Reality television is a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
ming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as ''
The Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
'', then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series ''
Survivor'', ''
Idols'', and ''
Big Brother
Big Brother may refer to:
* Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control
** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
'', all of which became global
franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves.
Documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
,
television news
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...
,
sports television
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...
,
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s, and traditional
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
s are generally not classified as reality television. Some genres of television programming that predate the reality television boom have been retroactively classified as reality television, including
hidden camera
A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and
court show
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...
s featuring real-life cases and issues.
Reality television has
faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality, in ways both implicit (participants being placed in artificial situations), and deceptive (misleading editing, participants being coached on behavior, storylines generated ahead of time, scenes being staged). Some shows have been accused of rigging the favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they are intended to humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of untalented people unworthy of fame, infamous figures, or both; and that they glamorize vulgarity.
History
Television formats portraying ordinary people in unscripted situations are almost as old as the television medium itself. Producer-host
Allen Funt
Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality best known as the creator and host of '' Candid Camera'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regula ...
's ''
Candid Camera
''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
'', in which unsuspecting people were confronted with funny, unusual situations and filmed with hidden cameras, first aired in 1948. In the 21st century, the series is often considered a prototype of reality television programming.
1940s–1950s
Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the late 1940s. ''
Queen for a Day
''Queen for a Day'' is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. ''Queen for a Day'' originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, in ...
'' (1945–1964) was an early example of reality-based television. The 1946 television game show ''
Cash and Carry'' sometimes featured contestants performing stunts. Debuting in 1948,
Allen Funt
Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality best known as the creator and host of '' Candid Camera'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regula ...
's
hidden camera
A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
show ''
Candid Camera
''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
'' (based on his previous 1947 radio show, ''Candid Microphone'') broadcast unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pranks. In 1948, talent search shows, such as ''
Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour
''The Original Amateur Hour'' is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its mast ...
'' and ''
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur Godf ...
'', featured amateur competitors and audience voting. In the 1950s, game shows ''
Beat the Clock
''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.
The show began on radio as ' ...
'' and ''
Truth or Consequences
''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1956), Bob Barker (1956–1975), Steve Dunne (1957–1958), ...
'' involved contestants in wacky competitions, stunts, and practical jokes. ''
Confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
'' was a crime and police show that aired from June 1958 to January 1959, with interviewer Jack Wyatt questioning criminals from assorted backgrounds. The radio series ''Nightwatch'' (1951–1955) tape-recorded the daily activities of
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
police officers. The series ''
You Asked for It
''You Asked for It'' is a human interest television show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled ''The Art Baker Show'', the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of the series were see ...
'' (1950–1959) incorporated audience involvement by basing episodes around requests sent in by postcard from viewers.
1960s–1970s
First broadcast in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1964, the
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
documentary ''
Seven Up!
The ''Up'' series of documentary films follows the lives of ten males and four females in England beginning in 1964, when they were seven years old. The first film was titled ''Seven Up!'', with later films adjusting the number in the title t ...
'' broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary 7-year-olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life. Every seven years, the filmmaker created a new film documenting the lives of the same individuals during the intervening period. Titled the
Up Series
The ''Up'' series of documentary films follows the lives of ten males and four females in England beginning in 1964, when they were seven years old. The first film was titled ''Seven Up!'', with later films adjusting the number in the title t ...
, episodes included "7 Plus Seven", "21 Up", etc.; it is still ongoing. The program was structured as a series of interviews with no element of the plot. By virtue of the attention paid to the participants, it effectively turned ordinary people into a type of celebrity, especially after they became adults.
The series ''
The American Sportsman
''The American Sportsman'' is an American television series that aired from 1965 to 1986 on ABC which presented filmed highlights involving the program's hosts and celebrities participating in hunting and/or fishing trips along with outdoor recreat ...
'', which ran from 1965 to 1986 on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in the United States, would typically feature one or more celebrities, and sometimes their family members, being accompanied by a camera crew on an
outdoor adventure, such as
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, hiking,
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
, rock climbing, wildlife photography, horseback riding, race car driving, and the like, with most of the resulting action and dialogue being unscripted, except for the narration.
In the 1966
Direct Cinema film ''
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). It w ...
'',
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
filmed various acquaintances with no direction given. The ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
Guide to Film 2007'' said that the film was "to blame for reality television".
![The_Loud_Family_1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/The_Loud_Family_1973.JPG)
The 12-part 1973
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
series ''
An American Family
''An American Family'' is an American television documentary series that followed the life of a California family in the early 1970s. Widely referred to as the first example of an American reality TV show, the series drew millions of weekly vie ...
'' showed a
nuclear family
A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...
(filmed in 1971) going through a divorce; unlike many later reality shows, it was more or less documentary in purpose and style. In 1974 a counterpart program, ''
The Family
A family is a domestic or social group.
Family or The Family may also refer to:
Mathematics
*Family of curves, a set of curves resulting from a function with variable parameters
*Family of sets, a collection of sets
*Indexed family, a family wh ...
'', was made in the UK, following the working-class Wilkins family of
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
.
Other forerunners of modern reality television were the 1970s productions of
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...
: ''
The Dating Game
''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...
'', ''
The Newlywed Game
''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...
'', and ''
The Gong Show
''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...
'', all of which featured participants who were eager to sacrifice some of their privacy and dignity in a televised competition.
The 1976-1980
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
series ''
The Big Time'' featured a different amateur in some field (cooking, comedy, football, etc.) trying to succeed professionally in that field, with help from notable experts. The 15-episode series is credited with starting the career of
Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
, who was selected to appear in the episode showing an aspiring pop singer trying to enter the music business.
In 1978, ''
Living in the Past'' had amateurs participating in a re-enactment of life in an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
English village.
1980s–1990s
Producer
George Schlatter
George Schlatter (born December 31, 1932) is an American television producer and director, best known for ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and founder of the American Comedy Awards.
For his work on television, Schlatter has a star on the Hollywood ...
capitalized on the advent of videotape to create ''
Real People
''Real People'' is an American reality television series that originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9pm Eastern Time. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones. ''Real People'' featured "re ...
'', a surprise hit for NBC, and it ran from 1979 to 1984. The success of ''Real People'' was quickly copied by ABC with ''
That's Incredible
''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of ''You Asked for It'', ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ''Real People'', the show featured people per ...
'', a stunt show produced by
Alan Landsburg
Alan William Landsburg (May 10, 1933 – August 13, 2014) was an American television writer, producer, and director. He was the founder and CEO of Alan Landsburg Productions and the Landsburg Company and was involved in producing over fifty mo ...
and co-hosted by
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...
; CBS's entry into the genre was ''
That's My Line
''That's My Line'' is a summer CBS reality show developed by Mark Goodson. Conceived in response to the success of NBC's ''Real People'' and ABC's ''That's Incredible!'', ''That's My Line'' borrowed its name from one of Goodson and Bill Todman's e ...
'', a series hosted by
Bob Barker
Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's ''The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American televis ...
. The
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
series ''
Thrill of a Lifetime
''Thrill of a Lifetime'' is a television reality series (before that term was coined) created by Sidney M. Cohen (who also directed many of the episodes) and Willie Stein. It was telecast from 1981 to 1988 in Canada on the CTV network. ''Thril ...
'', a fantasies-fulfilled reality show, originally ran from 1982 to 1988. It was revived from 2001 to 2003. In 1985, underwater cinematographer Al Giddings teamed with former
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
Shawn Weatherly
Shawn Nichols Weatherly is an American actress and beauty queen who won the titles of Miss USA and Miss Universe in 1980. She went on to star as Cadet Karen Adams in the film '' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'' (1986), and as Jill Riley in th ...
on the NBC series ''Oceanquest'', which chronicled Weatherly's adventures scuba diving in various exotic locales. Weatherly was nominated for an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for Outstanding Achievement in informational programming.
''
COPS'', which first aired in the spring of 1989 on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
and was developed due to the need for new programming during the
1988 Writers Guild of America strike The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) against major United States television and film studios represented by the ...
, showed police officers on duty apprehending criminals. It introduced the
camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
look and
cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...
feel of much of later reality television. The 1991
television documentary
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
on "typical American high schoolers", ''
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...
'', focused on
seniors attending Glenbard West High School, in
Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census.
History
Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...
, Illinois and
broadcast prime-time on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
.
The series ''
Nummer 28
{{Italic title
''Nummer 28'' was a Dutch reality soap, directed by Joost Tholens and produced by Today TV, shown as part of the youth show "1-4-U" of public broadcaster KRO in 1991. The name of the show was directly derived from the number of the h ...
'', which aired on
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
television in 1991, originated the concept of putting strangers together in a limited environment for an extended period of time and recording the drama that ensued. ''Nummer 28'' also pioneered many of the stylistic conventions that have since become standard in reality television shows, including extensive use of soundtrack music and the interspersing of events on screen with after-the-fact "confessionals" recorded by cast members, which serve as narration. One year later, the same concept was used by
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in its new series ''
The Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
''. ''Nummer 28'' creator Erik Latour has long claimed that ''The Real World'' was directly inspired by his show.
But the producers of ''The Real World'' have said that their direct inspiration was ''An American Family''. According to television commentator
Charlie Brooker
Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
, this type of reality television was enabled by the advent of computer-based
non-linear editing system
Non-linear editing is a form of offline editing for audio, video, and image editing. In offline editing, the original content is not modified in the course of editing. In non-linear editing, edits are specified and modified by specialized sof ...
s for video (such as produced by
Avid Technology
Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video edi ...
) in 1989. These systems made it easy to quickly edit hours of video footage into a usable form, something that had been very difficult to do before (film, which was easy to edit, was too expensive to use in shooting enough hours on a regular basis).
''
Sylvania Waters'' (1992) was an Australian show that depicted a family, similar in concept to ''An American Family''.
The 1994–95
O. J. Simpson murder case
''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...
, during which live network television followed suspect Simpson for 90 minutes being chased by police, has been described as a seminal moment in reality television. Networks interrupted their regular television programming for months for coverage of the trial and related events. Because of Simpson's status as a top athlete and celebrity, the brutal nature of the murders, and issues of race and class in Los Angeles celebrity culture, the sensational case dominated ratings and the public conversation.
Many reality television stars of the 2000s and 2010s have direct or indirect connections to people involved in the case, most notably
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
, daughter of defense attorney
Robert Kardashian
Robert George Kardashian (February 22, 1944 – September 30, 2003) was an American attorney and businessman. He gained recognition as O. J. Simpson's friend and defense attorney during Simpson's 1995 murder trial. He had four children with h ...
, and several of her relatives and associates.
The series ''
Expedition Robinson
''Robinson'', formerly ''Expedition Robinson'', is a Sweden, Swedish Reality television#Reality competition.2Fgame shows, reality game show and the original version of the international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' format.
The television ...
'', created by television producer Charlie Parsons, which first aired in 1997 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
(and was later produced in a large number of other countries as ''
Survivor''), added to the ''Nummer 28''/''Real World'' template the idea of competition and elimination. Cast members or contestants battled against each other and were removed from the show until only one winner remained (these shows are now sometimes called elimination shows). ''
Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'', a program that began in 1996, showed couples redecorating each other's houses, and was the first reality show with a
self-improvement
Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...
or
makeover
A makeover is a radical change in appearance. When the word is used to describe a change in human physical appearance, it may imply a change in clothing, haircut, or cosmetics. A personal makeover might also include weight loss, plastic surgery, ...
theme. The dating reality show ''
Streetmate
''Streetmate'' is a reality dating game show that first aired on Channel 4 from 30 October 1998 to 9 March 2001, hosted by Davina McCall, and then aired on ITV2 from 27 September to 29 November 2007, this time hosted by Holly Willoughby. The seri ...
'' premiered in the UK in 1998. Originally created by
Gabe Sachs
Gabe Sachs is an American television producer, who has been a writer/producer with partner Jeff Judah for a number of primetime television shows and movies including ''Freaks & Geeks'', ''Just Shoot Me'', ''Undeclared'', '' Life As We Know It'', ' ...
as ''Street Match'', it was a flop in the United States. But the show was revamped in the UK by
Tiger Aspect Productions
Tiger Aspect Productions (formerly known as Tiger Television from 1988 until 1993 and also known as Tiger Aspect Films for theatrical films) is a British television and film production company, particularly noted for its situation comedy, situa ...
and became a cult hit. The production team from the original series later created the popular reality shows ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', ''
Location, Location, Location
''Location, Location, Location'' is a British reality property programme that has aired on Channel 4 since 17 May 2000 and is presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The show follows Allsopp and Spencer as they try to find the perfect ...
