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{{Short description|Genre of television programming}}
{{Redirect2|Reality TV|Reality Show|the channel formerly known as "Reality TV"|CBS Reality|other uses of "Reality Show"|Reality Show (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}

'''Reality television '''is a [[genre]] of [[television program]]ming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as ''[[The Real World]]'', then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series ''[[Survivor (franchise)|Survivor]]'', ''[[Idol (franchise)|Idol]]'', and ''[[Big Brother (franchise)|Big Brother]]'', all of which became global [[Franchising|franchises.]]<ref name="hill05">{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Annette |year=2005 |title=Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-26152-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/realitytvaudienc0000hill }}</ref> 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 the gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves.

[[Documentary film|Documentaries]], [[television news]], [[sports television]], [[talk show]]s, and traditional [[game show]]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]] shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and [[court show]]s featuring real-life cases and issues.

Reality television has [[criticism of reality television|faced significant criticism]] since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that by placing the participants in artificial situations, coaching them on behavior, generating storylines ahead of time, staging the scenes and editing footage in misleading ways, reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality. Some shows have been accused of rigging the favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of either untalented people or 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]]'s ''[[Candid Camera]]'', 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.<ref>Clissold, B.(2004). "Candid Camera and the origins of reality TV: contextualizing a historical precedent". In Holmes, and Jermyn, D. (eds) ''Understanding Reality Television''. London: Routledge, 33-53.</ref><ref>McCarthy, A. (2009). "Stanley Milgram, Allen Funt and me: Postwar Social Science and the First Wave of Reality TV". In Ouellette, L., and Murray, S. (eds). ''Reality Television Culture''. New York: NYU Press.</ref>

=== 1940s–1950s ===
In the early 1940s the German television station [[Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow]] had  staged a show in which a young couple acted as model Aryans and presented their everyday lives without a script to the camera
(''Familienchroniken - Ein Abend mit Hans und Gelli''). Even though it was clearly [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] propaganda and the episodes were certainly affected by [[censorship]], in recent years the show has been presented more frequently as the oldest reality TV show in the world.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/3239289/Adolf-Hitler-planned-propaganda-cable-TV.html Adolf Hitler 'planned propaganda cable TV'] [[The Daily Telegraph]], vom 22 October 2008</ref>

Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the late 1940s. ''[[Queen for a Day]]'' (1945–1964) was an early example of reality-based television. The 1946 television game show ''[[Cash and Carry (TV series)|Cash and Carry]]'' sometimes featured contestants performing stunts. Debuting in 1948, [[Allen Funt]]'s [[hidden camera]] show ''[[Candid Camera]]''  (based on his previous 1947 radio show, ''[[The Candid Microphone]]'') broadcast unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pranks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html |last=Rowan |first=Beth |title=Reality TV Takes Hold |publisher=Infoplease.com |date=July 21, 2000 |access-date=May 8, 2007 |archive-date=May 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501020323/http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1948, talent search shows, such as ''[[Ted Mack (radio-TV host)|Ted Mack's]] [[Original Amateur Hour]]'' and ''[[Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts]]'', featured amateur competitors and audience voting. In the 1950s, game shows ''[[Beat the Clock]]'' and ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'' involved contestants in wacky competitions, stunts, and practical jokes. ''[[Confession (American TV series)|Confession]]'' was a crime and police show that aired from June 1958 to January 1959, with interviewer Jack Wyatt questioning criminals from assorted backgrounds.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'' (New York: Penguin Books, 1996), p. 178</ref> The radio series ''Nightwatch'' (1951–1955) tape-recorded the daily activities of [[Culver City, California]] police officers. The series ''[[You Asked for It]]'' (1950–1959) incorporated audience involvement by basing episodes around requests sent in by postcard from viewers.

=== 1960s–1970s ===
First broadcast in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1964, the [[Granada Television]] documentary ''[[Up Series|Seven Up!]]'' broadcast interviews with 14 ordinary 7-year-olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life. Every seven years, the filmmaker [[Michael Apted]] created a new film documenting the lives of the same individuals during the intervening period. Titled the [[Up Series]], episodes included "7 Plus Seven", "21 Up", etc.; it is still ongoing. Structured as a series of candid interviews with no scripted plot, the films chronicle how the participants navigated personal milestones such as education, career, marriage, and family. Over time, by virtue of the sustained public attention, the participants became notable figures in British culture, effectively turning ordinary people into a type of celebrity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hancock |first=David |date=2004-10-18 |title=Filmed From Age 7 To 49 - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/filmed-from-age-7-to-49/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The series ''[[The American Sportsman]]'', which ran from 1965 to 1986 on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in the United States,<ref>{{cite web| title = Syracuse.com - Guest column: These new reality hunting TV shows are out of control| date = December 21, 2012| url = http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2012/12/guest_column_these_new_reality.html| access-date = October 17, 2013| archive-date = October 22, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131022210824/http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2012/12/guest_column_these_new_reality.html| url-status = live}} ''The Post-Standard'' newspaper, Syracuse, New York, December 21, 2012, by Tom Adessa. "As a teenager, I always looked forward to Sunday afternoons when I'd watch [[Curt Gowdy]] and his TV show, 'The American Sportsman.' Gowdy had a distinct, soft-spoken demeanor and the destinations of his hunts were in various parts of the world."</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = 'The American Sportsman' Penetrates the Awesome World of the Shark| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2506&dat=19750208&id=AaBbAAAAIBAJ&pg=2179,1594312| access-date = October 17, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''The News and Courier'' newspaper, February 8, 1975, Charleston, South Carolina. Quote: "Peter Benchley's journey to the world of the White Shark is an evocative portrait of one of nature's extraordinary phenomena, the shark, and of one man's revealing transition from the world of fantasy to the world of underwater reality."</ref> would typically feature one or more celebrities, and sometimes their family members, being accompanied by a camera crew on an [[Adventure#Outdoors|outdoor adventure]], such as [[hunting]], [[fishing]], hiking, [[scuba diving]], 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]]'', [[Andy Warhol]] filmed various acquaintances with no direction given. The ''[[Radio Times]] Guide to Film 2007'' said that the film was "to blame for reality television".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-23369560-details/Warhol+'reality'+film+named+in+top+100/article.do |title=Warhol 'reality' film named in top 100 |first=Alexa |last=Baracaia |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=October 4, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204043437/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-23369560-details/Warhol+%27reality%27+film+named+in+top+100/article.do |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |access-date=December 19, 2021 }}</ref>

In 1969, the British rock group [[the Beatles]] were filmed for a month during the recording sessions which would become their album ''[[Let It Be (album)|Let It Be]]'' and released the [[Let It Be (1970 film)|homonymous film]] the following year. In 2021, director [[Peter Jackson]] created an eight-hour, three-episode television series entitled ''[[The Beatles: Get Back]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/the-beatles-get-back-exclusive-deep-dive-peter-jacksons-movie|title=The Beatles: Get Back – An Exclusive Deep Dive Into Peter Jackson's Revelatory New Movie|last=Hagan|first=Joe|date=17 June 2021|website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|access-date=12 March 2023|archive-date=October 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003180421/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/the-beatles-get-back-exclusive-deep-dive-peter-jacksons-movie|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:The_Loud_Family_1973.JPG|thumb|The Loud family, subjects of the pioneering [[PBS]] series ''[[An American Family]]''. During filming, the parents decided to divorce and son [[Lance Loud|Lance]] (top right) came out as gay.]]
The 12-part 1973 [[PBS]] series ''[[An American Family]]'' showed a [[nuclear family]] (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 (1974 UK TV series)|The Family]]'', was made in the UK, following the working-class Wilkins family of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]].<ref name=Biressi>{{cite book|last=Biressi|first=Anita|title=Reality TV: Realism and Revelation|url=https://archive.org/details/realitytvrealism0000bire|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Wallflower Press|location=London|isbn=978-1904764045|pages=[https://archive.org/details/realitytvrealism0000bire/page/64 64–66]}}</ref> Other forerunners of modern reality television were the 1970s productions of [[Chuck Barris]]: ''[[The Dating Game]]'', ''[[The Newlywed Game]]'', and ''[[The Gong Show]]'', all of which featured participants who were eager to sacrifice some of their privacy and dignity in a televised competition.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/movies/television-radio-bachelor-no-1-and-the-birth-of-reality-tv.html |last=James |first=Caryn |title=Bachelor No. 1 And the Birth Of Reality TV |series=Television/Radio |work=The New York Times |date=January 26, 2003 |access-date=March 18, 2009 |archive-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809143511/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/movies/television-radio-bachelor-no-1-and-the-birth-of-reality-tv.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1976–1980 [[BBC]] series ''[[The Big Time (TV 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]], who was selected to appear in the episode showing an aspiring pop singer trying to enter the music business.<ref>{{cite news |title=Where are they now? Scottish singer Sheena Easton |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/now-scottish-singer-sheena-easton-8473853 |newspaper=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517153220/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/now-scottish-singer-sheena-easton-8473853 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1978, ''[[Living in the Past (TV series)|Living in the Past]]'' had amateurs participating in a re-enactment of life in an [[Iron Age]] English village.

=== 1980s–1990s ===
Producer [[George Schlatter]] capitalized on the advent of videotape to create ''[[Real People (TV program)|Real People]]'', a surprise hit for NBC, and it ran from 1979 to 1984. The success of ''Real People'' was quickly copied by the television company ABC with ''[[That's Incredible]]'', a stunt show produced by [[Alan Landsburg]] and co-hosted by [[Fran Tarkenton]]; CBS's entry into the genre was ''[[That's My Line]]'', a series hosted by [[Bob Barker]]. The [[Canada|Canadian]] series ''[[Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series)|Thrill of a Lifetime]]'', 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]] [[Shawn Weatherly]] on the NBC series ''Oceanquest'', which chronicled Weatherly's adventures scuba diving in various exotic locales. Weatherly was nominated for an [[Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Achievement in informational programming.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q130342797|id=tt0088584|title=Oceanquest}}</ref>
''[[Cops (TV series)|COPS]]'', which first aired in the spring of 1989 on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] and was developed due to the need for new programming during the [[1988 Writers Guild of America strike]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20071106-9999-lz1c06strike.html |title=With writers on strike, expect more repeats and dose of reality |first=Karla |last=Peterson |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune |date=November 6, 2007 |access-date=November 6, 2007 |archive-date=November 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106102150/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20071106-9999-lz1c06strike.html |url-status=live }}</ref> showed police officers on duty apprehending criminals. It introduced the [[camcorder]] look and [[cinéma vérité]] feel of much of later reality television. The 1991 [[television documentary]] on "typical American high schoolers", ''[[Yearbook (TV series)|Yearbook]]'', focused on [[Twelfth grade|seniors]] attending Glenbard West High School, in [[Glen Ellyn, Illinois|Glen Ellyn]], Illinois and [[Prime time|broadcast prime-time]] on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]].

The series ''[[Nummer 28]]'', which aired on [[Netherlands|Dutch]] 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. ''Nummer 28'' became the model for many later series of ''Big Brother'' and its clones, and Peter Weir's full-length film ''[[The Truman Show]]''. One year later, the same concept was used by [[MTV]] in its new series ''[[The Real World]]''. ''Nummer 28'' creator Erik Latour has long claimed that ''The Real World'' was directly inspired by his show.<ref name="werklozen">{{cite news |url=http://www.nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1996/09/28/Rtv/rtv.html |title=Zeven werklozen samen op zoek naar een baan |first=Raymond |last=van den Boogaard |newspaper=[[NRC Handelsblad]] |date=September 28, 1996 |location=Amsterdam |language=nl |access-date=October 31, 2006 |archive-date=April 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417021721/http://nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1996/09/28/Rtv/rtv.html |url-status=live }}</ref> But the producers of ''The Real World'' have said that their direct inspiration was ''An American Family''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-10-09-real-world_N.htm |title=MTV's 'Real World' launched a revolution |first=Bill |last=Keveney |work=USA Today |location=Washington DC |date=October 9, 2007 |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-date=August 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826005029/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-10-09-real-world_N.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to television commentator [[Charlie Brooker]], this type of reality television was enabled by the advent of computer-based [[non-linear editing system]]s for video (such as produced by [[Avid Technology]]) 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).<ref name="CharlieBooker">{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBwepkVurCI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/BBwepkVurCI| archive-date=October 28, 2021|publisher=YouTube |title=Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe - Reality TV Editing |date=February 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

''[[Sylvania Waters (TV series)|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]], 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=How the O. J. Simpson Case Explains Reality in 2016|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/how-the-oj-simpson-case-explains-reality-in-2016 |first=Lila |last=Anolik |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=February 2, 2016|access-date=July 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Chase, or: Where Were You When Reality TV Was Invented?|url=http://decider.com/2016/02/10/the-people-v-o-j-simpson-recap-episode-2-rex-sorgatz/|publisher=Decider|date=February 10, 2016|access-date=July 17, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813111404/http://decider.com/2016/02/10/the-people-v-o-j-simpson-recap-episode-2-rex-sorgatz/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many reality television stars of the 2000s and 2010s have direct or indirect connections to people involved in the case, most notably [[Kim Kardashian]], daughter of defense attorney [[Robert Kardashian]], and several of her relatives and associates.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=It All Began with O. J.: The Diagram |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/02/oj-simpson-reality-tv-diagram |first=Lila |last=Anolik |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=14 reality stars who exist today because of the O. J. Simpson trial|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/06/12/14-reality-stars-who-exist-today-because-of-the-o-j-simpson-trial/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 12, 2016|access-date=July 17, 2017|archive-date=April 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402161542/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/06/12/14-reality-stars-who-exist-today-because-of-the-o-j-simpson-trial/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The series ''[[Expedition Robinson]]'', created by television producer Charlie Parsons, which first aired in 1997 in [[Sweden]] (and was later produced in a large number of other countries as ''[[Survivor (franchise)|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 (TV show)|Changing Rooms]]'', a program that began in the UK in 1996, showed couples redecorating each other's houses, and was the first{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} reality show with a [[self-improvement]] or [[makeover]] theme. The dating reality show ''[[Streetmate]]'' premiered in the UK in 1998. Originally created by [[Gabe Sachs]] as ''Street Match'', it was a flop in the United States. But the show was revamped in the UK by [[Tiger Aspect Productions]] and became a cult hit. The production team from the original series later created the popular reality shows ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'', ''[[Location, Location, Location]]'', and the revamped ''[[MasterChef]]'', among others.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}} The 1980s and 1990s were also a time when [[tabloid talk show]]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.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

=== 2000s ===
Reality television became globally popular at the turn of the century. [[Survivor (franchise)|''Survivor/Expedition Robinson'']] debuted in Sweden in 1997, while [[Big Brother (franchise)|''Big Brother'']] debuted in the Netherlands in 1999. The [[Survivor (American TV series)|American version]] of ''Survivor'' began airing in 2000 becoming a major success. The ''Big Brother'' franchise especially became a major success and is credited for "changing" television and celebrity status.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saner |first=Emine |date=2018-09-20 |title=How Big Brother's unvarnished underdogs changed TV |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/sep/20/how-big-brothers-unvarnished-underdogs-changed-tv |access-date=2025-07-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The franchise expanded from the Netherlands to many other countries in the year 2000, and that same year [[Endemol]] (the Dutch TV company behind ''Big Brother'') was purchased by Spanish corporation [[Telefónica]] for what was considered a large sum.<ref>{{cite web | title=Telefonica to acquire $5.3B Endemol | website=money.cnn.com | date=2000-03-17 | url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/03/17/europe/endemol/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108061431/https://money.cnn.com/2000/03/17/europe/endemol/ | archive-date=2021-01-08 | url-status=dead | access-date=2025-08-04}}</ref>

In the United States, reality television programs suffered a temporary decline in viewership, especially following the [[September 11 attacks|September 11]] terrorist attacks, leading some entertainment industry columnists to speculate that the genre was a temporary fad that had run its course.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-10-11 |title=Reality TV 's survival challenge |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1593203.stm |access-date=2025-07-14 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Reality shows that suffered from low ratings included ''[[The Amazing Race (American TV series)|The Amazing Race]]'' (although the show has since recovered and is in its 37th edition), ''[[Lost (2001 TV series)|Lost]]'' (unrelated to the better-known [[Lost (2004 TV series)|serial drama of the same name]]) and ''[[The Mole (American TV series)|The Mole]]'' (which was successful in other countries).<ref>Sigesmund, B. J. (October 11, 2001). "Will Reality TV Survive?" ''Newsweek''. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis database.</ref> But stronghold show ''Survivor'' remained resilient, leading the ratings in [[2002 in television|2001–02]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kissell |first=Rick |date=2002-12-22 |title=‘Survivor’ still thrives for CBS |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/markets-festivals/survivor-still-thrives-for-cbs-1117877817/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> On the other hand, ''[[American Idol]]'', which debuted in 2002, would go on to top the U.S. season-average television ratings in the 2000s. ''Idol'' has the longest hold on the No. 1 rank in the [[Nielsen ratings|American television ratings]], dominating over all other primetime programs and other television series in the overall viewership tallies for eight consecutive years, from the [[2004 in television|2003–2004]] to the [[2011 in American television|2010–2011]] television seasons.

Another trend was to combine reality TV with a social history angle usually by having contestants taken back to various time periods primarily to see how millennials would cope without modern technology. Examples included ''[[The 1900 House]]'', ''[[Bad Lads' Army]]'' and ''[[That'll Teach 'Em]]''. In addition to those was a series consisting of archeologists and historians running a farm though various historical periods, most notably ''[[Victorian Farm]]''.

[[File:John de Mol jr.jpg|thumb|Dutch media tycoon [[John de Mol Jr.]], who created the reality television franchises ''[[Big Brother (franchise)|Big Brother]]'', ''[[Fear Factor (franchise)|Fear Factor]]'' and ''[[The Voice (franchise)|The Voice]]'', among others]]
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 (franchise)|Idols]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lodish |first1=Emily |title=Who would win a World Idol competition? |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-06-25/who-would-win-world-idol-competition |website=The World from PRX |date=July 30, 2016 |language=en |access-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308220442/https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-06-25/who-would-win-world-idol-competition |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Star Academy]]''<ref>Star Academy reality show comes to town. (February 21, 2014). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/251419/star-academy-reality-show-comes-to-town.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205072143/http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/251419/star-academy-reality-show-comes-to-town.html |date=December 5, 2014 }}</ref> and ''[[The X Factor]]'', other competition franchises ''Survivor/Expedition Robinson'', ''Big Brother'', ''[[The Biggest Loser]]'', ''[[Come Dine with Me]]'', ''[[Got Talent]]'', ''[[Top Model]]'', ''[[MasterChef]]'', ''[[Project Runway (franchise)|Project Runway]]'' and ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'', and the investment franchise ''[[Dragons' Den]]''. Several "[[reality game show]]s" from the same period have had even greater success, including ''[[Deal or No Deal]]'', ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]'', and ''[[The Weakest Link (British game show)|Weakest Link]]'', 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 producers or the Dutch production company [[Endemol]]. Although ''Dragons' Den'' originated in [[Japan]], most of its adaptations are based on the British version.) In India, the competition show ''[[Indian Idol]]'' was the most popular television program for its first six seasons.<ref name="Reality TV and Participatory Culture in India">{{cite journal|last=Punathambekar|first=Aswin|title=Reality TV and Participatory Culture in India|journal=Popular Communication|year=2010|volume=8|issue=4|pages=241–255|doi=10.1080/15405702.2010.514177|s2cid=43072267}}</ref>

During the 2000s, several [[cable television|cable]] networks, including [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]], [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]], [[E!]], [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]], [[History (American TV network)|History]], [[VH1]], and [[MTV]], changed their programming to feature mostly reality television series.<ref name="simple-econ">{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-05-07-reality-TV_N.htm?csp=34 |last=Levin |first=Gary |title='Simple economics': More reality TV |work=USA Today |date=May 8, 2007 |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814030734/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-05-07-reality-TV_N.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Osbournes]]'' is considered to be a pioneering reality television show which ushered in an era of series focusing on celebrity family life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/ozzy-osbourne-dies-reality-tv-legacy-the-osbournes/|title=Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness, Transformed Reality TV Forever|last=Donaldson|first=Kayleigh|website=The Wrap|date=22 July 2025|access-date=22 July 2025|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/osbournes-tv-series|title=The Osbournes (TV series)|publisher=EBSCO|date=2022|accessdate=July 22, 2025}}</ref> In addition, three cable channels were started around that time that were devoted exclusively to reality television: [[Fox Reality]] in the United States, which operated from 2005 to 2010; [[Global Reality Channel]] in [[Canada]], which lasted two years from 2010 to 2012; and [[CBS Reality]] (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 [[broadcast syndication|syndication]]. But DVDs for reality shows sold briskly; ''[[Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County]]'', ''[[The Amazing Race]]'', ''[[Project Runway]]'', and ''[[America's Next Top Model]]'' all ranked in the top DVDs sold on [[Amazon.com]]. In the mid-2000s, DVDs of ''[[The Simple Life]]'' outranked scripted shows such as ''[[The O.C.]]'' and ''[[Desperate Housewives]]''. Syndication, however, has been problematic; shows such as ''[[Fear Factor]]'', ''COPS'', and ''[[Wife Swap (American TV series)|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]]'' being exceptions). Season-long competitions, such as ''[[The Amazing Race (American TV series)|The Amazing Race]]'', ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|Survivor]]'', and ''[[America's Next Top Model]]'' generally perform more poorly and usually must be rerun in [[marathon (television)|marathons]] 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 (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]'' were picked up by [[Game Show Network|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]]'' 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 (TV channel)|Spike]]), outlasted all competing scripted police shows. Another series that had wide success is ''[[Cheaters (American TV series)|Cheaters]]'', 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]] added the reality genre to the [[Emmy Awards]] in the category of [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program|Outstanding Reality Program]]. In 2003, to better differentiate between competition and informational reality programs, a second category, [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program|Outstanding Reality-Competition Program]], was added. In 2008, a third category, [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program|Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program]], was added. In 2007, the [[web series]] ''[[The Next Internet Millionaire]]'' appeared; it was a competition show based in part on ''[[The Apprentice (franchise)|The Apprentice]]'', and was billed as the world's first Internet reality show.

=== 2010s ===
[[File:Duncan Laurence with the 2019 Eurovision Trophy (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Duncan Laurence]], who competed on the [[The Voice of Holland season 5|fifth season]] of singing competition show ''[[The Voice of Holland]]'' in 2014, with the trophy for winning the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2019]]]]
In 2010, the Dutch singing competition show ''[[The Voice of Holland]]'', created by [[John de Mol Jr.]], premiered; it added to the singing competition template the twist that judges could not see contestants during the initial audition round, and could judge them only by their voice. The show was an instant success, and spawned an entire franchise, ''[[The Voice (franchise)|The Voice]]'', which has been highly successful, with almost 50 international adaptations.

''[[The Tester]]'' (2010–2012) was the first reality television show aired over a video game console.<ref name="USAToday">{{Cite news | newspaper = [[USA Today]] | title = Have a PlayStation? You can watch 'The Tester'; Reality series is available only on consoles | first = Mike | last = Snider | page = D.12 | date = March 5, 2010 | access-date = October 10, 2010 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2010-03-05-tester05_ST_N.htm | archive-date = March 15, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100315120950/http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2010-03-05-tester05_ST_N.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>

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 (American TV series)|The Bachelor]]'', had begun to see declining ratings.<ref>Molloy, Tim (March 13, 2012). [https://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/reality-ratings-slip-aging-bachelors-idols-and-dancers-lose-some-bite-36224 Reality Ratings Slip: Aging Bachelors, Idols and Dancers Lose Their Bite] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211102724/https://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/reality-ratings-slip-aging-bachelors-idols-and-dancers-lose-some-bite-36224/ |date=December 11, 2019 }}. ''The Wrap''. Retrieved March 14, 2012.</ref> However, reality television as a whole remained durable in the U.S., with hundreds of shows across many channels. In 2012, ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' Magazine's ''Vulture'' blog published a humorous [[Venn diagram]] showing popular themes across American reality shows then running, including shows set in the U.S. states of [[Alaska]], [[Louisiana]] and [[Texas]], shows about cakes, weddings and [[pawnbroker]]s, and shows, usually competition-based, whose title includes the word "Wars".<ref>{{cite web |title=See a Venn Diagram Connecting Reality-TV Shows |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/01/reailty-show-venn-diagram.html |publisher=New York Magazine Vulture blog |author=Margaret Lyons and Jen Cotton |date=January 31, 2012 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=December 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211102647/https://www.vulture.com/2012/01/reailty-show-venn-diagram.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Duck Dynasty]]'' (2012–2017), which focused on the Robertson family that founded [[Duck Commander]], in 2013 became the most popular reality series in U.S. cable television history. Its fourth-season premiere was viewed by nearly 12&nbsp;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.

Following from the ''1900 House'' format, the BBC produced a series called ''[[Back in Time for Tea]]'' in which a family would experience tea time for various decades.

In 2014, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' and ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' 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 (TV channel)|AMC]], were abandoning plans to launch further reality programs; though they clarified that the genre as a whole "isn't going anywhere."<ref>Littleton, Cynthia (October 9, 2014). [https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/amc-scraps-second-season-of-game-of-arms-other-shows-as-cabler-reconsiders-unscripted-genre-1201326326/ AMC Scraps Second Season of 'Game of Arms,' Other Shows as Cabler Reconsiders Unscripted Genre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807004107/https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/amc-scraps-second-season-of-game-of-arms-other-shows-as-cabler-reconsiders-unscripted-genre-1201326326/ |date=August 7, 2020 }}. ''Variety''. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Are we tired of reality TV? |url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/31/reality-tv/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=James |last=Hibberd |date=October 31, 2014 |access-date=November 4, 2014 |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104183223/http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/31/reality-tv/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ratings and profits from reality TV continued to decline in the late 2010s.<ref>{{cite web |title=This may be the end of reality TV as we know it |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-may-be-the-end-of-reality-tv-as-we-know-it-2017-02-03 |first=Katerina |last=Ang |date=February 4, 2017 |work=MarketWatch |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622123004/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-may-be-the-end-of-reality-tv-as-we-know-it-2017-02-03 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the mid-2010s, South Korean variety formats began to see increased international attention within the reality television market; the reality travelogue ''Grandpas Over Flowers'' was adapted by U.S. network [[NBC]] as ''[[Better Late Than Never (TV series)|Better Late Than Never]]'', becoming the first Korean variety format to ever be adapted by an American broadcaster.''<ref name="THR2">{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Hyo-won |date=September 2, 2014 |title=This will be the first U.S. adaptation of a Korean variety show |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbc-remake-south-korean-variety-729699 |access-date=August 21, 2015 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref name="variety1">{{cite web |last=Frater |first=Patrick |date=September 2, 2014 |title=NBC Says 'Better Late Than Never' to Korean Format 'Grandpas' |url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/asia/nbc-says-better-late-than-never-to-korean-format-grandpas-1201296504/ |access-date=August 21, 2015 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ko |first=Hong-ju |date=April 17, 2013 |title=tvN′s ′The Genius′, Featuring Infinite′s Sung Kyu, Kim Gura and More, Unveils Its Story |url=http://mwave.interest.me/en/kpop-news/article/34144/the-genius-reveals-what-its-all-about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430061729/http://mwave.interest.me/en/kpop-news/article/34144/the-genius-reveals-what-its-all-about |archive-date=April 30, 2017 |accessdate=October 15, 2017 |website=[[Mnet (TV channel)|Mwave]] |publisher=[[CJ E&M]] |language=ko}}</ref>'' The Korean music competition series ''[[King of Mask Singer]]'' (2015)—which features celebrity contestants concealed by elaborate [[Mask|costume masks]], and only revealing their identity once eliminated—was initially imported to other Asian territories such as [[Thailand]]. Its [[The Masked Singer (American TV series)|American adaptation]] by Fox was the third highest-rated series overall of both the 2018–19 and 2019–20 television seasons.<ref>{{cite web |last=Porter |first=Rick |date=June 10, 2019 |title=2018–19 TV Season: Live-Plus-7 Ratings for Every Broadcast Series |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/live-7-ratings-broadcast-tv-series-2018-19-1217293 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527085042/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/live-7-ratings-broadcast-tv-series-2018-19-1217293 |archive-date=May 27, 2020 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Kwon Seung-joon |script-title=ko:복면가왕 '음악대장', 역시나 하현우 |url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/06/05/2016060501268.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605123706/http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/06/05/2016060501268.html |archive-date=June 5, 2016 |access-date=June 5, 2016 |work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |language=ko}}</ref><ref name="RS Jun 6">{{cite web |last=Walsh |first=Barry |date=June 6, 2019 |title=''Realscreen'' West '19: Behind the Scenes of ''The Masked Singer'' |url=https://realscreen.com/2019/06/06/realscreen-west-19-behind-the-scenes-of-the-masked-singer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607163046/https://realscreen.com/2019/06/06/realscreen-west-19-behind-the-scenes-of-the-masked-singer/ |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |work=[[Brunico Communications|Realscreen]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ra Young-yi |script-title=ko:'음악대장' 하현우가 밝힌 복면가왕 하차 소감 |url=http://www.insight.co.kr/newsRead.php?ArtNo=64229 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606121815/http://www.insight.co.kr/newsRead.php?ArtNo=64229 |archive-date=June 6, 2016 |access-date=June 5, 2016 |work=Insight |language=ko}}</ref> 

