Fancy taking a ride on the Wonkatania, sucking on an everlasting gobstopper, or juicing a snozzberry? Now you can in Netflix’s new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory–themed reality contest, Wonka’s The Golden Ticket. Twenty-four lucky golden ticket winners compete for $3 million (roughly £2.3 million) while indulging in a nostalgic tour of literature’s most famous chocolate factory, led by owner Willy Wonka himself.
If you’re a fan of Roald Dahl’s original book or the subsequent films, this reality contest is for you. The first season has already been filmed (and is streaming on Netflix), so you’ll want to ensure that you’re ready in case a second season gets greenlit.
The question is: Are you a good egg or a bad egg? Let Willy Wonka decide!
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Wonka’s The Golden Ticket is a reality competition format from Netflix based on Roald Dahl’s children’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Released on 23 September 2026, it offered 12 competing pairs a chance to win a “lifetime supply of money.” All they had to do was live full time in the weird and wonderful factory while surviving the physical, mental, and psychological challenges set by the mischievous Mr Wonka.
Filming for the first season took place in Australia, where, over 12 weeks, the show’s creative team built a replica of Wonka’s factory. Three studios, 88,000 square feet, and 10,000 gallons of purple and gold paint were used to bring Wonka’s world to life. That meant a room of lickable wallpaper, a brand-new Wonkavision TV studio, and even that mouthwatering chocolate river.
The main casting for the show arguably was done over 50 years ago, when comedy legend Gene Wilder was cast as Willy Wonka in the original 1971 film. Wilder passed away in 2016, so the show’s producers used AI to recreate his voice, which is used to guide the contestants through the various tasks.
Wilder’s widow, Karen, gave the production team access to private recordings to help aid the process, which showrunner Emer Harkin called “laborious but gorgeous.”
“To have that blessing from his widow that this was OK to do was just fantastic,” fellow showrunner Alison Holloway told Netflix’s Tudum. “You just hope that somewhere he’s looking down on this project and will guide us through.”
The casting director for Season 1 of Wonka’s The Golden Ticket was veteran Robyn Kass, who is a specialist in this type of reality casting after working on big-hitters like Big Brother, Squid Game: The Challenge, and Survivor.
Casting for Season 1 began with an online application, for which applicants had to be over age 18 and US residents. They cast 12 primary Golden Ticket holders, who all brought along a partner of their choosing, creating 12 competing duos (24 contestants total). “We were looking for interesting humans who wanted to be in this world and who we wanted to root for and [who] kept our attention,” Harkin told Tudum. If that sounds like you, keep your eyes peeled for future castings, as well as Kass’ Instagram profile for any announcements.
Wonka’s The Golden Ticket may be a new kid on the block, but what producers look for in reality contestants is a constant: strong, opinionated characters; humour; confidence; and great chemistry with the other candidates.
There is, of course, another route to being cast on the show: becoming one of Mr Wonka’s orange-faced, green-haired Oompa Loompas. Original Oompa Loompa Rusty Goffe – who appeared in the 1971 film – features alongside his son Ben, as well as a motley crew of seven other Oompas, who now come in all heights, sizes, and sexes.
Goffe told Tudum there was one main criterion for joining the gang: “Everyone is welcome, as long as you have orange faces and green hair” – or are at least happy to for the show. So if competing isn’t for you, you could always apply to join their ranks. Just remember that you’ll be doing more marshalling than chocolate-eating!
Below are the lucky golden ticket winners of Season 1 – pay particular attention to the pairs. You may think you’re the perfect contender for Season 2, but your choice of partner is everything in what is very much a team game. It could be a family member, a best mate, or a spouse, but you’ll want a strong, emotional bond to succeed. Harkin goes as far as to suggest you need “your ride or die – the person you can’t do without.”
- Friends: Marcy, 63, retired, and JoAnne, 60, homemaker
- Mother and son: Shawn, 64, special education teacher, and Garrison, 30, partner marketing manager
- Grandfather and grandson: Ray, 79, retired, and Jackson, 25, bartender
- Father and daughter: Bill, 63, retired, and Kayla, 34, consultant
- Mother and daughter: Kellye, 61, professional singer, actor, and musician, and Tatum, 27, fashion consultant and social media manager
- Married couple: Everett, 36, travel adviser and marketing director, and James, 38, human resources manager
- Couple: Bryce, 22, roofer, and Taylor, 23, phlebotomist
- Brothers: Nick, 37, deejay, and Jason, 49, deejay and event company owner
- Sisters: Gabrielle, 22, deejay and choreographer, and Sasha, 24, entrepreneur
- Friends: Ziad, 32, fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle coach, and Austin, 29, content creator
- Father and daughter: Jeffrey, 69, business owner, and Ava, 25, creative producer
- Married couple: Moon, 29, singer, and Hunter, 31, general contractor
Contestant ages ranged from 22 to 79. “We were also looking really closely at the significant other [the ticket holder] brings into the factory,” Holloway told Tudum. “Everyone had to be a strong and compelling character.”
It’s a good idea to rewatch the films and have another read of the book so you can familiarise yourself with the story’s world – and figure out which narratives the producers may like to replicate. In Season 1, for example, the grandfather and grandson pairing of Ray and Jackson seemed just like the Buckets family, while father-daughter duo Ava and Jeffrey bore more than a slight salty resemblance to a certain father and daughter in the book!
Don’t forget the moral behind the story, and good luck finding your own golden ticket.