'', and the revamped ''
MasterChef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...
'', among others. The 1980s and 1990s were also a time when
tabloid talk show
A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of t ...
s became more popular. Many of these featured the same types of unusual or dysfunctional guests who would later become popular as cast members of reality shows.
2000s
Reality television became globally popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the successes of the ''
Big Brother
Big Brother may refer to:
* Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control
** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
'' and ''
Survivor/
Expedition Robinson
''Robinson'', formerly ''Expedition Robinson'', is a Sweden, Swedish Reality television#Reality competition.2Fgame shows, reality game show and the original version of the international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' format.
The television ...
'' franchises. In the United States, reality television programs suffered a temporary decline in viewership in 2001, leading some entertainment industry columnists to speculate that the genre was a temporary fad that had run its course. Reality shows that suffered from low ratings included ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'' (although the show has since recovered and is in its 32nd edition), ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' (unrelated to the better-known
serial drama of the same name) and ''
The Mole'' (which was successful in other countries). But stronghold shows ''Survivor'' and ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' continued to thrive: both topped the U.S. season-average television ratings in the 2000s. ''Survivor'' led the ratings in
2001–02, and ''Idol'' has the longest hold on the No. 1 rank in the
American television ratings, dominating over all other primetime programs and other television series in the overall viewership tallies for eight consecutive years, from the
2003–2004 to the
2010–2011 television seasons.
![John de Mol jr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/John_de_Mol_jr.jpg)
Internationally, a number of shows created in the late 1990s and 2000s have had massive global success. Reality-television franchises created during that time that have had more than 30 international adaptations each include the singing competition franchises ''
Idols'', ''
Star Academy
''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements.
Format
There are many versions of t ...
'' and ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', other competition franchises ''Survivor/Expedition Robinson'', ''Big Brother'', ''
The Biggest Loser
''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...
'', ''
Come Dine with Me'', ''
Got Talent
''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...
'', ''
Top Model
''Top Model,'' also called ''Next Top Model,'' is a fashion-themed reality television show format produced in many countries throughout the world and seen in over 120 countries producing over 200 seasons, which are referred to as "cycles". T ...
'', ''
MasterChef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...
'', ''
Project Runway
''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design.
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...
'' and ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'', and the investment franchise ''
Dragons' Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
''. Several "
reality game show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
s" from the same period have had even greater success, including ''
Deal or No Deal
''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...
'', ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'', and ''
Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
'', with over 50 international adaptions each. (All but four of these franchises, ''Top Model'', ''Project Runway'', ''The Biggest Loser'' and ''Dragons' Den'', were created by either
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
producers or the Dutch production company
Endemol
Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...
. Although ''Dragons' Den'' originated in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, most of its adaptations are based on the British version.) In India, the competition show ''
Indian Idol
''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format.
Versions
: Currently airing – 1
: Upcoming for airing – 0
: Recently concluded – 3
: No longer airing – ...
'' was the most popular television program for its first six seasons.
During the 2000s, several
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
networks, including
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
,
A&E,
E!,
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
,
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
, and
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, changed their programming to feature mostly reality television series.
In addition, three cable channels were started around that time that were devoted exclusively to reality television:
Fox Reality
Fox Reality Channel was an American pay television channel. It was launched on May 24, 2005, and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were originally on the Fox network (or produced by Fox). The channel also featu ...
in the United States, which operated from 2005 to 2010;
Global Reality Channel
Global Reality Channel was a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. The channel broadcasts reality television series and related programming. It was an offshoot of the Shaw-owned Global Television Network, whi ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, which lasted two years from 2010 to 2012; and
CBS Reality
CBS Reality is a European television channel broadcast in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
History
CBS Reality was launched as Reality TV on 1 December 1999 as a joint-venture between UPCtv and Zone Vision. In 2005, Liberty Global, owner of ...
(formerly known as Reality TV and then Zone Reality) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which has run from 1999 to the present.
During the early part of the 2000s, network executives expressed concern that reality-television programming was limited in its appeal for DVD reissue and
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
. But DVDs for reality shows sold briskly; ''
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'', ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'', ''
Project Runway
''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design.
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...
'', and ''
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...
'' all ranked in the top DVDs sold on
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. In the mid-2000s, DVDs of ''
The Simple Life
''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fast ...
'' outranked scripted shows such as ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'' and ''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
''. Syndication, however, has been problematic; shows such as ''
Fear Factor
''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now or ...
'', ''COPS'', and ''
Wife Swap'', in which each episode is self-contained, can be rerun fairly easily, but usually only on cable television or during the daytime (''COPS'' and ''
America's Funniest Home Videos
''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Kato-chan Ken-chan Gok ...
'' being exceptions). Season-long competitions, such as ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'', ''
Survivor'', and ''
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...
'' generally perform more poorly and usually must be rerun in
marathons
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
to draw the necessary viewers to make it worthwhile. (Even in these cases, it is not always successful: the first ten seasons of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'' were picked up by
GSN in 2012 and was run in marathon format, but attracted low viewership and had very poor ratings). Another option is to create documentaries around series, including extended interviews with the participants and outtakes not seen in the original airings; the syndicated series ''
American Idol Rewind ''American Idol Rewind'' is a syndicated television series that ran from September 30, 2006 to May 15, 2010. The hour-long weekly series was a repurposed edition of the hit reality talent show ''American Idol'', featuring present day interviews wit ...
'' is an example of this strategy.
''COPS'' has had huge success in syndication, direct response sales, and DVD. A Fox staple since 1989, ''COPS'' has, as of 2013 (when it moved to cable channel
Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
), outlasted all competing scripted police shows. Another series that had wide success is ''
Cheaters
Cheater or Cheaters may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''The Cheaters'' (1930 film), an Australian silent film
* ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an American film directed by Phil Rosent
* ''The Cheaters'' (1945 film), directed by Joseph Ka ...
'', which has been running since 2000 in the U.S. and is syndicated in over 100 countries worldwide. In 2001, the
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
added the reality genre to the
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
in the category of
Outstanding Reality Program
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program is handed out annually at the Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremony.
In 2014, Outstanding Reality Program was separated into two categories – Outstanding Unstructured Reality Prog ...
. In 2003, to better differentiate between competition and informational reality programs, a second category,
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reailty Competition Program is handed out for reality-style, skill-based competition formats during the primetime telecast since 2003. The award goes to the producers of the program.
''The Amazing Race'' ...
, was added. In 2008, a third category,
Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, was added. In 2007, the
web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
''
The Next Internet Millionaire'' appeared; it was a competition show based in part on ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'', and was billed as the world's first Internet reality show.
2010s
![Duncan Laurence with the 2019 Eurovision Trophy (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Duncan_Laurence_with_the_2019_Eurovision_Trophy_%28cropped%29.jpg)
''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'', a singing competition franchise created by
John de Mol
Johannes Hendrikus Hubert "John" de Mol Jr. (born 24 April 1955) is a Dutch Mass media, media Business magnate, tycoon. De Mol is one of the men behind production companies Endemol and Talpa Network, Talpa. He created the reality television form ...
that started in 2010, remains the newest highly successful reality television franchise, with almost 50 international adaptations. ''
The Tester
''The Tester'' is a serialized reality program created by Sony Computer Entertainment and produced by 51 Minds. '' (2010-2012) was the first reality television show aired over a video game console.
By 2012, many of the long-running reality television show franchises in the United States, such as ''American Idol'', ''Dancing with the Stars'' and ''
The Bachelor'', had begun to see declining ratings. However, reality television as a whole remained durable in the U.S., with hundreds of shows across many channels. In 2012, ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' Magazine's ''Vulture'' blog published a humorous
Venn diagram
A Venn diagram is a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between set (mathematics), sets, popularized by John Venn (1834–1923) in the 1880s. The diagrams are used to teach elementary set theory, and to illustrate simple ...
showing popular themes across American reality shows then running, including shows set in the U.S. states of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, shows about cakes, weddings and
pawnbroker
A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...
s, and shows, usually competition-based, whose title includes the word "Wars".
''
Duck Dynasty
''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, Lo ...
'' (2012-2017), which focused on the Robertson family that founded
Duck Commander
Duck Commander is an American hunting and outdoor recreation company in West Monroe, Louisiana. Founded by Phil Robertson, a football quarterback at Louisiana Tech University, he developed and patented the company's namesake duck call the ''Duc ...
, in 2013 became the most popular reality series in U.S. cable television history. Its fourth-season premiere was viewed by nearly 12 million viewers in the United States, most of which were in rural markets. Its rural audience share ranked in the 30s, an extremely high number for any series, broadcast or cable.
In 2014, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' again noted a stagnation in reality television programs' ratings in the U.S., which they attributed to "The diminishing returns of cable TV's sea of reality sameness". They noted that a number of networks that featured reality programming, including Bravo and E!, were launching their first scripted shows, and others, including
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** AM ...
, were abandoning plans to launch further reality programs; though they clarified that the genre as a whole "isn't going anywhere." Ratings and profits from reality TV continued to decline in the late 2010s.
The South Korean music competition ''
King of Mask Singer
''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...
'' emerged in 2015, which features celebrities performing under
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s and concealed by a
mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
. Each contestant competed against the titular returning champion (the "mask king"), with the loser being eliminated and forced to reveal their identity. The format was first exported to other Asian countries, such as
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
; in 2017, television producer
Craig Plestis Craig Plestis is the President and CEO of Smart Dog Media, a reality programming production company. Plestis is an executive producer of ''The Masked Singer'' and ''I Can See Your Voice''.
Career NBC
Plestis was the executive producer behind the N ...
acquired the U.S. rights to the format and sold a retooled American version—
''The Masked Singer''—to Fox, which premiered in January 2019.
''The Masked Singer'' became one of Fox's biggest premieres since 2019,
and was the highest-rated non-
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
program and third highest-rated series overall of the 2018–19 (tied with sitcom ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'') and 2019–20 television seasons.
In an attempt to ride off the popularity of ''The Masked Singer'', Fox subsequently pursued other reality competitions and game shows based around mysteries, such as ''
Game of Talents
''Game of Talents'' is an American game show that aired on Fox from March 10 to May 25, 2021. It is an adaptation of the Spanish game show '' Adivina qué hago esta noche''. The show is hosted and executive produced by Wayne Brady.
Format
Two t ...
'', and another South Korean format in ''
I Can See Your Voice
''I Can See Your Voice'' (abbreviated ''ICSYV'' and stylized as ''I Can See Your Voice — Mystery music game show'') () is an international television mystery music game show franchise that originated in South Korea.
History
In 2012, prod ...
.''
2020s
Television development across all genres was impacted in 2020 by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, which forced many reality competition series to suspend production (and in some cases curtail a competition already in progress, such as
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
versions of ''Big Brother''),
until such time that production could recommence with appropriate health and safety protocols approved by local authorities. Due to their quicker turnaround times, the U.S. networks used reality series and other unscripted content (including those delayed from their summer lineups) to fill gaps in their schedules while the production of scripted programming resumed.
Subgenres
There have been various attempts to classify reality television shows into different subgenres:
* A 2006 study proposed six subgenres: romance, crime, informational, reality-drama, competition or game, and talent.
* A 2007 study proposed five subgenres: infotainment, docusoap, lifestyle, reality game shows, and lifestyle experiment programs.
* A 2009 study proposed eight subgenres: "gamedocs", dating programs, makeover programs, docusoaps, talent contests, court programs, reality sitcoms, and celebrity variations of other programs.
Another categorization divides reality television into two types: shows that purport to document real life, and shows that place participants in new circumstances. In a 2003 paper, theorists Elisabeth Klaus and Stephanie Lücke referred to the former category as "docusoaps", which consist of "narrative reality", and the latter category as "reality soaps", which consist of "performative reality". Since 2014, the
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
have used a similar classification, with separate awards for "
unstructured reality" and "
structured reality" programs, as well as a third award for "
reality-competition" programs.