=== 2020s ===
Television development across all genres was impacted in 2020 by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], which forced many reality competition series to suspend production (and in some cases curtail a competition already in progress, such as [[Big Brother Canada season 8|Canadian]] and [[Bigg Boss (Malayalam season 2)|Malayalam]] versions of ''Big Brother''),<ref name="charity">{{cite web |last1=Furdyk |first1=Brent |date=April 1, 2020 |title='Big Brother Canada' Donates Season 8 Prize Money To Charities Responding To Coronavirus |url=https://etcanada.com/news/619239/big-brother-canada-donates-season-8-prize-money-to-charities-responding-to-coronavirus/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404031821/https://etcanada.com/news/619239/big-brother-canada-donates-season-8-prize-money-to-charities-responding-to-coronavirus/ |archive-date=2020-04-04 |access-date=April 2, 2020 |website=etcanada.com |publisher=ET Canada}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=18 March 2020 |title=Coronavirus: Bigg Boss Malayalam season 2 to be called off |work=theweek.in |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/entertainment/2020/03/18/coronavirus-bigg-boss-malayalam-season-2-to-be-called-off.html |access-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822054450/https://www.theweek.in/news/entertainment/2020/03/18/coronavirus-bigg-boss-malayalam-season-2-to-be-called-off.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=18 March 2020 |title='Bigg Boss' Malayalam to go off air soon over COVID-19 fears |work=thenewsminute.com |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bigg-boss-malayalam-go-air-soon-over-covid-19-fears-120524 |access-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822054450/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bigg-boss-malayalam-go-air-soon-over-covid-19-fears-120524 |url-status=live }}</ref> until such time that production could recommence with appropriate health and safety protocols approved by local authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2020-03-26 |title=Non-Scripted Producers Plot "Corona-Proof" Programming & Uplifting Formats To Launch During & After COVID-19 Crisis |url=https://deadline.com/2020/03/non-scripted-producers-corona-proof-undercover-boss-pawn-stars-1202893090/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822054403/https://deadline.com/2020/03/non-scripted-producers-corona-proof-undercover-boss-pawn-stars-1202893090/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2020-03-26 |title='American Idol, 'Ninja Warrior', 'SYTYCD' & 'MasterChef' Among Unscripted Series In Limbo As Networks Deal With Reality Of COVID-19 Crisis |url=https://deadline.com/2020/03/american-idol-ninja-warrior-sytycd-masterchef-unscripted-series-limbo-covid-19-crisis-1202893107/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528155630/https://deadline.com/2020/03/american-idol-ninja-warrior-sytycd-masterchef-unscripted-series-limbo-covid-19-crisis-1202893107/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=The pandemic wiped out the fall TV schedule. Does it matter? |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-09-04/fall-tv-shows-schedule-covid-19 |access-date=2020-09-22 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822054450/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-09-04/fall-tv-shows-schedule-covid-19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2020-08-27 |title=ABC Dates 'The Bachelorette' As Part Of Unscripted Fall Schedule, Eyes October Return For Scripted Originals |url=https://deadline.com/2020/08/abc-unscripted-schedule-bachelorette-1203024536/ |access-date=2020-08-27 |website=Deadline |language=en |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822054450/https://deadline.com/2020/08/abc-unscripted-schedule-bachelorette-1203024536/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The popularity of ''The Masked Singer'' led to Fox greenlighting other guesswork-based game and reality shows in the early-2020s, such as the spinoff ''[[The Masked Dancer (American TV series)|The Masked Dancer]]'', fellow South Korean series ''[[I Can See Your Voice (American game show)|I Can See Your Voice]]'' (where participants guess who among a group of contestants are good singers without ever hearing them sing), ''[[Game of Talents]]'' (where contestants guessed the talent of a variety act via clues),''<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2021-04-05 |title=The State Of Non-Scripted TV: Networks & Streamers Optimistic In 2021 As They Seek Post-Pandemic Stability & Noisy New Hits |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/the-state-of-non-scripted-tv-broadcasters-streamers-optimistic-in-2021-feature-1234727534/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102183739/https://deadline.com/2021/04/the-state-of-non-scripted-tv-broadcasters-streamers-optimistic-in-2021-feature-1234727534/ |archive-date=November 2, 2022 |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>''<ref>{{cite web |author=Alexandra Del Rosario |date=February 8, 2021 |title=''The Masked Singer'' & Wayne Brady-Hosted ''Game Of Talents'' Get Premiere Dates On Fox |url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/the-masked-singer-wayne-brady-game-of-taelnt-premiere-date-fox-1234689909/ |access-date=April 16, 2021 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> ''[[We Are Family (TV series)|We Are Family]]'' (where contestants identified performers who are relatives of celebrities),<ref>{{cite web |author=Denise Petski |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Anthony Anderson & Mom Doris Bowman Replacing Jamie & Corinne Foxx As Hosts Of Fox Game Show ''We Are Family'' |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/anthony-anderson-jamie-foxx-mama-doris-host-we-are-family-fox-1235599891/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125172711/https://deadline.com/2023/11/anthony-anderson-jamie-foxx-mama-doris-host-we-are-family-fox-1235599891/ |archive-date=January 25, 2024 |access-date=December 29, 2023 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> and ''[[Crime Scene Kitchen]]'' (where contestants must identify the [[dessert]] that was prepared in a kitchen based on clues, and then attempt to recreate the dish themselves).<ref>{{cite web |author=Denise Petski |date=April 7, 2021 |title=Joel McHale To Host ''Crime Scene Kitchen'' Summer Baking Competition Series At Fox |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/joel-mchale-host-crime-scene-kitchen-baking-competition-series-fox-1234729521/ |access-date=May 27, 2021 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Danielle Turchiano |date=April 7, 2021 |title=Fox Sets Joel McHale-Hosted ''Crime Scene Kitchen'' for May Premiere |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/fox-crime-scene-kitchen-joel-mchale-may-premiere-1234945889/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422145315/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/fox-crime-scene-kitchen-joel-mchale-may-premiere-1234945889/ |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |access-date=May 27, 2021 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

At the same time, reality television continued to evolve in response to broader platform shifts and changing audience behaviors. The rise of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Max led to a new wave of reality formats, including dating shows like ''[[Love Is Blind (TV series)|Love Is Blind]]'' (2020–present) and ''[[Too Hot to Handle (TV series)|Too Hot to Handle]]'' (2020–present), competitive series like ''[[The Circle (American TV series)|The Circle]]'' (2020–present), and docu-soaps such as ''[[Dubai Bling]]'' (2022–present).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Longeretta |first=Emily |date=2023-04-26 |title=Reality TV Power Players in 2023: Meet the Minds Who Changed TV Forever From 'Love is Blind' to 'Real World: Homecoming' |url=https://variety.com/lists/love-is-blind-real-world-reality-tv-impact/rod-aissa-2/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-27 |title=Best Streaming Services of this new era |url=https://apacbusinessheadlines.com/the-rise-of-streaming-services/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=apacbusinessheadlines.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Short-form platforms like TikTok also influenced traditional reality programming, with many new shows integrating viral challenges and social media interactions into their formats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Sarah |title=Revolutionizing Media & Entertainment with Short-Form Video Trends |url=https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/revolutionizing-media-with-short-form-video-trends |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.numberanalytics.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Reality competitions centered around specialized skills, such as ''[[Is It Cake?]]'' (2022–present), gained popularity for offering cozy, niche viewing experiences that appealed to audiences seeking lighter, feel-good content.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=2022-04-06 |title='Is It Cake?' Inside Netflix's Mindlessly Brilliant Hit |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/is-it-cake-netflix-interview-1235125044/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> The demand for escapism and creativity during a period of global uncertainty led networks and streaming platforms alike to invest in more experimental and genre-blending formats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Syfret |first=Wendy |date=2021-04-13 |title=I turned to reality TV to escape during the pandemic – until reality caught up |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/apr/14/i-turned-to-reality-tv-to-escape-during-the-pandemic-until-reality-caught-up |access-date=2025-04-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Internationally, there was also a surge in non-Western reality content gaining global traction, particularly from South Korea, Japan, and India. Shows like ''[[Single's Inferno]]'' (South Korea, 2021–present), ''[[Physical: 100]]'' (South Korea, 2023–present), ''[[Indian Matchmaking]]'' (India/USA, 2020–present showcased a blend of competition, romance, and cultural elements that resonated with worldwide audiences through platforms like Netflix.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ford |first=Lily |date=2025-02-28 |title=How 'Single's Inferno' Broke the Korean Mold to Become One of Netflix's Most Popular Dating Shows |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/singles-inferno-netflix-south-korea-dating-reality-show-season-5-1236150280/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Service (KOCIS) |first=Korean Culture and Information |title=🎧 Fitness reality show 'Physical: 100' tops global Netflix chart : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea |url=https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=228629 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.korea.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-07-28 |title=Indian Matchmaking: The 'cringeworthy' Netflix show that is a huge hit |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53499195 |access-date=2025-04-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

