromat.
“We also wanted the dates to feel real, so we don’t do an excessive amount of directing the couples on location,” add Lavoi. “We outline the basic rules of what they must accomplish, and then film in a more cinema verite manner than other unscripted shows. For instance we never feed our cast lines, or tell them they must do this or that specific thing, other than how they interpret the broad challenges. We don’t try to create fake story beats. Mostly we just want to show off this amazing city.”
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, OffBeat asked the Lake Charles native what he would recommend for locals looking for a good time. He says it’s a tough call. “My advice is to break out of your routine. You don’t need to spend much to have fun in New Orleans. We’ve proved that you can have a great time, go all over town, eat, drink, and do physical activities for under $50. We did it 24 times. My number one takeaway from being on every one of those 24 dates is that this city has so much to offer. Every couple and crew member went to places they’ve never been and had a blast.”
OffBeat also asked the filmmaker about the ins and outs of the show, New Orleans, and the business that is dating in 2022. After all, Lavoi seems to know a thing or two about romance—he and Abby are married and share a young daughter all while producing a show about l’amour!
I loved seeing Gasa Gasa group and other local businesses on board. They all seemed very supportive. How did people feel when you approached them about filming a dating show at their venue?
Most of the businesses and local organizations we’ve approached have been incredibly supportive. Of course, New Orleans is a city full of a dazzling array of unique personalities, so not everyone made themselves available to us. However, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the initial support, particularly with the first five episodes. Those episodes were produced before the show had aired, so we had little to entice potential locations. New Orleans has a wonderful community that’s very supportive of the arts. When we explained that our approach was to highlight the businesses themselves, most were eager to collaborate.
I love that you made the vegan meal a challenge. It’s definitely not an easy task to find vegan food around here. What inspired this choice?
This choice was made for a few reasons. One, we like vegan food. Two, a vegan meal challenge was inline with the philosophy of showcasing businesses that might not be the first choice of national media coming through town. And finally, we produced twelve episodes where two couples had to complete around 4 challenges each. That’s about 96 locations over the course of the season. We had to get creative to make that work.
What can you tell us about your host, Amy Brassette-McKeon? How did you two connect?
Amy is a comedic actor who has a deep bench of work from Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Bad Moms, to True Detective. Oddly enough, she and I graduated high school together at Barbe in Lake Charles, LA. I say oddly, because Barbe is a large school and we did not know each other, or even know of each other. We were introduced several years ago by mutual friends after we had both moved home from California. After Very Local approached us with this show concept, Abby and I decided that having a host with comedic skills would be an important element. We thought Amy would be a good fit. She loved the idea, so we pitched her to the network. Then they loved her in the pilot, and the rest is history.
If someone wanted to be a contestant on your show, where can they apply? Is there anything you look for specifically in the daters you feature?
If someone wants to be on the show, then get in touch with RudeBelly Casting. They have been our wonderful casting team for the project. As for what we look for in cast members, we want a diverse cross section of New Orleanians. Our goal is to represent the city as best we can. From a personality perspective, a good contestant is both outgoing and easygoing. Be open to adventure, fun to be around, and eager to represent your city.
To watch the My Amazing Cheap Date New Orleans, click here. Download the Very Local App free on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV or Apple TV. To learn more about the series: click here.