Documentary-style
In many reality television programs, camera shooting and footage editing give the viewer the impression that they are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities; this style of filming is sometimes referred to as
fly on the wall
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, t ...
,
observational documentary
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
or
factual television
Factual television is a genre of non-fiction television programming that documents actual events and people. These types of programs are also described as observational documentary, fly on the wall, docudrama, and reality television. The genre ...
. Story "plots" are often constructed via editing or planned situations, with the results resembling
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s – hence the terms ''docusoap'' and ''
docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
''.
Documentary-style programs give viewers a private look into the lives of the subjects.
Within documentary-style reality television are several subcategories or variants:
Soap-opera style
Although the term "docusoap" has been used for many documentary-style reality television shows, there have been shows that have deliberately tried to mimic the appearance and structure of soap operas. Such shows often focus on a close-knit group of people and their shifting friendships and romantic relationships. One highly influential such series was the American 2004–2006 series ''
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,'' which attempted to specifically mimic the primetime soap opera ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'', which had begun airing in 2003. ''Laguna Beach'' had a more cinematic feel than any previous reality television show, through the use of higher-quality lighting and cameras, voice-over narration instead of on-screen "confessionals", and slower pacing. ''Laguna Beach'' led to several spinoff series, most notably the 2006–2010 series ''
The Hills''. It also inspired various other series, including the highly successful British series ''
The Only Way Is Essex
''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally b ...
'' and ''
Made in Chelsea
''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...
'', and the Australian series ''
Freshwater Blue
''Freshwater Blue'' is an Australian reality-drama series created by Toby Yoshimura and Ben Alcott for MTV Australia. The series follows the lives of twelve friends who have completed their secondary education and face the challenges of friendsh ...
''.
Due to their cinematic feel, many of these shows have been accused of being pre-scripted, more so than other reality television shows have. The producers of ''The Only Way Is Essex'' and ''Made in Chelsea'' have admitted to coaching cast members on what to say in order to draw more emotion from each scene, although they insist that the underlying stories are real.
Another highly successful group of soap-opera-style shows is the ''
Real Housewives
''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...
'' franchise, which began with ''
The Real Housewives of Orange County
''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' (abbreviated ''RHOC'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 21, 2006. It has aired sixteen seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several wome ...
'' in 2006 and has since spawned nearly twenty other series, in the U.S. and internationally. The franchise has an older cast and different personal dynamics than that of ''Laguna Beach'' and its imitators, as well as lower production values, but similarly is meant to resemble scripted soap operas – in this case, the television series ''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' and ''
Peyton Place''.
A notable subset of such series focus on a group of women who are romantically connected to male celebrities; these include ''
Basketball Wives
''Basketball Wives'' is an American reality television series franchise on VH1. It chronicles the everyday lives of women romantically linked to men in the professional basketball industry.
The original incarnation was filmed in Miami, Florida an ...
'' (2010), ''
Love & Hip Hop
''Love & Hip Hop'' is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record producer ...
'' (2011), ''
Hollywood Exes
''Hollywood Exes'' is a 2012-2014 American reality television series that aired for three seasons on VH1. The series chronicles the lives of seven ex-wives of famous men. The series led to one spin-off, ''Atlanta Exes'', which ran for one season ...
'' (2012), ''Ex-Wives of Rock'' (2012) and ''
WAGS
WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym used to refer to wives and girlfriends of high-profile sportsmen. The term may also be used in the singular form, WAG, to refer to a specific female partner or life partner who is in a relationship with an athlete. Th ...
'' (2015). Most of these shows have had spin-offs in multiple locations.
![Kim Kardashian 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Kim_Kardashian_3.JPG)
There are also fly-on-the-wall-style shows directly involving celebrities. Often these show a celebrity going about their everyday life: notable examples include ''
The Anna Nicole Show
''The Anna Nicole Show'' is an American reality sitcom starring former model and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith. The series debuted on August 4, 2002 on E! and ran for three seasons. The first season was the most watched show on the network ...
'', ''
The Osbournes
''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002 ...
'', ''
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
''Gene Simmons Family Jewels'' is an American reality television series that premiered on A&E on August 7, 2006. It follows Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons, his longtime partner and wife Shannon Tweed, and their two children, Nick and Sop ...
'', ''
Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica'', ''
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (often abbreviated ''KUWTK'') is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian family, Kardashian–Jenner Stepfamily, blended family, airing b ...
'' and ''
Hogan Knows Best
''Hogan Knows Best'' is an American reality documentary television series on VH1. The series debuted on July 10, 2005 and centered on the family life of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea). Often focusing on the Hogans' raising of th ...
''.
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
in the mid-2000s had an entire block of such shows, known as "Celebreality". Shows such as these are often created with the idea of promoting a celebrity product or upcoming project.
Subcultures
Some documentary-style shows shed light on rarely seen cultures and lifestyles. One example is shows about
people with disabilities
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
or people who have unusual physical circumstances, such as the American series ''
Push Girls
''Push Girls'' is an American reality television series on the SundanceTV. A sneak peek episode, and original premiere date, aired on April 17, 2012, with the official debut on June 4, 2012. ''Push Girls'' chronicles the lives of four women— An ...
'' and ''
Little People, Big World
''Little People, Big World'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2006, and airs on TLC (TV network), TLC. The series chronicles the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the epi ...
'', and the British programmes ''
Beyond Boundaries
''Beyond Boundaries'' is a reality TV series produced by Diverse Bristol for BBC Two. Each series follows a team of adventurers with disabilities as they take on some of the toughest expeditions on the planet under the guidance of ex- SAS Major ...
'', ''
Britain's Missing Top Model
''Britain's Missing Top Model'' is a British Reality TV modelling show for disabled women, aired on BBC Three. The premiere episode aired on 1 July 2008. The show courted controversy, with many arguing that the show made disability a spectat ...
'', ''
The Undateables
''The Undateables'' was a British reality television series that follows a range of people on dates who have long term conditions, including: disabilities, developmental disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, and learning difficulties. The ...
'' and ''
Seven Dwarves''.
Another example is shows that portray the lives of ethnic or religious minorities. Examples include ''
All-American Muslim'' (
Lebanese-American
Lebanese Americans ( ar, أمريكيون لبنانيون) are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon.
Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s), ''
Shahs of Sunset
''Shahs of Sunset'' is an American reality television series that aired on Bravo. The series debuted on March 11, 2012 and ended August 29, 2021.Jethro NededogBravo Renews 'Shahs of Sunset' for Second Season ''The Hollywood Reporter'', April 17, ...
'' (affluent
Persian-Americans
Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship.
Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...
), ''
Sister Wives
''Sister Wives'' is an American reality television series broadcast on TLC that premiered on September 26, 2010. The show documents the life of a polygamist family, which includes Kody Brown, his wife Robyn, ex-wives (Meri, Janelle, Christin ...
'' (polygamists from a
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
splinter group), ''
Breaking Amish
''Breaking Amish'' is an American reality television series on the TLC television network that debuted September 9, 2012. The series revolves around five young Anabaptist adults (four Amish and one Mennonite) who move to New York City in order t ...
'' and ''
Amish Mafia
''Amish Mafia'' is an American reality television series that debuted on December 12, 2012, on the Discovery Channel. The series follows "Lebanon Levi", along with three of his assistants, who are purported to be a "mafia" in an Amish community. ...
'' (the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
), and ''
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...
'' and its spinoffs (
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
).
The ''Real Housewives'' franchise offers a window into the lives of social-striving urban and suburban housewives. Many shows focus on wealth and
conspicuous consumption
In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...
, including ''
Platinum Weddings
''Platinum Weddings'' is an American reality television series which premiered on July 23, 2006, on the WE tv cable channel. The series chronicles the lives of couples who are planning their upcoming lavish weddings. The series spawned one spin-o ...
'', and ''
My Super Sweet 16
''My Super Sweet 16'' is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age ce ...
'', which documented huge
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
celebrations thrown by wealthy parents. Conversely, the highly successful ''
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'' was an American reality television series that aired on TLC featuring the family of child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson. The show premiered on August 8, 2012, and ended on August 14, 201 ...
'' and ''
Duck Dynasty
''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, Lo ...
'' are set in poorer rural areas of the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
.
Professional activities
Some documentary-style shows portray professionals either going about day-to-day business or performing an entire project over the course of a series. One early example (and the longest running reality show of any genre) is ''
Cops'', which debuted in 1989. Other such shows specifically relating to law enforcement include ''
The First 48
''The First 48'' is an American documentary/news magazine television series on A&E filmed in various cities in the United States, offering an insider's look at the real-life world of homicide investigators. While the series often follows the in ...
'', ''
Dog the Bounty Hunter'', ''
Police Stop!
''Police Stop!'' is a British television documentary series, narrated and presented by Graham Cole, best known for his role as PC Tony Stamp in the Thames Television drama series ''The Bill'', that was first developed in 1993 as a Direct-to-vi ...
'', ''
Traffic Cops
''Traffic Cops'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 5 (and formerly on BBC One) which follows Roads Policing Units from various UK police forces. It has consistently been one of the most watched factual series on UK televisi ...
'', ''
Border Security
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
'' and ''
Motorway Patrol
''Motorway Patrol'' is a New Zealand observational documentary show created by Greenstone Pictures. The show follows the daily lives of police officers patrolling the motorways of New Zealand.
The show is also shown on ITV4 and Pick in the Uni ...
''.
Shows set at a specific place of business include ''
American Chopper
''American Chopper'' is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr. (frequently called ''Senior''), and his son Paul Teutul Jr. (also know ...
'', ''
Miami Ink
''Miami Ink'' was an American reality show that ran on TLC from 2005–2008 and follows the events that took place at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. The show led to several spin-offs, including the shows ''LA Ink'', ''London Ink'', ''N ...
'' and its spinoffs, ''
Bikini Barbershop'' and ''
Lizard Lick Towing
''Lizard Lick Towing'' is an American reality television show that originated as a spin-off of the series ''All Worked Up'' and ran for four seasons on truTV from February 7, 2011, to August 18, 2014. The show follows Ron and Amy Shirley, Bobby B ...
''.
Shows that show people working in the same non-business location include ''
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
'' and ''
Bondi Rescue
''Bondi Rescue'' is an Australian factual television program which was originally broadcast on Network 10 between 2006-2021 and will be broadcast on Paramount from 2023. The program follows the daily lives and routines of the Waverley Council p ...
''.
Shows that portray a set of people in the same line of work, occasionally competing with each other, include ''
Deadliest Catch
''Deadliest Catch'' is a reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons. The ...
'', ''
Ice Road Truckers
''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that premiered on History Channel, on June 17, 2007. It features the activities of drivers who operate trucks on seasonal routes crossing frozen lakes and ...
'' and ''
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
''Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles'' (previously ''Million Dollar Listing'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on August 29, 2006. The series chronicles the professional and personal lives of realtors in the real e ...
'' and its spinoffs.
Financial transactions and appraisals
One notable subset of shows about professional activities is those in which the professionals haggle and engage in financial transactions, often over unique or rare items whose value must first be appraised. Two such shows, both of which have led to multiple spinoff shows, are ''
Pawn Stars
''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...
'' (about
pawn shop
A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...
s) and ''
American Pickers
''American Pickers'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on History, produced by A&E Television Networks in collaboration with Cineflix Media. In the series, the hosts travel across America in search of rar ...
''. Other shows, while based around such financial transactions, also show elements of its main cast members' personal and professional lives; these shows include ''
Hardcore Pawn
''Hardcore Pawn'' is an American reality television series produced by RDF USA (later Zodiak USA) and Richard Dominick Productions for truTV about the day-to-day operations of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned and -operated pawn shop ...
'' and ''
Comic Book Men
''Comic Book Men'' is an American reality television series which aired on the AMC network from 2012 to 2018. It is set at Kevin Smith's comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Production history
Filmmaker Kev ...
''. Such shows have some antecedent in the British series ''
Antiques Roadshow
''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
'', which began airing in 1979 and has since spawned numerous international versions, although that show includes only appraisals and does not include bargaining or other dramatic elements.
