As Sparks Camp continues to reach viewers beyond the Philippines, host Mela Habijan shared how meeting international fans of the queer dating reality show has made her proud of its growing global audience.
Speaking with PUSH ABS-CBN, Mela revealed that she has met several viewers from different parts of the world who reached out to her after watching the show's previous seasons.
“Ang surprising kasi may mga nakikilala ako sa iba’t ibang lugar sa Europa na nagsasabi ‘Mother, can I meet up with you? Can I have a coffee date with you? Because I’m a fan of Sparks Camp.’ There are three that I met in Spain, yung dalawa couple sila from United States and they flew to Spain and they knew that I live now in Spain and yung isa from Venezuela na nakatira sa London,” Mela shared.
“There’s one in Switzerland, and people from Ireland that are messaging me. I also got videos from our Indonesian fans,” she added.
Despite the language and cultural differences, Mela said international viewers have found something familiar in the stories told on Sparks Camp.
“They met up with me and they told me how fascinated they are with the show and, more than anything else, it allowed them to see themselves and it allowed them to be represented in the show even if they are not Filipinos,” she added.
For Mela, hearing from viewers around the world is testament that the show's message can resonate beyond its Filipino audience.
“It warms my heart that Sparks Camp has gone beyond the Philippines and it is being appreciated by the global queer community. This is what we need and love. We are trying to bring people together, to bring the queer community, the allies of the queer community as well, to come see the show and to really proclaim the beauty of queer love,” she explained.
The growing international audience has also made Mela hope that Sparks Camp could one day expand beyond the Philippines and cater to more stories about the queer community while showcasing our very own.
“That’s one of the dreams (to expand the Sparks Camp globally) that‘s why we are very happy in our new home now which is iWant, because iWant shows to the rest of the world what the Filipino queer identities are, what our lives are and how we navigate through successes and defeats, triumphs and tribulations, and at the same time, this is now a ground in which people from different parts of the world can see what Filipino excellence is all about in terms of entertainment,” she said.
She went on: “It’s a dream for us to have international franchises of Sparks Camp. It's also a dream of ours to have international editions like Survivor like Sparks Camp Maldives, Sparks Camp Spain. That is something to look forward to.”
Beyond bringing the show to other countries, Mela shared that the team is also exploring ways to make future seasons more inclusive and tell stories from other parts of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“They are people asking will there be editions for women loving women, for queer people beyond 50s. These are the themes we are constantly talking about now. So, as long as there are people who will be supporting the show and really pushing for its value, there are many possibilities that we can make for the Sparks Camp,” she said.
The newest season of Sparks Camp will premiere exclusively on iWant this September.