== 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.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Nabi | first1 = R. | last2 = Stitt | first2 = C. | last3 = Halford | first3 = J. | last4 = Finnerty | first4 = K. | year = 2006 | title = Emotional and cognitive predictors of the enjoyment of reality based and fictional television programming: An elaboration of the uses and gratifications perspective | journal = Media Psychology | volume = 8 | issue = 4| pages = 421–447 | doi=10.1207/s1532785xmep0804_5| s2cid = 40707438 }}</ref>
* A 2007 study proposed five subgenres: infotainment, docusoap, lifestyle, reality game shows, and lifestyle experiment programs.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hill | first1 = A. | last2 = Weibull | first2 = L. | last3 = Nilsson | first3 = A. | year = 2007 | title = Public and popular: British and Swedish audience trends in factual and reality television | journal = Cultural Trends | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 17–41 | doi=10.1080/09548960601106920| s2cid = 144728312 }}</ref>
* A 2009 study proposed eight subgenres: "gamedocs", dating programs, makeover programs, docusoaps, talent contests, court programs, reality sitcoms, and celebrity variations of other programs.<ref>Murray, S. & Ouellette, L. (2009). ''Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture''. New York: New York University Press.</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Klaus | first1 = E. | last2 = Lucke | first2 = S. | year = 2003 | title = Reality TV: Definition | journal = Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft | volume = 51 | issue = 2| pages = 195–212 | doi=10.5771/1615-634x-2003-2-195| doi-access = free }}</ref> Since 2014, the [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] have used a similar classification, with separate awards for "[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program|unstructured reality]]" and "[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program|structured reality]]" programs, as well as a third award for "[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program|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]], [[observational documentary]] or [[factual television]]. Story "plots" are often constructed via editing or planned situations, with the results resembling [[soap opera]]s – hence the terms ''docusoap'' and ''[[docudrama]]''. [[Television documentary|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.]]'', which had begun airing in 2003. ''Laguna Beach'' had a more drama-like 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The O.C.: A Critical Understanding |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vn8JDadlsQsC&pg=PA175 |first1=Lori |last1=Bindig |first2=Andrea |last2=Bergstrom |publisher=Lexington Books |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-7391-3317-0}}</ref> ''Laguna Beach'' led to several spinoff series, most notably the 2006–2010 series ''[[The Hills (TV series)|The Hills]]''. It also inspired various other series, including the highly successful British series ''[[The Only Way Is Essex]]'' and ''[[Made in Chelsea]]'', and the Australian series ''[[Freshwater Blue]]''.

Due to their dramatized 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=A different kind of reality TV |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/01/reality-tv-only-way-essex |work=The Guardian |date=May 31, 2011 |first=Julia |last=Raeside |access-date=December 16, 2016 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214211107/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/01/reality-tv-only-way-essex |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another highly successful group of soap-opera-style shows is the ''[[The Real Housewives|Real Housewives]]'' franchise, which began with ''[[The Real Housewives of Orange County]]'' 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]]'' and ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|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]]'' (2010), ''[[Love & Hip Hop]]'' (2011), ''[[Hollywood Exes]]'' (2012), ''Ex-Wives of Rock'' (2012) and ''[[WAGS (TV series)|WAGS]]'' (2015). Most of these shows have had spin-offs in multiple locations.

[[File:Kim Kardashian 3.JPG|thumb|160px|Reality TV personality [[Kim Kardashian]]]]
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 Osbournes]]'', ''[[Gene Simmons Family Jewels]]'', ''[[Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica]]'', ''[[Keeping Up with the Kardashians]]'' and ''[[Hogan Knows Best]]''. [[VH1]] 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]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wj43DAAAQBAJ&q=beyond+boundaries+reality+tv&pg=PT138|title=Disability and Discourse Analysis|first=Jan|last=Grue|date=May 23, 2016|publisher=Routledge|access-date=July 7, 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781317150428}}</ref> or people who have unusual physical circumstances, such as the American series ''[[Push Girls]]'' and ''[[Little People, Big World]]'', and the British programmes ''[[Beyond Boundaries]]'', ''[[Britain's Missing Top Model]]'', ''[[The Undateables]]'' and ''[[Seven Dwarves (TV series)|Seven Dwarves]]''.

Another example is shows that portray the lives of ethnic or religious minorities. Examples include ''[[All-American Muslim]]'' ([[Lebanese-American]] [[Muslim]]s), ''[[Shahs of Sunset]]'' (affluent [[Persian-Americans]]), ''[[Sister Wives]]'' (polygamists from a [[Mormon]] splinter group), ''[[Breaking Amish]]'' and ''[[Amish Mafia]]'' (the [[Amish]]), and ''[[Big Fat Gypsy Weddings]]'' and its spinoffs ([[Romani people]]).

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]], including ''[[Platinum Weddings]]'', and ''[[My Super Sweet 16]]'', which documented huge [[coming of age]] celebrations thrown by wealthy parents. Conversely, the highly successful ''[[Here Comes Honey Boo Boo]]'' and ''[[Duck Dynasty]]'' are set in poorer rural areas of the [[Southern United States]].

==== 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 (TV series)|Cops]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/02/13/fmpd-cops-start-filming-fort-myers-next-week/97847576/|title=FMPD: TV show 'COPS' to start filming in Fort Myers next week|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref> which debuted in 1989. Other such shows specifically relating to law enforcement include ''[[The First 48]]'', ''[[Dog the Bounty Hunter]]'', ''[[Police Stop!]]'', ''[[Traffic Cops]]'', ''[[Border Security: Australia's Front Line|Border Security]]'' and  ''[[Motorway Patrol]]''.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://if.com.au/2017/03/02/article/Rachel-Antony-appointed-Greenstone-TV-CEO-as-Richard-Driver-moves-to-chair/ZEENJSXWJC.html| title=Rachel Antony appointed Greenstone TV CEO as Richard Driver moves to chair| date=March 2, 2017| access-date=March 6, 2017| archive-date=March 7, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307050302/http://if.com.au/2017/03/02/article/Rachel-Antony-appointed-Greenstone-TV-CEO-as-Richard-Driver-moves-to-chair/ZEENJSXWJC.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shows set at a specific place of business include ''[[American Chopper]]'', ''[[Miami Ink]]'' and its spinoffs, ''[[Bikini Barbershop]]'' and ''[[Lizard Lick Towing]]''.

Shows that show people working in the same non-business location include ''[[Airport (TV series)|Airport]]'' and ''[[Bondi Rescue]]''.

Shows that portray a set of people in the same line of work, occasionally competing with each other, include ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'', ''[[Ice Road Truckers]]'' and ''[[Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles]]'' 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]]'' (about [[pawn shop]]s) and ''[[American Pickers]]''. 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]]'' and ''[[Comic Book Men]]''. Such shows have some antecedent in the British series ''[[Antiques Roadshow]]'',<ref>[http://www.lvrj.com/living/51132932.html Lawrence, Christopher. "Las Vegas pawnshop center of new reality series"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007165735/http://www.lvrj.com/living/51132932.html |date=October 7, 2012 }} ''[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]''; July 19, 2009,</ref> 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.

==== 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]]'' 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]]'', 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.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

''[[Big Brother (franchise)|Big Brother]]'' 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]]'' and ''[[Lads' Army]]'', involve [[historical re-enactment]], with cast members living and working as people of a specific time and place. 2001's ''[[Temptation Island (TV series)|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 (TV series)|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]], each member of the show's cast was hired to host a television program for a Canadian cable channel.

''[[The Simple Life]]'', ''[[Tommy Lee Goes to College]]'' and ''[[The Surreal Life]]'' are all shows in which celebrities are put into an unnatural environment.

==== Court shows ====
{{Main|Court show}}

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]]'', ''[[Your Witness (TV series)|Your Witness]]'', and the first two eras of ''[[Divorce Court]]''. ''[[The People's Court]]'' revolutionized the genre by introducing the [[Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show|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]]'' in 1996. This led to a slew of other reality court shows, such as ''[[Judge Mathis]]'', ''[[Judge Joe Brown]]'', ''[[Judge Alex]]'', ''[[Judge Mills Lane]]'' and ''[[Judge Hatchett]]''.

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]]. Typically, however, they are retired judges or at least individuals who have had some legal experience.

Courtroom programs are typically [[daytime television]] shows that air on weekdays.

==== Investments ====
The globally syndicated format ''[[Dragons' Den]]'' shows a group of wealthy investors choosing whether or not to invest in a series of pitched [[startup company|startup companies]] and [[Entrepreneurship|entrepreneurial ventures]]. The series ''[[Restaurant Startup]]'' similarly involves investors, but involves more of a game show element in which restaurant owners compete to prove their worth. The British series ''[[Show Me the Monet (TV series)|Show Me the Monet]]'' 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]]'', ''[[Man vs. Wild]]'', ''[[Marooned with Ed Stafford]]'', ''[[Naked and Afraid]]'' and ''[[Alaskan Bush People]]''. The shows ''Survivor'' and ''[[Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls]]'' 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 (TV series)|The Swan]]'' and ''[[Celebrity Fit Club (US TV series)|Celebrity Fit Club]]''), 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]]'' and ''[[Fat March]]'' (which cover weight loss), ''[[Extreme Makeover]]'' (entire physical appearance), ''[[Queer Eye (2003 TV series)|Queer Eye]]'', ''[[What Not to Wear (UK TV series)|What Not to Wear]]'', ''[[How Do I Look?]]'',  ''[[Trinny & Susannah Undress...]]'' and ''[[Snog Marry Avoid?]]'' (style and grooming), ''[[Supernanny]]'' (child-rearing), ''[[Made (TV series)|Made]]'' (life transformation), ''[[Tool Academy]]'' (relationship building) and ''[[Charm School (TV series)|Charm School]]'' and ''[[From G's to Gents]]'' (self-improvement and manners).