"Structured reality"
While for "documentary-style" shows it is implied that the events shown would still be taking place even if the cameras were not there, in other shows the events taking place are done overtly for the sake of the show. These shows differ from "reality competition" shows or "reality game shows" (see below) in that participants do not compete against one another.
Special living environment
Some documentary-style programs place cast members, who in most cases previously did not know each other, in staged living environments; ''
The Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
'' was the originator of this format. In almost every other such type of programming, cast members are given specific challenges or obstacles to overcome. ''
Road Rules
''Road Rules'' is an MTV reality show that was a sister show of the network's flagship reality show, ''The Real World''. The series debuted on July 19, 1995, and ended on May 9, 2007. This allowed ''Road Rules'' a total of 14 seasons and 12 year ...
'', which first aired in 1995 as a spin-off of ''The Real World'', created a show structure where the cast would travel to various countries performing challenges for prizes.
''
Big Brother
Big Brother may refer to:
* Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control
** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
'' is probably the best-known program of this type in the world, with around 50 international versions having been produced. Other shows in this category, such as ''
The 1900 House
''The 1900 House'' is a historical reenactment reality television series made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The program features a modern family attempting to live in the way of the late Victorians for three months in a modified house. It w ...
'' and ''
Lads' Army
''Lads' Army'' (known in later series as ''Bad Lads' Army'', ''Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class'' and ''Bad Lads' Army: Extreme'') is a reality game show that constitutes a historically derived social experiment. Shown on ITV, the series is based ...
'', involve
historical re-enactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or ...
, with cast members living and working as people of a specific time and place. 2001's ''
Temptation Island'' achieved some notoriety by placing several couples on an island surrounded by single people in order to test the couples' commitment to each other. ''
The Challenge'' has contestants living together in an overseas residence, and has been around for over 30 seasons. The format of each season changes, however the main premise of the series involves a daily challenge, nomination process and elimination round. ''
U8TV: The Lofters'' combined the "special living environment" format with the "professional activity" format noted earlier; in addition to living together in a
loft
A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...
, each member of the show's cast was hired to host a television program for a Canadian cable channel.
''
The Simple Life
''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fast ...
'', ''
Tommy Lee Goes to College
''Tommy Lee Goes to College'' is an NBC reality television show that began broadcasting on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 and on VH1 on Friday, August 19, 2005. It features Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee attending the University of Nebraska and attem ...
'' and ''
The Surreal Life
''The Surreal Life'' is an American reality television series that records a group of celebrities as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks. The format of the show resembles that of ''The Real W ...
'' are all shows in which celebrities are put into an unnatural environment.
Court shows
Originally, court shows were all dramatized and staged programs, with actors playing the litigants, witnesses and lawyers. The cases were either reenactments of real-life cases or cases that were fictionalized altogether. Among examples of staged courtroom dramas are ''
Famous Jury Trials
''Famous Jury Trials'' is a dramatized court show that first appeared on radio, followed by television, and then in the movies. The series ran on radio from 1936 through 1949, then on television from 1949 through 1952, and finally in a movie in 1 ...
'', ''
Your Witness'', and the first two eras of ''
Divorce Court
''Divorce Court'' is an American court show that revolves around settling the disputes of couples going through divorces. The show has had four separate runs, all in first-run syndication. Since the debut of the original series in 1957, it is ...
''. ''
The People's Court
''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality styl ...
'' revolutionized the genre by introducing the
arbitration-based "reality" format in 1981, later adopted by the vast majority of court shows. The genre experienced a lull in programming after ''The People's Court'' was canceled in 1993, but then soared after the emergence of ''
Judge Judy
''Judge Judy'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudi ...
'' in 1996. This led to a slew of other reality court shows, such as ''
Judge Mathis
''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist.
The courtroom series premi ...
'', ''
Judge Joe Brown
''Judge Joe Brown'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show starring former Shelby County, Tennessee criminal court judge Joseph B. Brown. It premiered on September 14, 1998 and ran through the 2012–13 television season for a ...
'', ''
Judge Alex
''Judge Alex'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show that was presided over by retired police officer, lawyer, and Florida Judge Alex Ferrer. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, 4 months after ''Texas Justice'' conclude ...
'', ''
Judge Mills Lane
''Judge Mills Lane'' is a syndicated American television series and arbitration-based reality court show that ran in first-run syndication from August 17, 1998 to September 7, 2001. Reruns later aired on The National Network (TNN) and currently ...
'' and ''
Judge Hatchett
''Judge Hatchett'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, produced and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. The series premiered on September 4, 2000 and ran for eight seasons until its cancellation on May 23, 2008. It was Sony ...
''.
Though the litigants are legitimate, the "judges" in such shows are actually arbitrators, as these pseudo-judges are not actually presiding in a
court of law
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...
. Typically, however, they are retired judges or at least individuals who have had some legal experience.
Courtroom programs are typically
daytime television
Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning d ...
shows that air on weekdays.
Investments
The globally syndicated format ''
Dragons' Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
'' shows a group of wealthy investors choosing whether or not to invest in a series of pitched
startup companies
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
and
entrepreneurial ventures. The series ''
Restaurant Startup
''Restaurant Startup'' is an American food competition series that aired for three seasons on CNBC, from 2014 to 2016. In the show, two judge-investors meet with aspiring chefs, taste their food, hear their concept and decide whom they want to su ...
'' similarly involves investors, but involves more of a game show element in which restaurant owners compete to prove their worth. The British series ''
'' offers a twist in which artworks' artistic value, rather than their financial value, is appraised by a panel of judges, who determine whether each one will be featured at an exhibition.
Outdoor survival
Another subgenre places people in wild and challenging natural settings. This includes such shows as ''
Survivorman
''Survivorman'' is a Canadian-produced television program, broadcast in Canada on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), and internationally on Discovery Channel and Science Channel. The title refers to the host of the show, Canadian filmmaker and su ...
'', ''
Man vs. Wild
''Man vs. Wild'', also called ''Born Survivor: Bear Grylls'', ''Ultimate Survival'', ''Survival Game'', or colloquially as simply ''Bear Grylls'' in the United Kingdom, is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Chan ...
'', ''
Marooned with Ed Stafford
''Marooned with Ed Stafford'' is a documentary television series commissioned by Discovery Channel and produced by Tigress Productions, part of the Endemol Shine Group. Ed Stafford films the series, in which he journeys to remote destinations ...
'', ''
Naked and Afraid
''Naked and Afraid'' is an American reality series that airs on the Discovery Channel. Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 d ...
'' and ''
Alaskan Bush People
''Alaskan Bush People'' is an American docudrama-style reality television series that follows the Brown family in an attempt to survive in the wilderness, detached from modern society. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on May 6, 201 ...
''. The shows ''Survivor'' and ''
Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls
''Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls'' is an American reality competition series hosted by adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls. The eight-episode series premiered on NBC on July 8, 2013.
Format
Ten teams of two compete to survive in the wild of ...
'' combine outdoor survival with a competition format, although in ''Survivor'' the competition also involves social dynamics.
Self-improvement or makeover
Some reality television shows cover a person or group of people improving their lives. Sometimes the same group of people are covered over an entire season (as in ''
The Swan
A swan is a bird of the genus ''Cygnus'' (true swans) or ''Coscoroba'' (coscoroba swans).
Swan, swans, or The Swan may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and television
* ''The Swan'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent film
* ''The Swa ...
'' and ''
Celebrity Fit Club
''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...
''), but usually there is a new target for improvement in each episode. Despite differences in the content, the format is usually the same: first the show introduces the subjects in their current, less-than-ideal environment. Then the subjects meet with a group of experts, who give the subjects instructions on how to improve things; they offer aid and encouragement along the way. Finally, the subjects are placed back in their environment and they, along with their friends and family and the experts, appraise the changes that have occurred. Other self-improvement or makeover shows include ''The Biggest Loser'', ''
Extreme Weight Loss
''Extreme Weight Loss'' (originally titled ''Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition'' for its first two seasons) is a television program on ABC that premiered on May 30, 2011. The show was formally a spin-off of the ''Extreme Makeover'' franchise, ...
'' and ''
Fat March
''Fat March'' is an American reality television series on the ABC network, based on the UK Channel Four series ''Too Big To Walk''. It premiered on August 6, 2007 and ended on September 10, 2007.
The show had received mixed reactions from fitnes ...
'' (which cover weight loss), ''
Extreme Makeover
''Extreme Makeover'' is an American reality television series that premiered on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* Am ...
'' (entire physical appearance), ''
Queer Eye'', ''
What Not to Wear'', ''
How Do I Look?'', ''
Trinny & Susannah Undress...'' and ''
Snog Marry Avoid?
''Snog Marry Avoid?'' is a British reality television show broadcast on BBC Three, produced by Remarkable Television. The first four series were presented by Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost, with Ellie Taylor presenting from the fifth series onw ...
'' (style and grooming), ''
Supernanny
''Supernanny'' is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family wher ...
'' (child-rearing), ''
Made
Made or MADE may refer to:
Entertainment Film
* ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom
* ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music
* ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016
* ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013
* ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007
*'' M.A.D.E. ...
'' (life transformation), ''
Tool Academy
Tool Academy is a reality TV franchise. It may refer to:
* ''Tool Academy'' (U.S. TV series)
* ''Tool Academy'' (UK TV series)
{{set index
Reality television series franchises ...
'' (relationship building) and ''
Charm School'' and ''
From G's to Gents
''From G's to Gents'' is an American reality television series aired on MTV, which features misdirected young men willing to change their lives and become gentlemen. The show is hosted by Fonzworth Bentley
Derek Watkins (born February 13 ...
'' (self-improvement and manners).
The concept of self-improvement was taken to its extreme with the British show ''
Life Laundry
''The Life Laundry'' is a BBC reality TV show that ran for three series from 2002 to 2004. It was first broadcast on BBC Two on 30 January 2002.
The show was billed by the BBC as an "interiors programme with a difference", dealing with the transfo ...
'', in which people who had become hoarders, even living in squalor, were given professional assistance. The American television series ''
Hoarders'' and ''
Hoarding: Buried Alive'' follow similar premises, presenting interventions in the lives of people who suffer from
compulsive hoarding
Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted and repetitive behavior, yet not disturbing in a pa ...
.
In one study, participants who admitted to watching more reality television were more likely to proceed with a desired plastic surgery than those who watched less.
Renovation
Some shows makeover part or all of a person's living space, workspace, or vehicle. The American series ''This Old House'', which debuted in 1979, features the start-to-finish renovation of different houses through a season; media critic
Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis (born July 15, 1954) is an American journalist, associate professor, public speaker and former television critic. He advocates the Open Web and argues that there are many social and personal benefits to living a more public life on t ...
has speculated that it is "the original reality TV show." The British show ''
Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'', beginning in 1996 (later remade in the U.S. as ''
Trading Spaces
''Trading Spaces'' is an hour-long American television reality program that originally aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series ''Changing Rooms''. The first ...
'') was the first such renovation show that added a game show feel with different weekly contestants.
House renovation shows are a mainstay on the American and Canadian cable channel
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
, whose renovation shows include the successful franchises ''
Flip or Flop
''Flip or Flop'' is an American television series that aired on HGTV, hosted by the formerly-married couple Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall. The program was the original show in the ''Flip or Flop'' franchise, debuting in 2013.
The ninth se ...
'', ''
Love It or List It
''Love It or List It'' is a home design TV show on HGTV, W Network, and OWN Canada. It is also the original show in the ''Love it or List It'' franchise.
The show has run for 18 seasons to date having premiered on September 8, 2008. The 18th s ...
'' and ''
Property Brothers
''Property Brothers'' is a Canadian reality television series now produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment, and is the original show in the Property Brothers (franchise), ''Property Brothers'' franchise. The series features twin brothers Drew S ...
'', as well as shows such as ''
Debbie Travis' Facelift ''Debbie Travis' Facelift'' was a home improvement reality show, reality television show that ran from January 28, 2003 to December 30, 2005. It was produced in Canada for HGTV Canada, Home & Garden Television (HGTV) and also aired in the United Sta ...
'', ''
Designed to Sell
''Designed to Sell'' is an HGTV American reality television show produced by Pie Town Productions in Los Angeles and Chicago and Edelman Productions in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. Each 30-minute episode focuses on fixing up a home that is ab ...
'' and ''
Holmes on Homes
''Holmes on Homes'' is a Canadian television series featuring general contractor Mike Holmes visiting homeowners who are in need of help, mainly due to unsatisfactory home renovations performed by hired contractors.
The series originally aired ...
''. Non-HGTV shows in this category include ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' and ''
While You Were Out
''While You Were Out'' is an American reality series that aired episodes on the cable channel TLC. The format of the show is similar to TLC's ''Trading Spaces'' (which, in turn, is based on the BBC TV series ''Changing Rooms''). ''While You We ...
''.
''
Pimp My Ride
''Pimp My Ride'' is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show w ...
'' and ''
Overhaulin'
''Overhaulin'' is an American automotive reality television series. The show originally ran for five seasons between 2004 and 2008 on TLC. After a four-year hiatus, sixth season premiered on October 2, 2012 on Velocity and Discovery (Cablevision) ...
'' show vehicles being rebuilt in a customized way.
Business improvement
In some shows, one or more experts try to improve a failing small business over the course of each episode. Examples that cover many types of business include ''
We Mean Business
''We Mean Business'' is an American reality television series that aired on the A&E cable network starting on September 6, 2008. The program featured three regular experts: "Business Expert" Bill Rancic, a former contestant on ''The Apprentice' ...
'' and ''
The Profit''. Shows geared for a specific type of business include ''
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
''Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares'' is a television programme featuring British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay first broadcast on Channel 4 in 2004.
In each episode, Ramsay visits a failing restaurant and acts as a troubleshooter to help improv ...
'' and ''
Restaurant: Impossible'' (for restaurants), ''
Bar Rescue
''Bar Rescue'' is an American reality television series that airs on Paramount Network (formerly Spike during the first five seasons). It stars Jon Taffer, a long-time food and beverage industry consultant specializing in nightclubs, bars and pu ...
'' (for bars) and ''
Hotel Hell
''Hotel Hell'' is an American reality television series created, hosted and narrated by Gordon Ramsay, which ran on the Fox network for three seasons from 2012 to 2016. It aired on Monday nights at 8 pm ET/PT. It was Ramsay's fourth series for t ...
'' (for hotels).
Social experiment
Another type of reality program is the social experiment that produces drama, conflict, and sometimes transformation. British TV series ''Wife Swap (UK TV series), Wife Swap'', which began in 2003, and has had many spinoffs in the UK and other countries, is a notable example. In the show, people with different values agree to live by each other's social rules for a brief period of time. Other shows in this category include ''Trading Spouses'', ''Bad Girls Club'' and ''Holiday Showdown''. ''Faking It (UK TV series), Faking It'' was a series where people had to learn a new skill and pass themselves off as experts in that skill. ''Shattered (2004 TV series), Shattered'' was a controversial 2004 UK series in which contestants competed for how long they could go sleep deprivation, without sleep. ''Solitary (TV series), Solitary'' was a controversial 2006-2010 Fox Reality Channel, Fox Reality series that isolated contestants for weeks in solitary confinement pods with limited sleep, food and information while competing in elimination challenges ended by a quit button, causing winners to go on for much longer than needed as a blind gamble to not be the first person to quit.
Hidden cameras
Another type of reality programming features
hidden camera
A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
s rolling when random passers-by encounter a staged situation. ''Candid Camera'', which first aired on television in 1948, pioneered the format. Modern variants of this type of production include ''Punk'd'', ''Trigger Happy TV'', ''What Would You Do? (2008 TV program), Primetime: What Would You Do?'', ''The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'' and ''Just for Laughs: Gags''. The series ''Scare Tactics'' and ''Room 401'' are hidden-camera programs in which the goal is to frighten contestants rather than just befuddle or amuse them. Not all hidden camera shows use strictly staged situations. For example, the syndicated program ''Cheaters'' purports to use hidden cameras to record suspected adultery, cheating partners, although the authenticity of the show has been questioned, and even refuted by some who have been featured on the series.
Once the evidence has been gathered, the accuser confronts the cheating partner with the assistance of the host. In many special-living documentary programs, hidden cameras are set up all over the residence in order to capture moments missed by the regular camera crew, or intimate bedroom footage.
Supernatural and paranormal
Supernatural and paranormal TV, paranormal reality shows such as ''MTV's Fear'', place participants into frightening situations which ostensibly involve paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, telekinesis or haunted houses. In series such as ''Celebrity Paranormal Project'', the stated aim is investigation, and some series like ''Scariest Places on Earth'' challenge participants to survive the investigation; whereas others such as ''Paranormal State'' and ''Ghost Hunters (TV series), Ghost Hunters'' use a recurring crew of paranormal researchers. In general, the shows follow similar stylized patterns of night vision, surveillance, and hand held camera footage; odd angles; subtitles establishing place and time; desaturated imagery; and non-melodic soundtracks. Noting the trend in reality shows that take the paranormal at face value, ''The New York Times, New York Times'' culture editor Mike Hale
characterized ghost hunting shows as "pure theater" and compared the genre to professional wrestling or softcore pornography for its formulaic, teasing approach.
Reality competition or game shows
Another subgenre of reality television is "reality competition", "reality playoffs", or so-called "reality game shows," which follow the format of non-tournament Single-elimination tournament, elimination contests. Typically, participants are filmed competing to win a prize, often while living together in a confined environment. In many cases, participants are removed until only one person or team remains, who is then declared the winner. Usually this is done by eliminating participants one at a time (or sometimes two at a time, as an episodic twist due to the number of contestants involved and the length of a given season), through either disapproval voting or by voting for the most popular to win. Voting is done by the viewing audience, the show's own participants, a panel of judges, or some combination of the three.
A well-known example of a reality-competition show is the globally syndicated ''Big Brother'', in which cast members live together in the same house, with participants removed at regular intervals by either the viewing audience or, in the American version, by the participants themselves. There remains disagreement over whether talent-search shows such as the ''Idol'' series, the ''Got Talent'' series and the ''Dancing with the Stars'' series are truly reality television or just newer incarnations of shows such as ''Star Search''. Although the shows involve a traditional talent search, the shows follow the reality-competition conventions of removing one or more contestants in every episode, allowing the public to vote on who is removed, and interspersing performances with video clips showing the contestants' "back stories", their thoughts about the competition, their rehearsals and unguarded behind-the-scenes moments. Additionally, there is a good deal of unscripted interaction shown between contestants and judges. The American
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
have nominated both ''American Idol'' and ''Dancing with the Stars'' for the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program Emmy.
Game shows like ''Weakest Link'', ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', ''American Gladiators (1989 TV series), American Gladiators'' and ''Deal or No Deal'', which were popular in the 2000s, also lie in a gray area: like traditional game shows (e.g., ''The Price Is Right'', ''Jeopardy!''), the action takes place in an enclosed television studio over a short period of time; however, they have higher production values, more dramatic background music, and higher stakes than traditional shows (done either through putting contestants into physical danger or offering large cash prizes). In addition, there is more interaction between contestants and hosts, and in some cases, they feature reality-style contestant competition or elimination as well. These factors, as well as these shows' rise in global popularity at the same time as the arrival of the reality craze, have led to such shows often being grouped under both the reality television and game show umbrellas. There have been various hybrid reality-competition shows, like the worldwide-syndicated ''Star Academy'', which combines the ''Big Brother'' and ''Idol'' formats, ''
The Biggest Loser
''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...
'', which combines competition with the self-improvement format, and ''American Inventor'', which uses the ''Idol'' format for products instead of people. Some reality shows that aired mostly during the early 2000s, such as ''Popstars'', ''Making the Band'' and ''Project Greenlight'', devoted the first part of the season to selecting a winner, and the second part to showing that person or group of people working on a project.
Popular variants of the competition-based format include the following:
Dating-based competition
Dating-based competition shows follow a contestant choosing one out of a group of suitors. Over the course of either a single episode or an entire season, suitors are eliminated until only the contestant and the final suitor remains. In the early 2000s, this type of reality show dominated the other genres on the major U.S. networks. Examples include ''The Bachelor (American TV series), The Bachelor'', its spin-off ''The Bachelorette (American TV series), The Bachelorette'', ''
Temptation Island'', ''Average Joe (show), Average Joe'', ''Flavor of Love'' (a dating show featuring rapper Flavor Flav that led directly and indirectly to over 10 spinoffs), ''The Cougar (TV series), The Cougar'' and ''Love in the Wild''. In ''Married by America'', contestants were chosen by viewer voting. This is one of the older variants of the format; shows such as ''
The Dating Game
''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...
'' that date to the 1960s had similar premises (though each episode was self-contained, and not the serial format of more modern shows).
Job search
![Guy Fieri (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Guy_Fieri_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In this category, the competition revolves around a skill that contestants were pre-screened for. Competitors perform a variety of tasks based on that skill, are judged, and are then kept or removed by a single expert or a panel of experts. The show is usually presented as a job search of some kind, in which the prize for the winner includes a contract to perform that kind of work and an undisclosed salary, although the award can simply be a sum of money and ancillary prizes, like a cover article in a magazine. The show also features judges who act as counselors, mediators and sometimes mentors to help contestants develop their skills further or perhaps decide their future position in the competition. ''Popstars'', which debuted in 1999, may have been the first such show, while the ''Idol'' series has been the longest-running and, for most of its run, the most popular such franchise. The first job-search show which showed dramatic, unscripted situations may have been ''
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...
'', which premiered in May 2003. Other examples include ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'' (which judges business skills); ''Hell's Kitchen (American TV series), Hell's Kitchen'', ''MasterChef'' and ''Top Chef'' (for chefs), ''The Great British Bake Off'' (for bakers), ''Shear Genius'' (for hair styling), ''
Project Runway
''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design.
The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...
'' (for clothing design), ''Top Design'' and ''The Great Interior Design Challenge'' (for interior design), ''American Dream Builders'' (for home builders), ''Stylista'' (for fashion editors), ''Last Comic Standing'' (for comedians), ''I Know My Kid's a Star'' (for child performers), ''On the Lot'' (for filmmakers), ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (for drag queens), ''The Shot (TV series), The Shot'' (for fashion photographers), ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (for dancers), ''MuchMusic VJ Search'' and ''Food Network Star'' (for television hosts), ''Dream Job'' (for sportscasters), ''American Candidate'' (for aspiring politicians), ''Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, Work of Art'' (for artists), ''Face Off (American TV series), Face Off'' (for prosthetic makeup artists), ''Ink Master'' and ''Best Ink'' (for tattoo artists), ''Platinum Hit'' (for songwriters), ''Top Shot'' (for marksmen) and ''
The Tester
''The Tester'' is a serialized reality program created by Sony Computer Entertainment and produced by 51 Minds. '' (for game testers).
One notable subset, popular from approximately 2005 to 2012, consisted of shows in which the winner gets a specific part in a known film, television show, musical theatre, musical or performing group. Examples include ''Scream Queens (2008 TV series), Scream Queens'' (where the prize was a role in the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' film series), ''The Glee Project'' (for a role on the television show ''Glee (TV series), Glee'') and ''How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?'' (the lead role in a revival of the musical ''The Sound of Music''). The most extreme prize for such a show may have been for one of the first such shows, 2005's ''Rock Star: INXS'', where the winner became the lead singer of the rock band INXS. J.D. Fortune, who won the show, went on to be INXS's lead singer until 2011.
Some shows use the same format with celebrities: in this case, there is no expectation that the winner will continue this line of work, and prize winnings often go to charity. The most popular such shows have been the ''Dancing with the Stars'' and ''Dancing on Ice around the world, Dancing on Ice'' franchises. Other examples of celebrity competition programs include ''Deadline (2007 TV series), Deadline'', ''Celebracadabra'' and ''Celebrity Apprentice''.
Different contestants per episode
Some job-related competition shows have a different set of contestants competing on every episode, and thus more closely resemble game shows, although the "confessional" commentary provided by contestants gives them a reality TV aspect. The 1993-1999 Japanese cooking competition ''Iron Chef'' could be considered an early example, although it does not include commentary by the participants, only by announcers and judges. Cooking competition shows with different contestants per episode that are considered reality shows include the ''Chopped (TV series), Chopped'', ''
Come Dine with Me'' and ''Nailed It!'' franchises, along with ''Cupcake Wars'', ''Cutthroat Kitchen'', ''The Great Food Truck Race'' and ''Guy's Grocery Games''.
