What happens when you strip back the glossy veneers of reality TV and replace them with something raw, real-time, and unashamedly shareable?
That’s the question at the heart of Josh and Stefano, a new experimental series from the AIIMS Creator Hub that’s already making waves on TikTok and Instagram.
The format isn’t unlike Married At First Sight: match two strangers, watch them get married, and film their fledgling relationship as it unfolds.
But, here, there’s no flashy tasks, no dramatic twists, just the highs and lows of trying to make love work in real time.
Since launching last week, Josh and Stefano has notched up more than 700,000 views across social, and over 10,000 followers on Instagram alone.
And here’s the kicker: the entire project is unfunded, entirely self-produced, and refreshingly free from the tropes that define mainstream dating shows.
Josh and his new ‘husband’ Stefano
A social first series
The brains behind the experiment is the creator behind the popular MAFS Funny podcast Joshua Fox, whose decade-long obsession with reality dating formats sparked the idea for something more intimate, and more modern.
“We’re piloting the format with me and a man that our executive producer has matched me with. The show follows where we met, married and our lives after moving in together,” Fox explains.
“There are no tasks, twists, or things to test us, it can happen naturally, with mini updates every day. It’s all unfolding in real time.”
The daily updates take shape as snappy Instagram reels and TikToks, think quick glimpses into domestic life, from quiet dinners to messy miscommunications. Love bites, if you will.
But there’s a podcast layer too, offering deeper, more vulnerable conversations that can’t fit into 30-second sound bites.
“The fascination,” Fox continues, “is how we all follow the lives and relationships of strangers on social media from all over the world… but those people often curate their posts to only include the positive. What if we documented the good, the bad, and everything in between?”
Josh and his ‘husband’ Stefano in a candid shot after their ‘wedding’
Something more meaningful
The man behind the match is Pedro Cuccovillo Vitola, known for co-hosting the MAFS Funny podcast, a wildly popular recap show that turned its audience into a community. But with Married At First Sight off air, Cuccovillo Vitola saw an opportunity to go deeper.
“Many people thought the podcast would die when this year’s MAFS ended, but they were wrong,” he says. “It’s now a leading platform for entertainment content.”
That platform now powers Josh and Stefano, giving fans a familiar lens into a new kind of romance, one that unfolds in real-time, not post-production.
“My biggest issue with traditional reality shows is I struggle to keep up,” Cuccovillo Vitola says. “Miss one or two episodes and you’re lost. But short-form content changes that. You can follow along casually on Instagram, and then go deeper with the podcast.”
Pedro Cuccovillo Vitola and Joshua Fox at AIIMS Creative Hub.
Rethinking reality
At its core, Josh and Stefano taps into the seismic shift in how audiences engage with romance and reality. According to Fox, the way we consume “relationship content” has evolved, and TV has a lot of catching up to do.
“These days, there are so many ways to watch relationships blossom and fall apart without even turning your TV on,” he says. “We all invest time in strangers’ love lives on social, which now feels more ‘real’ than traditional ‘reality TV’.”
That shift isn’t just about audience attention, it’s about where brands are choosing to show up.
Brands take notice
Despite its reach, Josh and Stefano has no major commercial sponsors, but that doesn’t mean brands aren’t already watching closely… or joining in.
“We’re self-funding this as a pilot,” Cuccovillo Vitola explains. “It’s already being proven with 700,000 views in a week, but we wanted to show brands this format works.”
In fact, some brands are already getting onboard. Boutique accommodation Berida Hotel, in the NSW Southern Highlands, partnered with the creators to host the couple’s honeymoon stay, a collaboration arranged not through a flashy media buy, but via simple social media tags and content swaps.
It’s a tangible example of how businesses, even outside the media and entertainment space, are beginning to rethink how they integrate with content. Rather than relying on traditional advertising schedules or TV product placement, brands like Berida Hotel are leaning into organic, influencer-style partnerships built on authentic engagement and social-first storytelling.
“Many brands are still hesitant to move away from traditional media,” Cuccovillo Vitola adds. “But if something like this can get more eyeballs than what’s on TV, the big question is whether brands are ready to adapt, to participate through integrated content or product placement.”
The Berida Hotel took care of the pair’s honeymoon stay in exchange for social media posts
The future of ‘real’ reality
With the media landscape increasingly fragmented and audiences craving shorter, smarter, more authentic stories, Josh and Stefano feels like a quiet revolution. It’s social-first storytelling, powered by curiosity, with no contrived conflict or flashy format.
And it’s working.
As Fox puts it, “We want to pilot that real-time, organic approach to documenting a relationship that most of the world are already doing on their own socials, but make it into its own standalone series.”