Here five things ‘Sparks Camp Season 3’ has in store for the audience

Excitement continues to escalate with the much-anticipated return of Sparks Camp, the country’s first-ever queer dating reality show.  

 Having premiered on July 16, the show’s third season promises to bring something new to the table, not only to pique the interest of the audience but to hopefully spark crucial conversations among them.  

Ten campers from different backgrounds joined in pursuit of finding sparks, and they are Kim Bejerano, Harold Espiritu, Ants Pedregosa, Julian Agustin, Joer Reyes, Edward Maalihan, Khali Empleo, Aaron Aberasturi, Julio Dragon Silvestre, and Andrew Rabin.  

Here are five things you can look forward to in Sparks Camp Season 3:  

New visual experience  

Sparks Camp Season 3 was filmed at a conservation camp in Nueva, Ecija — offering something fresh in the eyes of the audience.  

Theodore Boborol, the show’s director, pointed out that the camp’s setting is one of the exciting changes that the show has in store for the fans.  

“Every season, we want to offer a new visual experience. So nung season 1, sinet namin sa lake sa Cavinti, Laguna. Sa season 2 naman, sa beach ng Pangasinan. May lake (at) beach na. Ano pa ba ang hindi namin napuntahan? And ‘yun ‘yung mountain side,” he said.

Bigger platform 

The queer dating reality show, which started on Black Sheep’s YouTube Channel, has a newfound home – the ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel.  

Acknowledging that with “bigger platform comes bigger responsibility,” Hyro Aguinaldo, the show’s writer and creative producer, said the expansion is not without any challenges, but they are ready enough to face them.  

“Ngayon mas lumalawak tayo, and ang paglawak na 'to comes with challenges, comes with obstacles na handa naming suungin, medyo nakakaiyak siya pero, we’re confident with our show, what it stands for, and what it is fighting for,” he said.

Direk Ted announced that a special director’s cut will also be made available for the first time on iWantTFC and Super Kapamilya for interested subscribers.  

 More ‘twists and turns’  

Sparks Camp host Mela Habijan, famously dubbed as "Mother Sparker," teased the fans with a bold statement: “Kung season 1 is demure, season 2 is puksaan, season 3 is mature.” 

Promising a more mature approach to queer dating, Mela said there were modifications made particularly on the show’s iconic segments, “Sparks Giving” and “Moment of Truth.” 

“Hindi ko pa siya pwedeng sabihin pero sa ‘Moment of Truth,’ maraming pagbabago. Sa ‘Sparks Giving’ maraming dapat asahan na twists and turns. And I think, ‘yung twists and turns, lalo na sa ‘Sparks Giving’ can actually ignite more potential and deeper conversations,” she said. 

“Moment-of-Truth-wise, I think isa ito sa pinakamagandang segment ng Sparks Camp because we learn and we get to know the campers even more because they’re unafraid, they’re very courageous to lay their secrets out,” she added.  

 Guaranteed safe space for campers 

The show’s creators assured the audience that the ten campers are not exploited but rather provided with enough safeguards. 

Direk Ted pointed out that having Mela as the host was a big help in making the campers feel safe and comfortable while inside the camp.  

“For me, the first thing na tama na ginawa nila [management] to ensure na ang mga campers, they will feel safe, na hindi sila ma-e-exploit is to always hire Mela as the host. Because aside from her activism, nag-sha-shine talaga ang authenticity niya, ‘yung pagiging genuine niya to get to know the campers’ stories,” he said.  

“Lahat ng mga moments of truth, walang showbiz. The way she gives advice, kapag may kalat na-co-contextualize niya, kapag medyo emotional na at controversial na na-go-ground niya lahat, so perfect casting for me si Mother Mela,” he added.  

Hyro added that the entire production team worked together to keep the show's commitment of providing safe spaces. 

“I think that’s what this show is trying to promise, that we will continue to be safe space. And kung paano yun na-a-assure is just because it is, we are safe spaces. Well, we try, siyempre hindi naman kami perpekto, but we will always try to be safe spaces for these campers,” he said. 

A more ‘deliberate’ season 

Direk Hyro told entertainment reporters that they were “deliberate” in selecting that cast for the upcoming season.  

“We were deliberate with our casting because we reminded ourselves [again], after (seasons) 1 and 2, that we are a dating show. We have to be deliberate na may magkatuluyan dito, may magkagustuhan dito,” he said.  

The writer and creative producer added that the campers were also given more freedom to choose the person that they would like to go on a date with in this season. 

“From previous seasons diba, sometimes they were forced na okay sila ang nag-pair-an, sila ang pupunta sa date, eh di naman nila gusto mag date. Dito may choice na kung sino ang gusto nilang i-date,” he explained.  

Direk Ted, on the other hand, cleared up the misconception that they only cast those that are good-looking, saying: “It just so happened na ‘yung mga nag-audition, they were the most articulate.” 

Catch Sparks Camp on ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday.