Reality TV is a popular genre with low budget requirements, but it has drawbacks. It diverts funds from professionals, and participants can be victims of deception. The first notable reality show was Candid Camera, and The Real World was the first blockbuster. Reality TV creators couldn’t join unions, leading to strikes and cancellations of scripted shows. Scandals involving on-screen participants have also occurred.
Reality television has become a popular genre of television programming in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Its often low budget requirements have made it a lucrative format for television networks and producers, while providing escape fare to millions of viewers around the world. These are the pros; the cons of reality TV are rarely examined. Behind the scenes, the growth of reality television has influenced commercial trends that don’t favor writers, actors, or other entertainment professionals. In front of the cameras, participants in reality shows have been victims, and sometimes perpetrators, of deception and scams.
For much of its history, primetime television programming has emphasized scripted shows that employ professional actors and directors. One of the first notable reality shows was Candid Camera, in which pranks were played on unsuspecting subjects and filmed with hidden cameras. In the early 1990s, the MTV cable network produced The Real World, the first blockbuster reality show. Other networks copied the formula of putting amateur artists together in artificial environments and filming the results. In the 2000s, shows like Survivor and Big Brother became international ratings blockbusters, leading to an explosion in reality programming.
By 2004, major television networks in the United States and other countries were developing a number of reality shows. This diverted funds that had previously gone to professional writers and actors, illustrating one of the major drawbacks of reality TV. US reality show creators, sometimes called “show producers,” couldn’t join unions, which could guarantee benefits and residual payments when their shows went into syndication. In 2006, the show’s producers of the hit series America’s Next Top Model went on strike, claiming they were actually writers, as they created situations and educated the participants. The show’s owners, including model Tyra Banks, summarily fired them; because they weren’t protected by a union, the show’s producers had no legal recourse, discovering the cons of reality TV for themselves.
In 2007, the entire Writers Guild union went on strike, demanding that reality show producers be allowed to join. The authors argued that this would create a level playing field, since networks and producers did not pay union dues to show producers. The resulting strike was a disaster, once again illuminating the disadvantages of reality TV for entertainment professionals. Producers and networks simply aired more reality programming, canceling scripted shows and firing writers caught up in the strike. The union was forced to make numerous concessions and reality show producers were not allowed to unionize.
Other disadvantages of reality TV include scandals involving on-screen participants. Cast members of the 2004 reality show There’s Something About Miriam filed a lawsuit after learning the beautiful woman they had been courting on camera was actually a transsexual. The infamous 2009 “balloon boy” hoax was perpetrated by former reality show participants who had hoped to exploit the publicity into a show of their own. The stunt failed and the couple were fined and imprisoned. The following month, a couple on another reality show bypassed White House security to sneak into a state dinner with President Barack Obama, resulting in a well-publicized scandal.
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