The concept of self-improvement was taken to its extreme with the British show ''[[Life Laundry]]'', in which people who had become hoarders, even living in squalor, were given professional assistance. The American television series ''[[Hoarders (TV series)|Hoarders]]'' and ''[[Hoarding: Buried Alive]]'' follow similar premises, presenting interventions in the lives of people who suffer from [[compulsive hoarding]]. The British series ''[[Sort Your Life Out]]'', presented by [[Stacey Solomon]], is similar, but it also redesigns the participants' houses.

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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crockett|first1=Richard|last2=Pruzinsky|first2=Thomas|last3=Persin|first3=John|title=The Influence of Plastic Surgery "Reality TV" on Cosmetic Surgery Patient Expectations and Decision Making|journal=Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery|volume=120|date=2007|issue=120|pages=316–324|doi=10.1097/01.prs.0000264339.67451.71|pmid=17572581|s2cid=29590891}}</ref>

==== 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]] has speculated that it is "the original reality TV show."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/08/06/tag-the-greatest-but-not-obvious-tv-shows-ever/ |last=Jarvis |first=Jeff |title=Tag the greatest – but not obvious – TV shows |publisher=BuzzMachine.com |date=August 6, 2005 |access-date=May 8, 2007 |archive-date=November 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123035141/http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/08/06/tag-the-greatest-but-not-obvious-tv-shows-ever/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The British show ''[[Changing Rooms (TV show)|Changing Rooms]]'', beginning in 1996 (later remade in the U.S. as ''[[Trading Spaces]]'') was the first such renovation show that added a game show feel with different weekly contestants.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

House renovation shows are a mainstay on the American and Canadian cable channel [[HGTV]], whose renovation shows include the successful franchises ''[[Flip or Flop (franchise)|Flip or Flop]]'', ''[[Love It or List It (franchise)|Love It or List It]]'' and ''[[Property Brothers (franchise)|Property Brothers]]'', as well as shows such as ''[[Debbie Travis' Facelift]]'', ''[[Designed to Sell]]''  and ''[[Holmes on Homes]]''. Non-HGTV shows in this category include ''[[Extreme Makeover: Home Edition]]'' and ''[[While You Were Out (TV series)|While You Were Out]]''.

''[[Pimp My Ride]]'' and ''[[Overhaulin']]'' 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 (TV series)|We Mean Business]]'' and ''[[The Profit (TV series)|The Profit]]''. Shows geared for a specific type of business include ''[[Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares]]'' and ''[[Restaurant: Impossible]]'' (for restaurants), ''[[Bar Rescue]]'' (for bars) and ''[[Hotel Hell]]'' (for hotels).

==== Social experiment ====
Another type of reality program is the [[social experiment]] which produces drama, conflict, and sometimes transformation. British TV series ''[[Wife Swap (UK TV series)|Wife Swap]]'', which began in 2003, and 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 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. ''[[Shattered (2004 TV series)|Shattered]]'' was a controversial 2004 UK series in which contestants competed to see how long they could go [[sleep deprivation|without sleep]]. ''[[Solitary (TV series)|Solitary]]'' was a controversial 2006-2010 [[Fox Reality Channel|Fox Reality]] series which isolated contestants for weeks in [[solitary confinement]] pods with limited sleep, food and information while competing in elimination challenges which could be ended by pressing a 'quit' button, causing winners to go on for much longer than needed in a blind gamble to win.

The Dutch series ''[[De Verraders]]'', adapted internationally as ''The Traitors'', features contestants divided into two factions—the "traitors" and the "faithful"—and competing in challenges to build a cash jackpot awarded in the finale; three contestants designated as "traitors" (who are known to the viewers) have the ability to secretly eliminate ("murder") other contestants each night, while the remaining contestants are tasked with figuring out the identities of the traitors so they can attempt to "banish" them in elimination votes. The jackpot is split among the faithful if they eliminate all of the traitors, but is split among the traitors if they fail.

==== Hidden cameras ====
Another type of reality programming features [[hidden camera]]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. The Belgian hidden camera series ''[[Sorry voor alles]]'' subjects a contestant to various staged situations over a month-long period, designed to analyze their personality and how they respond. After the contestant is taken to a studio and let off the hook, they then answer observation questions related to the events for a chance to win prizes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=mtm |title=Eerste 'slachtoffer' Sorry voor Alles: opeens sta je in een tv-studio na megacomplot in je leven |url=http://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20160904_02453703/eerste-slachtoffer-sorry-voor-alles-opeens-sta-je-in-een-tv-studio-na-megacomplot-in-je-leven |access-date=2017-08-06 |work=Gazet van Antwerpen |language=nl-BE}}</ref>

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.<ref name="payedtoact">{{cite web |url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2002-10-17/news/your-cheatin-art/ |title=Your Cheatin' Art |publisher=HoustonPress |date=October 17, 2002 |access-date=April 29, 2009 |last=Nowell |first=Scott |archive-date=August 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814015559/http://www.houstonpress.com/2002-10-17/news/your-cheatin-art/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 ====
{{Further|paranormal television}}
Supernatural and [[paranormal TV|paranormal]] reality shows such as ''[[MTV's Fear]]'', place participants into frightening situations which ostensibly involve [[paranormal]] phenomena such as [[ghost]]s, [[telekinesis]] or [[haunted house]]s. 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 researcher]]s. 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<ref name="NYTKN">{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimesknownow.com/index.php/mike-hale/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202140846/http://www.nytimesknownow.com/index.php/mike-hale/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 2, 2009|title=Mike Hale, Editor, The New York Times Knowledge Network|access-date=October 4, 2010}}</ref> characterized [[ghost hunting]] shows as "pure theater" and compared the genre to [[professional wrestling]] or [[softcore pornography]] for its formulaic, teasing approach.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/arts/television/13paranormal.html|title=Consigning Reality to Ghosts|last=Hale|first=Mike|date=December 10, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 7, 2010|archive-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701072034/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/arts/television/13paranormal.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Reality competition or game shows ===
{{further|List of reality television programs}}
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2009}}

Another subgenre of reality television is "'''reality competition'''", "reality [[playoff]]s", or so-called "reality game shows", which follow the format of non-tournament [[Single-elimination tournament|elimination]] contests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/10/stay-tuned-why-reality-shows-eliminate-people.html|title=Why Do Reality Contest Shows Eliminate People? Your Pressing TV Questions, Answered|date=October 28, 2015 |publisher=Vulture|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=July 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727054905/http://www.vulture.com/2015/10/stay-tuned-why-reality-shows-eliminate-people.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]] 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 (franchise)|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/how-can-i-audition-reality-shows-wbna16530873 |title=How can I audition for reality shows? |publisher=[[Today.com]] |date=June 1, 2007 |access-date=November 10, 2019 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920090203/https://www.today.com/popculture/how-can-i-audition-reality-shows-wbna16530873 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

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]]'', 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 (TV series)|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]]'' that date to the 1960s had similar premises (though each episode was self-contained, and not the serial format of more modern shows). One of the more recent hits was ''[[Farmer Wants a Wife]]''.

==== Job search ====
[[File:Guy Fieri (cropped).jpg|thumb|Chef and restaurateur [[Guy Fieri]] won the second season of [[Food Network]]'s ''[[Food Network Star]]'' in 2006, and by 2010 had become "the face of the network".<ref>{{cite news |last=Moskin |first=Julia |date=August 10, 2010 |orig-year=updated August 18, 2010 |title=Guy Fieri, Chef-Dude, Is in the House |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/dining/11Fieri.html |page=D1 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-date=November 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124012323/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/dining/11Fieri.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
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]]'', which premiered in May 2003. Other examples include ''[[The Apprentice (franchise)|The Apprentice]]'' (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]]'' (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]]'' (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]]'', 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]]'', before gaining international prominence after the American edition (titled ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|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.<ref>Matthew J. Smith, Andrew F. Wood, ''Survivor Lessons: Essays on Communication and Reality Television'' (2003), p. 33.</ref> 

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 the American version of ''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" for giving up this "powerful asset".<ref>Frank J. Landy, Jeffrey M. Conte, ''Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology'' (2009) p. 151.</ref>

=== Sports{{Anchor|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 competing 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 [[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 traditional wrestling show with developmental talent) and ''[[WWE LFG|LFG]]'', a contract with the respective organization was 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'' and ''[[Battle of the Blades]]'' ([[figure skating]] competitions with similarities to ''Dancing with the Stars'').
* Documentary-style series following specific competitions, teams, or athletes, such as ''[[Knight School (American TV series)|Knight School]]'' ([[Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball|Texas Tech Raiders men's basketball]]) ''[[Hard Knocks (documentary series)|Hard Knocks]]'' ([[National Football League|NFL]]), ''[[All or Nothing (franchise)|All or Nothing]]'', and ''[[Formula 1: Drive to Survive|Drive to Survive]]'' ([[Formula One]]).
* Docusoaps following the lives of athletes and/or their families, such as ''[[Total Divas]]'' ([[women in WWE]]) and ''[[WAGS (TV series)|WAGS]]'' (wives and girlfriends of sportspeople).

