Bustle Exclusive
I Visited Netflix’s Wonka-Themed Competition Show In Australia
The new series promises a jaw-dropping prize, but just being there was pretty sweet, too.
Trick or treat? Netflix’s latest competition reality series offers plenty of both.
Streaming now, Wonka’s The Golden Ticket gathers 12 pairs of loved ones in a recreation of Willy Wonka’s iconic factory. Through a series of challenges, they will compete for “a lifetime supply of money,” as a technologically rendered version of Gene Wilder’s voice tells contestants in the first episode. “That’s right — a six-figure salary for 30 years. And if my calculations are correct, that’s about $3 million.”
I was part of a group that got to visit the set ahead of filming on Australia’s Gold Coast last fall — and it’s clear that The Golden Ticket is one of the streamer’s most ambitious competition shows yet.
Just like the contestants on screen, our journey in the fantasy factory began with a trip through a forced-perspective hallway. Two by two, we walked down the passage, where a gumball machine sat at the end with two different confections.
“Purple is proven, steady and true. Gold is untested, dazzling and new. Play it safe, or strike for gold. If given the chance... will you be bold?” I chose gold and was whisked away in a whoosh of fog, as if by magic, and reunited with the group moments later. (If you’ve started the show already, you know that choosing gold is a little bit more consequential for the actual contestants.) But even in my brief taste of factory life, I could see how quickly — and thoroughly — The Golden Ticket immerses its players in a playful sense of make-believe.
Nowhere was more transportive than the Chocolate Room, which boasts a giant gumball machine, edible set dressings, and adorable thematic details (down to functional workout accessories that look like chocolate).
Rusty Goffe, who played an Oompa-Loompa in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, appears with his son Ben Goffe in The Golden Ticket, and they kindly captained our journey aboard the Wonkatania. Yes, the Chocolate River is operational! It’s made with 27,000 gallons of goop — a change from the original film, which Rusty said used dyed water, cream, and sugar.
At 88,000 square feet, Netflix notes that the studios comprising The Golden Ticket make the largest set in Australia’s history — and indeed, it felt like a theme park in the best way. Its whimsical, detailed world-building and movie nods form an exciting new model for what a competition series can look like.