Non-cooking competition shows with a similar format include ''Forged in Fire (TV series), Forged in Fire'' and ''The Butcher (TV series), The Butcher''.
Immunity
One concept pioneered by, and unique to, reality competition shows is the idea of immunity, in which a contestant can win the right to be exempt the next time contestants are eliminated from the show. Possibly the first instance of immunity in reality TV was on ''Survivor (TV series), Survivor'', which premiered in 1997 in Sweden as ''
Expedition Robinson
''Robinson'', formerly ''Expedition Robinson'', is a Sweden, Swedish Reality television#Reality competition.2Fgame shows, reality game show and the original version of the international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' format.
The television ...
'', before gaining international prominence after the American edition (titled ''
Survivor'') premiered in 2000. On that show, there are complex rules around immunity: a player can achieve it by winning challenges (either as a team in the tribal phase or individually in the merged phase), or, in more recent seasons, through finding Survivor (TV series)#Hidden immunity idols, a hidden totem. They can also pass on their immunity to someone else and in the latter case, they can keep their immunity secret from other players.
On most shows, immunity is quite a bit simpler: it is usually achieved by winning a task, often a relatively minor task during the first half of the episode; the announcement of immunity is made publicly and immunity is usually non-transferable. At some point in the season, immunity ceases to be available, and all contestants are susceptible to elimination. Competition shows that have featured immunity include the ''Apprentice'', ''Big Brother'', ''Biggest Loser'', ''Top Model'', ''Project Runway'', ''Lego Masters'', and ''Top Chef'' franchises. Immunity may come with additional power as well, such as in ''Big Brother'' where the winning contestant usually has influence over deciding who faces an elimination vote later in the week. In one ''Apprentice'' episode, a participant chose to waive his earned immunity and was immediately "fired" by Donald Trump for giving up this powerful asset.
Sports
Sport-related reality shows can fall within the aforementioned sub-genres, either using it as the basis of competition, or by following sport as a profession:
* Competition-based programs, featuring groups of athletes completing against each other in challenges and events within a specific sport, such as Sport of athletics, athletics (''American Ninja Warrior'', ''Exatlon''), golf (''The Big Break''), auto racing (''Crash Course (game show), Crash Course'', ''Hyperdrive (American TV series), Hyperdrive'', ''Pinks (TV series), Pinks''), and combat sports (''The Contender (TV series), The Contender'', ''The Ultimate Fighter'') for example. In the case of combat sports examples, the UFC-produced mixed martial arts competition series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', and the WWE's professional wrestling talent searches ''WWE Tough Enough, Tough Enough'', ''WWE Diva Search, Diva Search'', and ''WWE NXT (seasons 1–5), NXT'' (before it was reformatted as a standard wrestling show focusing upon up-and-coming talent), a contract with the respective organization is the grand prize.
** Some series may follow non-sportspeople (usually celebrities, or in some cases athletes known for their participation in a different sport) training and participating in a sporting event, such as ''The Games (British TV series), The Games'', Irish series ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' (where celebrities are tasked to become the Manager (Gaelic games), managers of mid-level Gaelic football teams), and ''Dancing on Ice'' (a figure skating competition series with similarities to ''Dancing with the Stars'').
* Documentary-style series following specific competitions, teams, or athletes, such as ''Hard Knocks (2001 TV series), Hard Knocks'' (National Football League, NFL), ''Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Drive to Survive'' (Formula One), ''Knight School (American TV series), Knight School'' (which followed students at Texas Tech University vying for a walk-on (sport term), walk-on roster position on Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball, the school's men's basketball team under legendary coach Bob Knight) and ''All or Nothing (sports docuseries), All or Nothing''.
* Docusoaps following the lives of sportspeople or their families, such as ''Total Divas'' and ''
WAGS
WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym used to refer to wives and girlfriends of high-profile sportsmen. The term may also be used in the singular form, WAG, to refer to a specific female partner or life partner who is in a relationship with an athlete. Th ...
.''
Parodies and hoaxes
Some reality shows aim to Satire, satirize and deconstruct the conventions and cliches of the genre for comedic effect; in such cases, a fictitious premise is usually presented to one or more of the participants, with the rest of the cast consisting of actors and other figures that are in on the joke.
* ''The Joe Schmo Show'', a series in which a civilian was set up as a contestant on a purported reality competition known as ''Lap of Luxury'', but the other contestants were actors representing stereotypical archetypes of reality television contestants.
Subsequent seasons of ''The Joe Schmo Show'' parodied other types of reality shows, such as dating shows, and bounty hunting.
* ''My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss'', a parody of ''The Apprentice'' in which the contestants were given challenges with inane objectives by businessman Mr. N. Paul Todd (an anagram of ''Apprentice'' host Donald Trump). The final decision on eliminations in each episode was always given to Todd's "real boss"—revealed in the series finale to have been a chimpanzee spinning a wheel.
* ''Superstar USA'', a parody of ''American Idol'' attempting to find the worst singer; the judges criticized good singers and eliminated them, but bad singers were praised and allowed to progress further through the competition.
* ''Space Cadets (TV series), Space Cadets'', a series in which a group of contestants were set up on the purported reality competition series ''Thrill Seekers'', where they would allegedly receive astronaut training in Russia and compete to be the Britain's first space tourists.
* ''I Wanna Marry "Harry"'', a hoax dating competition where single women were manipulated into believing they were competing for the affection of Prince Harry, but in reality "Harry" was actually a lookalike.
* ''Nathan for You'', a reality mockumentary series parodying business improvement shows, featuring Nathan Fielder employing unusual and outlandish strategies to help struggling businesses. Although aware they are on a reality program, the employees of the businesses featured were unaware of the show's comedic nature, and reacted genuinely to Fielder's antics.
On multiple occasions, the show received media attention related to its stunts prior to broadcast.
* The Dutch reality show ''De Grote Donorshow''—where a group of patients competed to receive a Kidney transplantation, kidney donation from a terminally-ill woman—was, by contrast, not intended for comedic effect, and was a hoax directed at viewers to help raise awareness for kidney donation.
Criticism and analysis
"Reality" as misnomer
The authenticity of reality television is often called into question by its detractors. The genre's title of "reality" is often criticized as being inaccurate because of claims that the genre frequently includes elements such as premeditated scripting (including a practice called "soft-scripting"), acting, urgings from behind-the-scenes crew to create specified situations of adversity and drama, and misleading editing. It has often been described as "scripting without paper".
In many cases, the entire premise of the show is contrived, based around a competition or another unusual situation. Some shows have been accused of using fakery in order to create more compelling television, such as having premeditated storylines and in some cases feeding participants lines of dialogue, focusing only on participants' most outlandish behavior, and altering events through editing and re-shoots.
Shows such as ''Survivor'' and ''Amazing Race'' that offer a monetary prize are regulated by federal "game show" law, , and are monitored during the filming by the legal staff and standards and practice staff of the parent network. These shows cannot be manipulated in any way that affects the outcome of the game. However, misleading editing does not fall into altering the fairness of the competition.
Television shows that have been accused of, or admitted to, deception include ''
The Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
'',
[Fretts, Bruce. (July 21, 1995)]
"The British Invasion The ''Real World'' returns for fourth season – The MTV hit invades London"
. ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''. Page 3 of 4[Roberts, Michael]
"The Unreal World"
. ''Westword, Denver Westword''. March 14, 1996 the American version of ''
Survivor'',
["At last! The secrets of 'Survivor' revealed."](_blank)
MSNBC. October 7, 2008. Accessed September 2011. ''Joe Millionaire'', ''
The Hills'', ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'', ''
Hogan Knows Best
''Hogan Knows Best'' is an American reality documentary television series on VH1. The series debuted on July 10, 2005 and centered on the family life of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea). Often focusing on the Hogans' raising of th ...
'', ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', ''The Bachelor (American TV series), The Bachelor'' and ''The Bachelorette (American TV series), The Bachelorette'', ''
Pawn Stars
''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...
'',
[Harrison, Rick (2011). ''License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver ''. Hyperion. 2011. New York. pp. 70, 89] ''Storage Wars'', and ''
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (often abbreviated ''KUWTK'') is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian family, Kardashian–Jenner Stepfamily, blended family, airing b ...
''.
Political and cultural impact
Reality television's global success has become, in the view of some analysts, an important political phenomenon. In some authoritarian countries, reality-television voting has provided the first opportunity for many citizens to vote in any free and fair wide-scale "elections". In addition, the frankness of the settings on some reality shows presents situations that are often taboo in certain conservative cultures, like ''Star Academy Arab World'', which began airing in 2003, and which shows male and female contestants living together. A Pan-Arab version of ''Big Brother'' was cancelled in 2004 after less than two weeks on the air after a public outcry and street protests. In 2004 journalist Matt Labash, noting both of these issues, wrote that "the best hope of little Americas developing in the Middle East could be Arab-produced reality TV".
In 2007, Abu Dhabi TV began airing ''Million's Poet'', a show featuring ''Pop Idol''-style voting and elimination, but for the writing and oration of Arabic poetry. The show became popular in Arab countries, with around 18 million viewers,
[Winner's tribe put the millions in Million's Poet](_blank)
, James Calderwood, ''The National (Abu Dhabi), The National'', April 19, 2010 partly because it was able to combine the excitement of reality television with a traditional, culturally relevant topic. In April 2010, however, the show also became a subject of political controversy, when Hissa Hilal, a 43-year-old female Saudi people, Saudi competitor, read out a poem criticizing her country's Muslim clerics. Both critics and the public reacted favorably to Hilal's poetry; she received the highest scores from the judges throughout the competition and came in third place overall.
In India, in the summer of 2007, coverage of the third season of ''
Indian Idol
''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format.
Versions
: Currently airing – 1
: Upcoming for airing – 0
: Recently concluded – 3
: No longer airing – ...
'' focused on the breaking down of cultural and socioeconomic barriers as the public rallied around the show's top two contestants.
The China, Chinese singing competition ''Super Girl (TV series), Super Girl'' (a local imitation of ''Pop Idol'') has similarly been cited for its political and cultural impact.
After the finale of the show's 2005 season drew an audience of around 400 million people, and eight million text-message votes, the state-run English-language newspaper ''Beijing Today'' ran the front-page headline: "Is Super Girl a Force for Democracy?" The Chinese government criticized the show, citing both its democratic nature and its excessive vulgarity, or "worldliness", and in 2006 banned it outright. It was later reintroduced in 2009, before being banned again in 2011. ''Super Girl'' has also been criticized by non-government commentators for creating seemingly impossible ideals that may be harmful to Chinese youth.
In Indonesia, reality television shows have surpassed soap operas as the most-watched broadcast programs.
One popular program, ''Jika Aku Menjadi'' ("If I Were"), follows young, middle-class people as they are temporarily placed into lower-class life, where they learn to appreciate their circumstances back home by experiencing daily life for the less fortunate.
Critics have claimed that this and similar programs in Indonesia reinforce traditionally Western ideals of materialism and consumerism.
However, Eko Nugroho, reality-show producer and president of Dreamlight World Media, insists that these reality shows are not promoting American lifestyles but rather reaching people through their universal desires.
Reality television has also received criticism in Britain and the United States for its ideological relationship with surveillance societies and consumerism. Writing in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, author Mark Andrejevic characterised the role of reality television in a post-9/11 society as the normalisation of surveillance in participatory monitoring, the "logic of the emerging surveillance economy", and in the promise of a societal self-image that is contrived.
["Reality TV is About Surveillance"]
Mark Adrejevic, ''The New York Times'', October 21, 2012 An London School of Economics, LSE paper by Nick Couldry associates reality television with neoliberalism, condemning the ritualised enactment and consumption of what must be legitimised for the society it serves.
["Reality TV, Or The Secret Theatre of Neoliberalism"]
; Nick Couldry, in ''Review of education, pedagogy, and cultural studies'', 2008
As a substitute for scripted drama
Reality television generally costs less to produce than scripted series.