=== 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 is set up as a contestant on a [[Story within a story|fictitious reality competition]], with the remaining "contestants" representing stereotypical [[archetype]]s of reality television contestants.<ref name="post-gazette.com">{{cite news |last=Owen |first=Rob |date=December 10, 2012 |title=Another Pittsburgher, another 'Joe Schmo' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/tv-radio/another-pittsburgher-another-joe-schmo-665681/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214143702/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/tv-radio/another-pittsburgher-another-joe-schmo-665681/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The first season portrayed a ''Big Brother''-like show entitled ''Lap of Luxury'', with subsequent seasons parodying dating shows (''Last Chance for Love'', which featured both a man and woman as the targets) and a job hunt competition in the field of [[bounty hunting]] (''Full Bounty''; its broadcaster [[Paramount Network|Spike]] concealed the third season by announcing ''Full Bounty'' within a slate of new reality series in production for the channel, without immediately revealing it was actually a ''Joe Schmo Show'' revival).<ref name="post-gazette.com" />
* ''[[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 with the contestants' names on it.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Obnoxious Boss' is mean, funny --and smart |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-11-19-0411200090-story.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=Chicago Tribune |date=November 19, 2004 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607045348/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-11-19-0411200090-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=November 1, 2004 |title=Fox Will Follow Red Sox Surge With Reality TV |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/business/media/fox-will-follow-red-sox-surge-with-reality-tv.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607050851/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/business/media/fox-will-follow-red-sox-surge-with-reality-tv.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-10 |title=You're hired: how The Apprentice led to President Trump {{!}} Stuart Heritage |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/trump-the-apprentice-president-elect-reality-tv |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615064757/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/trump-the-apprentice-president-elect-reality-tv |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oldenburg |first1=Ann |date=May 16, 2004 |title=Can't sing or dance? Give 'Superstar' a shot |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-05-16-wb-superstar_x.htm |website=USA Today |access-date=June 29, 2017 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042655/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-05-16-wb-superstar_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[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 become Britain's first [[space tourists]].<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Laura |date=March 17, 2021 |title=Ipswich, we have a problem: Space Cadets, the reality show that never left the ground |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/17/ipswich-we-have-a-problem-space-cadets-the-reality-show-that-never-left-the-ground |access-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317140152/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/17/ipswich-we-have-a-problem-space-cadets-the-reality-show-that-never-left-the-ground |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vincent |first=Alice |date=April 1, 2014 |title=I Wanna Marry Harry makes women compete for 'Prince Harry's' hand in marriage |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/tvandradiovideo/10777831/I-Wanna-Marry-Harry-makes-women-compete-for-Prince-Harrys-hand-in-marriage.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422081955/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/tvandradiovideo/10777831/I-Wanna-Marry-Harry-makes-women-compete-for-Prince-Harrys-hand-in-marriage.html |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |access-date=May 8, 2014}}</ref>
* ''[[Nathan for You]]'', a reality [[mockumentary]] in which [[Nathan Fielder]] (as an exaggerated version of himself) attempts to help struggling businesses, but employs unusual and outlandish strategies to do so—such as rebranding a coffee shop as a [[parody]] of the [[Starbucks]] chain in which [[Dumb Starbucks|everything is prepended with the word "dumb"]], and trying to make the lifting of boxes into an exercise [[fad]] so the owner of a [[moving company]] could receive free labor under the guise of marketing himself as a [[personal trainer]].<ref name="lat-dumbstarbucks" /><ref name="Alston" /> 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.<ref name="Alston"/><ref name="gq15">{{cite news |author=Alex Wong |date=October 14, 2015 |title=Get Ready for the Weirdest—and Most Personal—Season of Nathan For You Yet |work=[[GQ (magazine)|GQ]] |url=https://www.gq.com/story/nathan-for-you-season-3-qa |url-status=live |access-date=October 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017040515/http://www.gq.com/story/nathan-for-you-season-3-qa |archive-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref> On multiple occasions, the show received media attention related to its stunts prior to broadcast.<ref name="Alston">{{cite web |author=Alston, Joshua |date=30 October 2015 |title=In "The Movement," Nathan Fielder continues his journey down the left-hand path |url=https://www.avclub.com/in-the-movement-nathan-fielder-continues-his-journey-1798185634 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819103451/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/movement-nathan-fielder-continues-his-journey-down-227711 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref><ref name="lat-dumbstarbucks">{{cite web |date=February 10, 2014 |title=Dumb Starbucks: Comedy Central star Nathan Fielder behind faux cafe |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-who-is-behind-dumb-starbucks-20140210,0,78772.story |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211011751/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-who-is-behind-dumb-starbucks-20140210,0,78772.story |archive-date=February 11, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2014 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
** In 2022, Fielder premiered a follow-up to the series for [[HBO]], ''[[The Rehearsal (TV series)|The Rehearsal]]'', which follows him helping individuals "rehearse" for difficult social interactions and life events, and similarly involves manipulating subjects into increasingly outlandish scenarios as an exaggerated version of himself.<ref name="Vulture">{{Cite news |last=VanArendonk |first=Kathryn |date=July 15, 2022 |title=Nathan Fielder's Dazzling, Horrifying Trial Run of Reality |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-the-rehearsal-hbo-comedy-review.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725035810/https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-the-rehearsal-hbo-comedy-review.html |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |access-date=July 25, 2022 |work=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="Vulture2">{{Cite news |last=VanArendonk |first=Kathryn |date=July 15, 2022 |title=Nathan Fielder's Dazzling, Horrifying Trial Run of Reality |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-the-rehearsal-hbo-comedy-review.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725035810/https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-the-rehearsal-hbo-comedy-review.html |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |access-date=July 25, 2022 |work=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Daramola |first=Israel |date=October 14, 2022 |title=When Reality Isn't: On Nathan Fielder's "The Rehearsal" |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/when-reality-isnt-on-nathan-fielders-the-rehearsal/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |work=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]]}}</ref><ref name="vulture-profile">{{cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Lila |date=July 5, 2022 |title=Nathan Fielder Is Out of His Mind (and Inside Yours) |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-rehearsal-profile.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716161545/https://www.vulture.com/article/nathan-fielder-rehearsal-profile.html |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |access-date=July 17, 2022 |website=Vulture}}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=''Washington Post'', June 1, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060101471.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102041251/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060101471.html |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |access-date=August 26, 2017}}</ref>
* ''[[Jury Duty (2023 TV series)|Jury Duty]]'', a mockumentary series portraying a fictional [[juries in the United States|jury trial]] in which one member of the jury is not aware that the entire trial and its events are planned and acted out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/jury-duty-tv-review|title=Charming Comedy Jury Duty Makes Case for a Different Verdict|website=rogerebert.com|last=Jones|first=Rendy|date=April 6, 2023|access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref>
* ''The Underdog: Josh Must Win'', a 2024 British series in which a cast of contestants are set up on a ''Big Brother''-like show entitled ''The Favourite''. However, a group of celebrities (themselves alumni of other reality shows) are tasked with manipulating the show from behind the scenes to ensure that Josh—a contestant who is portrayed as a contrasting underdog to the rest of the cast—wins the competition. If successful, all ten contestants would get to split the final prize money.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nicholson |first=Rebecca |date=2024-03-25 |title=The Underdog: Josh Must Win review – this sham reality show is like old-school Big Brother, but better |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/25/the-underdog-josh-must-win-review-this-sham-reality-show-is-like-old-school-big-brother-but-better |access-date=2025-05-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Criticism and analysis ==
{{further|Criticism of reality television}}

=== "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.<ref name="washingtonpost">{{Cite news |date=August 10, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html |title=Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say - Hollywood Scribes Want a Cut Of Not-So-Unscripted Series |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 26, 2009 |first=William |last=Booth |archive-date=September 20, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920001557/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |date=April 15, 2009 |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092600/ |first1=Michael |last1=Ventre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410033804/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30092600/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2009 |title=Just how real are reality TV shows? - Shows may exist in a middle ground – not fully scripted nor completely true |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>

Shows such as ''Survivor'' and ''Amazing Race'' that offer a monetary prize are regulated in the United States by federal "game show" law, {{UnitedStatesCode|47|509}}, 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. 

Beyond concerns about authenticity, media critics have argued that reality television may have broader societal consequences. In 2022, Time magazine TV critic Judy Berman wrote that "to the extent that the U.S. has become a harsher, shallower, angrier, more divided place in the 21st century, reality TV, which has helped normalize cruelty, belligerence, superficiality, and disloyalty, and rewarded people who weaponize those traits, bears a share of the blame."<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2022-08-04 |title=Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not |url=https://time.com/collection/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6199108/reality-tv-influence-on-world/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref>

