And both have something more in common than their time slot, target audience and less-than-challenging level of mindless entertainment; what could be called a gay touch.
"Secret Story" finished last week and it was the openly gay Benoît Dubois who picked up the winner's cheque of €150,000.
Dubois and his sidekick Thomas Vitiello seemed to become something of a cult among younger viewers especially as they camped and cattily commented their way through the three months they spent together.
The pair met in the Big Brother-style house and quickly formed the indomitable duo of "Brigitte and Josiane" (Dubois and Vitiello respectively) aka for the purposes of the show as the "Gayssip boys" - a term dreamt up for them by the production team.
And if all goes according to (their) plans Dubois and Vitiello have said they hope they'll become a more permanent feature on French television screens in the near future!
With Secret Story over, TF1 is serving up the delicious "Qui veut épouser mon fils ?" ("Who wants to marry my son?") as a replacement.
As the title suggests it features mothers - five of them - who will try to find future brides for their still-at-home male offspring.
Except from the teaser provided by TF1, it's clear that not all of the mothers involved are looking for potential daughters-in-law.
One of them, Odile, is looking for a "husband" (inverted commas because same-sex marriage doesn't exists in France although civil unions in the forms of PACS do) for her 28-year-old son, Benjamin.
Exclu web les premieres images de l episode 1 qui veut épouser mon fils Vidéo qui-veut-epouser-mon-fils sélectionnée dans TV/Séries
His participation marks the first time a reality television programme of the genre in which contestants "search for love"on a major domestic channel in France includes an openly gay man.
And to an extent TF1 has stolen a march over its main commercial rival M6.
It was supposed to feature a gay farmer among its candidates in the last season of "L'amour est dans le pré" ("Farmer wants a wife") but he reportedly pulled out at the last moment.
Is Benjamin's involvement in the show a bold move for TF1, a reflection of changes in French society or simply a ploy to boost audience figures by attracting the "pink" viewer - or all three?
Of course it's not the first time there has been a gay contestant in a reality TV show in France.
Back in 2002 during the second season of "Loft Story" on M6, one of the eventual winners, Thomas Saillofest, came out.
In last year's edition of "Secret Story" there was a lesbian couple from Belgium who split soon after the show finished.
A similar fate befell another Belgian couple (male) after they were eliminated during the last season of Pékin Express on M6 (even though they purportedly went into show to test the strength of their relationship with a view to tying the knot officially afterwards.)
And let's not forget "Zhoom", launched earlier this month on Pink TV, the country's only gay channel.
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