VH1 executive vice president Michael Hirschorn wrote in 2007 that the plots and subject matters on reality television are more authentic and more engaging than in scripted dramas, writing that scripted network television "remains dominated by variants on the police procedural... in which a stock group of characters (ethnically, sexually, and generationally diverse) grapples with endless versions of the same dilemma. The episodes have all the ritual predictability of Japanese Noh theater," while reality television is "the liveliest genre on the set right now. It has engaged hot-button cultural issues – class, sex, race – that respectable television... rarely touches."
Television critic James Poniewozik wrote in 2008 that reality shows like ''Deadliest Catch'' and ''
Ice Road Truckers
''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that premiered on History Channel, on June 17, 2007. It features the activities of drivers who operate trucks on seasonal routes crossing frozen lakes and ...
'' showcase working-class people of the kind that "used to be routine" on scripted network television, but that became a rarity in the 2000s: "The better to woo upscale viewers, TV has evicted its mechanics and dockworkers to collect higher rents from yuppies in coffeehouses."
In a 2021 interview, filmmaker Mike White (filmmaker), Mike White (who had previously competed on ''The Amazing Race'' and ''Survivor'') said that reality competition shows like ''Survivor'' accurately conveyed how, in real life, "so much of self is situational", so that, as circumstances change, "the oppressed becomes the oppressor, the bully becomes the bullied." In contrast, he felt that in scripted drama "there's a lot of religiosity around humanity."
Instant celebrity
![One Direction at the Logies Awards 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/One_Direction_at_the_Logies_Awards_2012.jpg)
Reality television has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrity, celebrities, at least for a short period. This is most notable in talent-search programs such as ''Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', which have spawned music stars in many of the countries in which they have aired. Many other shows, however, have made at least temporary celebrities out of their participants; some participants have then been able to parlay this fame into media and merchandising careers. Participants of non-talent-search programs who have had subsequent acting careers include Lilian Afegbai, Jacinda Barrett, Jamie Chung, Stephen Colletti, David Giuntoli, Vishal Karwal, NeNe Leakes and Angela Trimbur; though Barrett and Trimbur were already aspiring actresses when they appeared on reality television. Reality TV participants who have become television hosts and personalities include Nabilla Benattia, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Kristin Cavallari, Colby Donaldson, Raffaella Fico, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Katie Hopkins, Rebecca Jarvis, Jodie Marsh, Heidi Montag, Tiffany Pollard and Whitney Port; some of them have had acting careers as well. Reality TV participants who have become television personalities as well as successful entrepreneurs include Gemma Collins, Lauren Conrad, Jade Goody, Bethenny Frankel and Spencer Matthews. Several cast members of MTV's ''Jersey Shore (TV series), Jersey Shore'' have had lucrative endorsement deals, and in some cases their own product lines. Wrestlers The Miz, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin and David Otunga got their start on non-athletic reality shows.
In Australia, various reality TV personalities have later served as radio hosts, including Fitzy and Rachel Corbett from ''Big Brother (Australian TV series), Big Brother'', Mick Newell from ''My Kitchen Rules (series 4), My Kitchen Rules'', Heather Maltman from ''The Bachelor (Australian TV series), The Bachelor'', and Sam Frost from ''The Bachelorette (Australian TV series), The Bachelorette''.
Some reality-television alumni have parlayed their fame into paid public appearances.
[Childers, Linda (July 7, 2011)]
"Rick Harrison of 'Pawn Stars' spills success secrets"
CNN Money.
Several socialites, or children of famous parents, who were somewhat well known before they appeared on reality television shows have become much more famous as a result, including Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Kelly Osbourne,
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
, and many of the rest of the Kardashian family.
Reality television personalities are sometimes derided as "A-list, Z-list celebrities". Some have been lampooned for exploiting an undeserved "15 minutes of fame".
["Kim Kardashian Is Fighting Back Against Backlash"]
. ''Inside Edition''. December 21, 2011 The Kardashian family is one such group of reality television personalities who were subject to this criticism in the 2010s,
[ Kim Kardashian in particular.
]
Springboard for political success
Two international franchises, ''The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'' and ''Dragons' Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
'', are notable for having some of the business people who appeared there as judges and investors go on to win political office. The prime example is former President of the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump: his stint as host of the original ''The Apprentice (American TV series), The Apprentice'' from 2004 to 2015 has been credited by some commentators as a factor in his political success, since it greatly increased his fame, and showcased him as a tough and experienced authority figure. Lado Gurgenidze, who hosted the Georgian version of ''The Apprentice'' in 2005, was appointed Prime Minister of Georgia from 2007, and served until 2008. Harry Harkimo, who hosted the Finnish version of ''The Apprentice'' from 2009 to 2013, has been a member of the Parliament of Finland since 2015. João Doria, who hosted seasons 7-8 of the Brazilian version of ''The Apprentice'', ''O Aprendiz'', from 2010 to 2011, served as Mayor of São Paulo from 2017 to 2018, and as Governor of São Paulo from 2018 to 2022. Bruno Bonnell, who hosted the short-lived French version of ''The Apprentice'' in 2015, was a member of France's National Assembly (France), National Assembly from 2017 to 2022. Israeli tech entrepreneur Nir Barkat, who appeared in 2007 as an investor on ''HaKrishim'', Israel's version of ''Dragons' Den'', was Mayor of Jerusalem from 2008 to 2018. ''Dragon's Den'' investors who have unsuccessfully run for office include Serhiy Tihipko of Ukraine, Kevin O'Leary of Canada and Seán Gallagher of Ireland.
In a rare case of a previously unknown reality television alumnus succeeding in the political arena, ''The Real World: Boston'' cast member Sean Duffy was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin from 2010 to 2019.
Youth audience
In 2006, four of the ten most popular programs among viewers under 17 were reality shows. Studies have shown that young people emulate the behavior displayed on these programs, gathering much of their knowledge of the social world, particularly about consumer practices, from television. Some critics have decried the positive representation of sexually objectified women in shows like ''The Girls Next Door''.
In 2007, according to the Learning and Skills Council, one in seven UK teenagers hoped to gain fame by appearing on reality television.
Appeal
A number of studies have tried to pinpoint the appeal of reality television. Factors that have been cited in its appeal include personal identification with the onscreen participants; pure entertainment; diversion from scripted TV; vicarious participation; a feeling of self-importance compared to onscreen participants;[Reiss, S. & Wiltz, J. (2004). Why People Watch Reality TV, Media Psychology 6(4).] enjoyment of competition; and an appeal to voyeurism, especially given "scenes which take place in private settings, contain nudity, or include gossip".
A 2012 survey by Today (American TV program), Today.com found that Americans who watch reality television regularly are more extroverted, more neurotic, and have lower self-esteem than those who do not.
Similar works in popular culture
A number of fictional works since the 1940s have contained elements similar to elements of reality television. They tended to be set in a dystopian future, with subjects being recorded against their will and often involved violence.
* "The Seventh Victim" (1953) is a short story by science fiction author Robert Sheckley that depicted a futuristic game in which one player gets to hunt down another player and kill him. The first player who can score ten kills wins the grand prize. This story was the basis for the Italian film ''The 10th Victim'' (1965).
* ''You're Another'', a 1955 short story by Damon Knight, is about a man who discovers that he is an actor in a "livie", a live-action show that is viewed by billions of people in the future.
* ''A King in New York'', a 1957 film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin has the main character, a fictional European monarch portrayed by Chaplin, secretly filmed while talking to people at a New York cocktail party. The footage is later turned into a television show within the film.
* "The Prize of Peril" (1958), another Robert Sheckley story, is about a television show in which a contestant volunteers to be hunted for a week by trained killers, with a large cash prize if he survives. It was adapted in 1970 as the TV movie ''Das Millionenspiel'', and again in 1983 as the movie ''Le Prix du Danger''.
* Richard G. Stern's novel ''Golk'' (1960) is about a hidden-camera show similar to ''Candid Camera''.
* "It Could Be You" (1964), a short story by Australian Frank Roberts, features a day-in-day-out televised blood sport.
* ''Survivor'' (1965), a science fiction story by Walter F. Moudy, depicted the 2050 "Olympic War Games" between Russia and the United States. The games are fought to show the world the futility of war and thus deter further conflict. Each side has one hundred soldiers who fight in a large natural arena. The goal is for one side to wipe out the other; the few who survive the battle become heroes. The games are televised, complete with color commentary discussing tactics, soldiers' personal backgrounds, and slow-motion replays of their deaths.
* "Bread and Circuses (Star Trek: The Original Series), Bread and Circuses" (1968) is an episode of the science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek'' in which the crew visits a planet resembling the Roman Empire, but with 20th-century technology. The planet's "Empire TV" features regular gladiatorial games, with the announcer urging viewers at home to vote for their favorites, stating, "This is your program. You pick the winner."
* ''The Year of the Sex Olympics'' (1968) is a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
television play in which a dissident in a dictatorship is forced onto a secluded island and taped for a reality show in order to keep the masses entertained.
* ''The Unsleeping Eye'' (1973), a novel by D.G. Compton (also published as ''The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe''), is about a woman dying of cancer whose last days are recorded without her knowledge for a television show. It was later adapted as the 1980 movie ''Death Watch''.
* "Ladies And Gentlemen, This Is Your Crisis" (1976) is a short story by science fiction author Kate Wilhelm about a television show in which contestants (including a B-list actress who is hoping to revitalize her career) attempt to make their way to a checkpoint after being dropped off in the Alaskan wilderness, while being filmed and broadcast around the clock through an entire weekend. The story focuses primarily on the show's effect on a couple whose domestic tensions and eventual reconciliation parallel the dangers faced by the contestants.
* ''Network (1976 film), Network'' (1976) includes a subplot in which network executives negotiate with an urban terrorist group for the production of a weekly series, each episode of which was to feature an act of terrorism. The climax of the film has the terrorist group being turned against the network's own unstable star, news commentator Howard Beale.
* ''The Running Man (King novel), The Running Man'' (1982) is a book by Stephen King depicting a game show in which a contestant flees around the world from "hunters" trying to chase him down and kill him; it has been speculated that the book was inspired by "The Prize of Peril". The book was loosely adapted as a The Running Man (1987 film), 1987 movie of the same name. The movie removed most of the reality-TV element of the book: its competition now took place entirely within a large television studio, and more closely resembled an athletic competition (though a deadly one).
* The film ''20 Minutes into the Future'' (1985), and the spin-off television series ''Max Headroom (TV series), Max Headroom'', revolved around television mainly based on live, often candid, broadcasts. In one episode of ''Max Headroom'', "Academy", the character Blank Reg fights for his life on a courtroom game show, with the audience deciding his fate.
* ''Vengeance on Varos'' (1985) is an episode of the television show ''Doctor Who'' in which the population of a planet watches live television broadcasts of the torture and executions of those who oppose the government. The planet's political system is based on the leaders themselves facing disintegration if the population votes 'no' to their propositions.
Pop culture references
Some scripted and written works have used reality television as a plot device:
Films
* ''Real Life (1979 film), Real Life'' (1979) is a comedic film about the creation of a show similar to ''An American Family
''An American Family'' is an American television documentary series that followed the life of a California family in the early 1970s. Widely referred to as the first example of an American reality TV show, the series drew millions of weekly vie ...
'' gone horribly wrong.
* ''Louis the 19th, King of the Airwaves'' (1994) is a French-speaking Quebecer, Québécois film about a man who signs up to star in a 24-hour-a-day reality television show.
* ''The Truman Show'' (1998) is a film about a man (Jim Carrey) who discovers that his entire life is being staged and filmed for a 24-hour-a-day reality television show.
* ''EDtv'' (1999) was a remake of ''Louis the 19th, King of the Airwaves''.
* ''Series 7: The Contenders'' (2001) is a film about a reality show in which contestants have to kill each other to win.
* ''Halloween: Resurrection'' (2002) is a horror slasher film that takes place in a wired house full of surveillance cameras. Each "contestant" is recorded as they attempt to survive and solve the mystery of the murders.
* ''American Dreamz'' (2006) is a film set partially on an ''American Idol''-like show.
* ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008) is a film in which a contestant on the Indian version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' is interrogated because he knows all the answers.
