Secrets To A Better 'Marriage Ref': Bigger Stars, Odder Couples

Headed into the long-awaited second season of NBC’s Jerry Seinfeld-produced “The Marriage Ref,” host Tom Papa promises a couple retooled elements that he hopes improves upon a first season that left some critics cold.

First and foremost, there’s a lot more at stake for being right.

“At the end of the show the audience votes on which of the [episode's] winning spouses is the rightest of the right, and that person wins $25,000 and a billboard in their hometown declaring that they were right,” explained Papa to TVLine. It’s also worth noting that this season, the couples will actually all be in-studio with show’s celebrity panels.

Speaking of which, should the show get the nod for a third season, Papa already has a name topping his panel wish-list.

OK, and a close second.

“I really want Chris Rock. We were pushing for him this year but he was tied up, so he says that next year he’ll definitely do it,” Papa said. “That for me would be a great one. Also, Oprah has some free time now — she’d be great!”

Papa also claims that this year’s couples dial the quirk factor up to “11,” while some panelists provided surprising insight – even for some being devout singles, in their own rights.

“One that made me laugh was a woman obsessed with throw pillows on her bed, to the point that the husband keeps falling on them in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom,” Papa recalled. “But the most bizarre one we had was a guy with a nervous habit of chewing on his TV remote control — so much so that every two weeks he had to have the cable company send him a new one.”

Papa was also surprised at what a favorite panelist singer and actress Mary J. Blige became.

“We had Mary J. Blige, who is such an amazing singer, but to hear her talk about her relationship and real couples stuff really threw me,” Papa shares. “Like, she’s just a regular person!

“Bill Maher couldn’t be more against marriage in his own life, but to have him on [the show] provides an outsider’s point of view,” he added. “I always say that if you’re learning how to drive a car, you’d want to learn from someone who’s really good; someone that can race the car; and someone who’s been in a car accident. You want all of those perspectives.”

The second season of “The Marriage Ref” kicks off July 3 at 10 p.m. ETon NBC.