When we saw that Prime Video was planning to release a new series that takes famous former reality TV contestants and puts them all together in a swanky mansion — creating a mix of drama, humor, and outright bizarre challenges — our first reaction was “Sign us up!”
And learning that the series was filmed almost entirely on location in a luxurious Atlanta mansion definitely sealed the deal.
Hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh of Tosh.0 fame, the show features 14 reality TV superstars competing in a series of challenges to claim the title of the “Greatest reality show contestant Of All Time” — and the $200,000 prize that comes with it.
Names like Love is Blind alum Lauren Speed-Hamilton, Jill Zarin of The Real Housewives of New York, The Bachelorette stars Joe Amabile and Tayshia Adams, Survivor Season 36 winner Wendell Holland, and Shahs of Sunset lead Reza Farahan are all vying for the title, alongside other reality TV veterans.
At the heart of the series stands the lavish GOAT Manor in Atlanta, where all the contestants live and compete for the entire first season.
We had the chance to speak with Adrina Rose Garibian, the talented production designer behind the stunning mansion, to get an inside look at how she transformed the space into a vibrant set for reality TV. And we’ve got some juicy tidbits to share.
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But first, where exactly is GOAT Manor?
Courtesy of the series’ production crew, we learned that GOAT Manor is located in the College Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The vastness of the property lent itself not only to setups for multiple larger-than-life challenges but also accommodated the contestants and crew.
Nearly the entire show is shot in the house – no sets were built for the new Prime Video reality series.
The property has over 26,000 square feet and 9 bedrooms
Taking our research a little bit further, we found the actual property used to film the show — and let me tell you, it’s as impressive as it looks on screen.
Clocking in at an ultra-generous 26,000 square feet of living space, the Atlanta estate has 9 bedrooms, 17 baths, and luxe amenities like formal living and dining rooms, a grand foyer with a curved staircase, a home theater, and a terrace level with an entertainment room.
Sitting on a massive 15-acre lot, the mansion is not the only structure on the property. The square footage and bedrooms are split between the main home, carriage house, and pool house. There’s also an 8-car garage, a motor court with a fountain (easily recognizable by fans of the series), and a stocked lake, per public records.
It’s the former home of an NFL player
The eagle-eyed editors over at Distractify quickly identified the mansion as the former Atlanta home of retired NFL player Robert Mathis.
Mathis, who spent his entire 14-year career as a defensive end and linebacker with the Indianapolis Colts, was born and raised in Atlanta — where he attended McNair High School and was classmates with rapper Gucci Mane.
The former Colts player first listed his Atlanta mansion for sale in 2018, two years after it was completed in 2016. However, a buyer didn’t take it off his hands until 2023, when the property sold for $5,650,000. The sale closed in late May 2023, right around the time when The GOAT was wrapping up filming.
Creating GOAT Manor: The house came unfurnished
Robert Mathis may have already had his bags long packed by the time he rented the house for filming, as the mansion was completely unfurnished when the crew arrived.
Talking exclusively with Fancy Pants Homes, The GOAT production designer Adrina Rose Garibian shares that “It was actually completely empty. So we had to furnish the mansion from top to bottom.”
This means that every piece of furniture and decor was carefully selected to match the luxurious yet functional style required for the show.
Designing and decorating the spaces for reality TV
Adrina aimed for a “modern, elevated, clean palette” for the design of GOAT Manor, ensuring the space felt both luxurious and comfortable for the contestants.
She explained, “You want it to feel genuinely comfortable because you’re dealing with real people that have to stay there. Then the tricky thing when you’re working on an unscripted show, it’s working with people that haven’t been on TV before and may not have any expectations for what they’re walking into.”
“But this show is all people who have done this before, right? So the bar was a little bit higher.”
Funnily, the rug choices were contested by a member of the cast
Not only have the contestants gone through this before; but they’re also a lot more opinionated than your regular reality TV cast.
Sharing a fun tidbit from the production set, Garibian mentioned former Housewife Jill Zarin was quite vocal about the rugs chosen for the mansion. “She has her own rug line, and she consistently brought up the fact that we didn’t use her rugs in the show. That was pretty funny to me,” the designer tells us.
See also: Where do the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Live?
The heart of the home: spaces to connect (and create alliances)
The main focus while filming was on the open living area, encompassing the living room, kitchen, and dining room. “The kitchen is always the hub, right? It’s always where people gather,” Adrina said. This central space became a natural gathering spot for the contestants, fostering a sense of genuine interaction and camaraderie that is often seen on the show.
But the design team also paid special attention to the spaces where contestants can have private conversations while staying in full view of the cameras:
“We wanted to create different areas for people to have conversations or secret meetings. You want people to be able to have a conversation in one room and not be seen, but then also to set it up so that potentially someone in another room could see them, but not hear what they’re saying.”
Getting the sleep accommodations right
When it comes to the bedrooms and accommodating the show’s 14-person cast, Adrina admitted that it was quite the challenge.
“You have grown adults sharing bedrooms in twin beds because you have to make everybody fit. So it’s a little bit challenging because you want it to still feel comfortable and luxurious,” but that’s not the easiest task when bunking grownups together.
Luckily, the house’s massive size helped a bit. “We had one really big room with a big, beautiful bathroom and a big walk-in closet, like really large walk-in closet. So we turned that into a bedroom for all the women. And then we had two rooms upstairs that were separated for the men.”
That’s not to say everyone stayed in their assigned rooms. “Then later on, you know, everyone started moving around,” the production designer shares. “So I think at one point one of the women went upstairs and stayed in the room with the men, so that was sort of funny.”
The outdoor spaces presented their own unique challenges
The outdoor areas of the GOAT Manor were just as crucial as the interior.
Adrina described the dual-purpose design: “The front of the house had a large stage used for various challenges, and the backyard served as a pool and leisure area, as well as a space for eliminations and more challenges.”
Maximizing the use of the 15-acre property, which included a lot of wooded areas, was a logistical feat that added depth to the show’s setting. “So the outdoor areas were definitely, you know, repurposed for multiple things consistently,” Adrina added.
All the goats needed for the series
One of the standout features of both the series and GOAT Manor is the abundance of gold goat sculptures. How many were there in total?
Adrina shared, “We had the gold goat on the fountain, the giant voting goat, and each contestant had their own mini goat. I think there were about 15 or 16 goats in total, of various sizes.” Not to mention the final goat — awarded to the winner at the end — which was created by melting all the fallen mini goats.
Will the same house be used for Season 2?
There’s no news yet on whether The GOAT will be renewed for a second season, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed we’ll get a few more seasons — just as entertaining as the first.
As for the future of GOAT Manor, well, that remains to be seen. Public records show that the mansion changed ownership right about the time filming wrapped up for the reality show, and there are no guarantees the new owners would be interested in renting it out for Season 2 to film here.
Adrina too mentioned the possibility of changing locations for season two, but had a very positive take on this potential scenario:
“That’s always a gamble because these are real houses. Sometimes it’s nice to take what you learned from one season and apply it to a new location, creating a different creative environment.”
Hoping to see more soon
If you’ve enjoyed watching The GOAT as much as we did, you likely appreciated how it blends serious competition with humor and absurdity — with some star power and familiar faces adding to the fun.
Stay tuned to see if The GOAT and its palatial Manor return for another season, and keep an eye out for more of Adrina’s stunning production designs in future projects.
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