Television
* ''The Comeback (TV series), The Comeback'' (2005) satirizes the indignity of reality television by presenting itself as "raw footage" of a new reality show documenting the attempted comeback of has-been star Valerie Cherish.
* "Damien Sands" is an episode in the Nip/Tuck (season 5), season 5 of ''Nip/Tuck'' (2007), that satirizes reality television. Christian Troy, jealous over Sean McNamara (Nip/Tuck), Sean McNamara's newfound fame, convinces Sean to tape a reality show based on their careers as plastic surgeons, with desastrous results.
* ''Dead Set'' (2008) is a British television program featuring a zombie apocalypse affecting the ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' house. Part of the film was shot during an actual eviction with host Davina McCall making a cameo appearance.
* ''Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice'' (2008) is a British comedy special that satirized reality music competitions, and in particular the reliance on emotional backstories, depicting the series finale of the fictitious reality competition ''Britain's Got the Pop Factor'' (an amalgamation of ''Britain's Got Talent'', ''Pop Idol'', and ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor)''.
* ''Rock Rivals'' (2008) is a British television show about two judges on a televised singing contest whose marriage is falling apart.
* "Fifteen Million Merits" (2011) is an episode in the first season of British television anthology series ''Black Mirror'', set in a dystopian future in which appearing on reality television is the only way in which people can escape their miserable, jail-like conditions.
* ''Unreal (TV series), Unreal'' (2015) is an American television show that depicts the behind-the-scenes drama on a show similar to ''The Bachelor''.
* "Bad Wolf" in the TV Series ''Doctor Who'' is about a future where the population of the earth is chosen at random to compete in deadly game shows and reality TV. This includes the game show ''The Weakest Link''.
Literature
* ''Chart Throb'' (2006) is a comic novel by Ben Elton that parodies ''The X Factor (UK), The X Factor'' and ''The Osbournes
''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002 ...
'', among other reality shows.
* ''Dead Famous (novel), Dead Famous'' (2001) is a comedic whodunit novel, also by Ben Elton, in which a contestant is murdered while on a ''Big Brother''-like show.
* ''Oryx and Crake'' (2003), a speculative fiction novel by ''Margaret Atwood'', occasionally makes mentions of the protagonist and his friend entertaining themselves by watching reality television shows of live executions, ''Noodie News'', frog squashing, graphic surgery, and child pornography.
* ''L.A. Candy'' (2009) is a young adult novel series by Lauren Conrad, which is based on her experiences on ''Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'' and ''The Hills''.
Other influences on popular culture
A number of scripted television comedy and satire shows have adopted the format of the documentary-type reality television show, in "mockumentary" style. The first such show was the BBC series ''Operation Good Guys'', which premiered in 1997. Arguably the best-known and most influential such show is the BBC's ''The Office (UK TV series), The Office'' (2001), which spawned numerous international remakes, including a The Office (American TV series), successful American version. Other examples include ''People Like Us (mockumentary), People Like Us'' (BBC UK, 1998), ''The Games (Australian TV series), The Games'' (ABC Australia, 1999), ''Trailer Park Boys'' (2001), ''Reno 911!'' (2003), ''The Naked Brothers Band (TV series), The Naked Brothers Band'' (2006), ''Summer Heights High'' (2007), ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009), ''Modern Family'' (2009), ''Come Fly with Me (2010 TV series), Come Fly With Me'' (2010), ''Real Husbands of Hollywood'' (2013), ''Trial & Error (TV series), Trial & Error'' (2017) and ''Abbott Elementary'' (2021). The genre has even encompassed cartoons (''Drawn Together'' (2004) and ''Total Drama'' (2007)) and a show about puppets (''The Muppets (TV series), The Muppets'', 2015).
Not all reality-television-style mockumentary series are comedic: the 2013 American series ''Siberia (TV series), Siberia'' has a science fiction-horror bent, while the 2014 Dutch series ''The First Years'' is a drama.
The 2013–2015 American sketch comedy series ''Kroll Show'' set most of its sketches as excerpts from various fictional reality television shows, which one critic wrote "aren't far off from the lineups at E!, Bravo, and VH1", and parodied those shows' participants' "lack of self-awareness". The show also satirized the often incestuous nature of reality television, in which some series lead to a cascade of spinoffs. ''Kroll Show'' executive producer John Levenstein said in an interview that reality TV "has so many tools for telling stories in terms of text and flashbacks and ways to show things to the audience that it's incredibly convenient for comedy and storytelling if you use the full reality show toolkit."
Some feature films have been produced that use some of the conventions of reality television; such films are sometimes referred to as reality films, and sometimes simply as documentaries. Allen Funt
Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality best known as the creator and host of '' Candid Camera'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regula ...
's 1970 hidden camera movie ''What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?'' was based on his reality-television show ''Candid Camera''. The series ''Jackass (franchise), Jackass'' spawned five feature films, starting with ''Jackass: The Movie'' in 2002. A similar Finnish show, ''The Dudesons'', was adapted for the film ''The Dudesons Movie'', and a similar British show, ''Dirty Sanchez (TV series), Dirty Sanchez'', was adapted for ''Dirty Sanchez: The Movie'', both in 2006. The producers of ''The Real World'' created ''The Real Cancun'' in 2003. The Chinese reality show ''Keep Running (TV series), Keep Running'' was adapted for the 2015 film ''Running Man (2015 film), Running Man''.
The 2003 BBC film ''The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 film), The Other Boleyn Girl'' incorporated reality TV-style confessionals in which the two main characters talked directly to the camera.
In 2007, broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy stated that reality television is "a firm and embedded part of television's vocabulary, used in every genre from game-shows and drama to news and current affairs."
The mumblecore film genre, which began in the mid-2000s, and uses video cameras and relies heavily on improvisation and non-professional actors, has been described as influenced in part by what one critic called "the spring-break psychodrama of MTV's ''The Real World''. Mumblecore director Joe Swanberg has said, "As annoying as reality TV is, it's been really good for filmmakers because it got mainstream audiences used to watching shaky camerawork and different kinds of situations."
See also
* Broadcasting
* Bunim/Murray Productions
* Great Reality TV Swindle
* Matt Kunitz
* John Langley
* List of reality television programs
* List of television show franchises
* Low culture
* Scripted reality
* TV consumption
References
Further reading
* Hill, Annette (2005). ''Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television''. Routledge. .
* Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette, eds. (2004). ''Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture''. New York University Press.
* Nichols, Bill (1994). ''Blurred Boundaries: Questions of Meaning in Contemporary Culture''. Indiana University Press. .
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Lord of the fly-on-the-walls
'' - Observer article: Paul Watson's UK & Australian docusoaps
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* Gillan, J. (2004). From Ozzie Nelson to Ozzy Osbourne: The genesis and the development of the reality (star) sitcom. in S. Holmes & D. Jermyn (eds.), Understanding reality television (pp. 54–70). London and New York: Routledge.
* Gray, J. (2009). Cinderella burps: Gender, performativity, and the dating show. in S. Murray & L. Ouellette. Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 243–259). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Grazian, D. (2010). Neoliberalism and the realities of reality TV. Contexts, 9(2), 68–71.
* Griffen-Foley, B. (2004). From Tit-Bits to Big Brother: A century of audience participation in the media. Media, Culture & Society, 26(4), 533-548
* Grimm, J. (2010). From reality TV to coaching TV: Elements of theory and empirical findings towards understanding the genre. In A. Hetsroni (ed.), Reality TV: Merging the global and the local (pp. 211–258). New York: Nova.
* Grindstaff, L. (2011). Just be yourself—only more so: ordinary celebrity. in M. M. Kraidy & K. Sender (eds.), The politics of reality television: Global perspectives (pp. 44–58). London and New York: Routledge.
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* Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
* Hearn, A. (2009). Hoaxing the "real": on the metanarrative of reality television. in S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 165–178). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Hellmueller, L. C., & Aeschbacher, N. (2010). Media and celebrity: Production and consumption of "wellKnownness." Communication Research Trends, 29(4), 3-35.
* Hendershot, H. (2009). Belabored reality: Making it work on The Simple Life and Project Runway. In S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 243–259). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Hetsroni, A., & Tukachinsky, R. H. (2003). "Who wants to be a millionaire" in America, Russia, and Saudi Arabia: A celebration of differences or a unified global culture? The Communication Review, 6(2), 165–178.
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* Ho, H. (June 16, 2006). Parasocial identification, reality television, and viewer self-worth. Paper presented at the 56th annual meeting of the international Communication Association, Dresden International Congress Centre, Dresden, Germany. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p93143_index.html
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* Holmes, S., & Jermyn, D. (2004). Introduction: Understanding reality TV. in S. Holmes & D. Jermyn (eds.), Understanding reality television (pp. 1–32). London and New York: Routledge.
* James, C. (January 26, 2003). Bachelor No.1 and the birth of reality TV. The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2012, from https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/movies/television-radio-bachelor-no- 1-and-the-birthof-reality-tv.html.
* Jenkins, H. (2009). Buying into American idol: How we are being sold on reality television. in S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 343–362). 2nd edition, New York and London: New York University Press.
* Jermyn, D. (2004). "This is about real people!" Video technologies, actuality and affect in the television crime appeal. In S. Holmes & D. Jermyn, (eds.), Understanding reality television (pp. 71–90). London and New York: Routledge.
* Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Uses and gratifications research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523.
* Kilborn, R. M. (2003). Staging the real. Factual TV programming in the age of Big Brother. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press.
* Klaus, E., & Lucke, S. (2003). Reality TV: Definition und Merkmale einer erfolgreichen Genrefamilie am Beispiel von Reality Soap und Docu Soap. Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, 51 (2), 195–212.
* Kompare, D. (2009). Extraordinarily ordinary: The Osbournes as "An American Family." in S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 100–119). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Livio, o. (2010). Performing the nation: A cross-cultural comparison of idol shows in four countries. in A. Hetsroni (ed.), Reality TV: Merging the global and the local (pp. 165–188). New York: Nova.
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* McCarthy, A. (2009). "Stanley Milgram, Allen Funt and Me": Postwar social science and the first wave of reality TV. In S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 23–43). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* McGee, M. (2005). Self-help Inc.: Makeover culture in American life. Oxford/New York: oxford University Press.
* Murray, S. (2009). "I think we need a new name for it": The meeting of documentary and reality TV. in S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 65–81). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Murray, S., & Ouellette, L. (2009). Introduction. In S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 1–20). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
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* Ouellette, L. (2009). "Take responsibility for yourself": Judge Judy and the neoliberal citizen. In S. Murray & L. Ouellette (eds.), Reality TV: Remaking television culture (pp. 223–242). 2nd ed., New York and London: New York University Press.
* Ouellette, L., & Hay, J. (2008). Better living through reality TV. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
* Palmer, G. (2004). 'The new you': Class and transformation in lifestyle television. in S. Holmes & D. Jermyn (eds.), Understanding reality television (p. 173-190). London and New York: Routledge.
* Palmgreen, P., Wenner, L. A., & Rosengren, K. E. (1985). Uses and gratifications research: The past ten years. in K. E. Rosengren, L. A. Wenner & P. Palmgreen (eds.), Media gratifications research: Current perspectives (pp. 11–37). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
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* Riley, S. G. (2010). Temporary celebrity. in S. G. Riley (ed.), Star struck: An encyclopedia of celebrity culture (pp. 294–299). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.
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* Shattuc, J. (2001). Confessional talk shows. In G. Creeber (ed.), The television genre book (pp. 84–87). London: British Film institute.
* Shoemaker, P. J., & Vos, T. P. (2009). Gatekeeping theory. New York / Abingdon: Routledge.
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* West, E. (2010). Reality nations: An international comparison of the historical reality genre. in A. Hetsroni (ed.), Reality TV: Merging the global and the local (pp. 259277). New York: Nova.
* Zillmann, D. (1988). Mood management: Using entertainment to full advantage. in L. Donohew, H. E. Sypher, & T. E. Higgins (eds.), Communication, social cognition and affect (pp. 147–171). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
* Andrejevic, M. (2004). Reality TV: The work of being watched. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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External links
The Reality of Reality Television
Mark Greif's assessment of Reality TV from n+1
{{Authority control
Reality television,
Television genres