Reality television shows that have been accused of, or admitted to, deception include ''[[The Real World]]'',<ref name=EW>{{cite magazine |url-status=live |last1=Fretts |first1=Bruce |date=July 21, 1995 |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/07/21/real-world-returns-fourth-season/ |title=The British Invasion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222215151/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,297971_3,00.html |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |page=3}}</ref><ref>Reality TV World. [http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/real-world-chicago-cast-admits-their-september-11-reactions-were-staged-546.php {{"'}}Real World: Chicago' cast admits their September 11 reactions were staged"]. August 19, 2002. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101133010/http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/real-world-chicago-cast-admits-their-september-11-reactions-were-staged-546.php |date=January 1, 2012 }}.</ref><ref name=Westword>{{cite web |url-status=dead |last1=Roberts |first1=Michael |url=http://www.westword.com/1996-03-14/music/the-unreal-world/ |title=The Unreal World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132305/http://www.westword.com/1996-03-14/music/the-unreal-world/ |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |website=[[Westword|Denver Westword]] |date=March 14, 1996}}</ref> the American version of ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|Survivor]]'',<ref name="TodayMSNBC">{{cite web |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603071531/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726792/ns/today-entertainment/t/last-secrets-survivor-revealed |archive-date=Jun 3, 2011 |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726792/ns/today-entertainment/t/last-secrets-survivor-revealed |title=At last! The secrets of 'Survivor' revealed |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |website=TODAY |first1=Andy |last1=Dehnart |date=October 7, 2008}}</ref> ''[[Joe Millionaire]]'',<ref>''Reality TV Secrets Revealed'', [[VH1]] documentary, 2004</ref> ''[[The Hills (TV series)|The Hills]]'', ''[[A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/01/03/as-shot-misses-tequila-aims-anew/ |title=As 'Shot' misses, Tequila aims anew |work=Chicago Tribune |date=January 3, 2008 |first=K C |last=Johnson |access-date=November 30, 2012 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061440/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-03/news/0801020939_1_mtv-shot-affections |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Hogan Knows Best]]'',<ref>[[Hulk Hogan|Hogan, Hulk]] (October 2009), ''My Life Outside the Ring'', [[St. Martin's Press]]. pp. 175 - 178, {{ISBN|0-312-58889-5}}</ref> ''[[Extreme Makeover: Home Edition]]'',<ref>Christensen, Kim; James, Meg (May 13, 2007). [https://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/13/business/fi-extreme13/2 "And then the roof caved in"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061622/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/13/business/fi-extreme13/2 |date=September 21, 2013 }}. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Page 2 of 3.</ref> ''[[The Bachelor (American TV series)|The Bachelor]]'' and ''[[The Bachelorette (American TV series)|The Bachelorette]]'',<ref>{{cite journal | title = Jesse Csincsak Talks About Ashley Hebert And Last Night's The Bachelorette | journal = Reality TV Magazine | date = June 28, 2011 | first = Christine | last = McDow | url = http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2011/06/28/jesse-csincsak-talks-about-ashley-hebert-and-last-nights-the-bachelorette/ | access-date = July 10, 2012 | quote = The viewers are seeing the PRODUCED side of her show and not so much the genuine stuff, and she looks silly because of it... A LOT TAKES PLACE IN THE EDITING ROOM! | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120422035811/http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2011/06/28/jesse-csincsak-talks-about-ashley-hebert-and-last-nights-the-bachelorette/ | archive-date = April 22, 2012 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://realitysteve.com/2009/02/27/update-on-the-megan-interview-and-more-news-coming-later-tonight | title = My Interview with Megan Parris | access-date = July 16, 2012 | last = Carbone | first = Steve | date = February 26, 2009 | archive-date = March 1, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130301075027/http://realitysteve.com/2009/02/27/update-on-the-megan-interview-and-more-news-coming-later-tonight/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''[[Pawn Stars]]'',<ref name=AutoBio>Harrison, Rick (2011). ''License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver ''. Hyperion. 2011. New York. {{ISBN|978-1-4013-2430-8}} pp. 70, 89</ref> ''[[Storage Wars]]'',<ref>Oldenburg, Ann (December 11, 2012). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/11/storage-wars-star-dave-hester-says-show-is-rigged/1761603/ {{"'}}Storage Wars' star says show is rigged"]. ''[[USA Today]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901135152/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/11/storage-wars-star-dave-hester-says-show-is-rigged/1761603/ |date=September 1, 2017 }}.</ref> ''[[Squid Game: The Challenge]]'' and ''[[Keeping Up with the Kardashians]]''.<ref>Maresca, Rachel (March 13, 2013). [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/real-re-shot-kim-divorce-docs-raise-issues-article-1.1287568 "Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries divorce case heats up: Court documents show marriage scenes were 'scripted, reshot or edited' for reality show"]. ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316025734/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/real-re-shot-kim-divorce-docs-raise-issues-article-1.1287568 |date=March 16, 2013 }}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |last1=Tate |first1=Amethyst |date=March 14, 2013 |url=http://m.ibtimes.co.uk/kim-kardashian-annulment-marriage-fake-scenes-court-russell-jay-kris-humphries-millions-divorce-446047.html |title=Kim Kardashian Faked Kris Humphries Scenes: Show Producer Reveals Star Wanted To Make Humpries Look Bad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055226/http://m.ibtimes.co.uk/kim-kardashian-annulment-marriage-fake-scenes-court-russell-jay-kris-humphries-millions-divorce-446047.html |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |website=[[International Business Times]]}}</ref>

In contrast, critic [[Matt Zoller Seitz]] praised ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'' as having "brought old-school documentary sobriety to a genre more often known for shamelessness."<ref>{{cite web|last=Seitz|first=Matt Zoller|authorlink=Matt Zoller Seitz|title="Deadliest Catch": Reality TV's first on-screen death|url=https://www.salon.com/2010/07/13/deadliest_catch_finale/|website=Salon.com|publisher=Salon Media Group, Inc.|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805031816/https://www.salon.com/2010/07/13/deadliest_catch_finale/|archive-date=August 5, 2012|date=July 13, 2010}}</ref>

=== Political and cultural impact ===
Reality television's global success has become, in the view of some analysts, an important political phenomenon. In some{{quantify|date=October 2017}} [[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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tbsjournal.com/lynch.html |title= 'Reality is Not Enough': The Politics of Arab Reality TV |first= Marc |last= Lynch |year= 2006 |access-date= March 11, 2011 |archive-date= July 16, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716194108/http://www.tbsjournal.com/lynch.html |url-status= live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3522897.stm |title= Arab Big Brother show suspended |work= BBC News |date= March 1, 2004 |access-date= April 27, 2009 |archive-date= July 28, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110728021432/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3522897.stm |url-status= live }}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite magazine |url= http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/752xbofx.asp?pg=1 |title= When a Kiss Is Not Just a Kiss |first= Matt |last= Labash |magazine= [[The Weekly Standard]] |date= October 18, 2004 |access-date= July 11, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070311091348/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/752xbofx.asp?pg=1 |archive-date= March 11, 2007 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

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&nbsp;million viewers,<ref name="Winner's tribe">[http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100419/FOREIGN/704189952/ Winner's tribe put the millions in Million's Poet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423212146/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100419%2FFOREIGN%2F704189952%2F |date=April 23, 2010 }}, James Calderwood, ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]'', April 19, 2010</ref> partly because it was able to combine the excitement of reality television with a traditional, culturally relevant topic.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0407/Move-over-American-Idol-Hissa-Hilal-in-finals-of-Arab-reality-TV-poetry-contest Move over American Idol: Hissa Hilal in finals of Arab reality TV poetry contest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515160945/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0407/Move-over-American-Idol-Hissa-Hilal-in-finals-of-Arab-reality-TV-poetry-contest |date=May 15, 2010 }}, Kristen Chick, ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'', April 7, 2010</ref> 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.<ref>Hassan, Hassan (March 19, 2010). [http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/millions-poet-finalist-defies-death-threats "Million's Poet finalist defies death threats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629135945/http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/millions-poet-finalist-defies-death-threats |date=June 29, 2017 }}. ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]''</ref> 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.<ref name="Winner's tribe"/>

In [[India]], in the summer of 2007, coverage of the third season of ''[[Indian Idol]]'' focused on the breaking down of cultural and socioeconomic barriers as the public rallied around the show's top two contestants.<ref name="Reality TV and Participatory Culture in India"/>

The [[China|Chinese]] singing competition ''[[Super Girl (TV series)|Super Girl]]'' (a local imitation of ''Pop Idol'') has similarly been cited{{by whom|date=October 2017}} for its political and cultural impact.<ref name="Becoming Extra-Ordinary">{{cite journal|last= Li Cui|author2= Francis L. F. Lee|title= Becoming Extra-Ordinary: Negotiation of Media Power in the Case of "Super Girls' Voice" in China|journal= Popular Communication|year= 2010|volume= 8|issue= 4|pages= 256–272|doi= 10.1080/15405702.2010.512829|s2cid= 144259958}}</ref> After the finale of the show's 2005 season drew an audience of around 400&nbsp;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?"<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4382469 |title= Democracy Idol |newspaper= The Economist |date= September 8, 2005 |access-date= July 11, 2006 |archive-date= February 24, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070224095021/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4382469 |url-status= live }}</ref> The Chinese government criticized the show, citing both its democratic nature and its excessive vulgarity, or "worldliness",<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article560126.ece |title= TV talent contest 'too democratic' for China's censors |first= Jane |last= Macartney |work= The Times |date= August 29, 2005 |location= London |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070208102958/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article560126.ece |archive-date= February 8, 2007 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> and in 2006 banned it outright.<ref>{{Cite press release |title= Footage from banned Chinese "Pop Idol" receives Cambridge premiere |publisher= University of Cambridge |date= July 5, 2007 |url= http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007070501 |access-date= July 29, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080303023254/http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007070501 |archive-date= March 3, 2008 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> It was later reintroduced{{by whom|date=October 2017}} 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.<ref name="Becoming Extra-Ordinary"/>

In [[Indonesia]], reality television shows have surpassed soap operas as the most-watched broadcast programs.<ref name="Indonesia">{{cite news|last= Onishi|first= Norimitsu|title= Indonesia goes wild for American-style reality TV in a nation where income varies widely, shows offer a look at how others live|newspaper= International Herald Tribune|date= May 25, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Indonesia"/> Critics have claimed that this and similar programs in Indonesia reinforce traditionally Western ideals of [[materialism]] and [[consumerism]].<ref name="Indonesia"/> 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.<ref name="Indonesia"/>

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.<ref name=andrejevic1>[https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/10/21/are-reality-shows-worse-than-other-tv/reality-tv-is-about-surveillance "Reality TV is About Surveillance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215013952/http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/10/21/are-reality-shows-worse-than-other-tv/reality-tv-is-about-surveillance |date=February 15, 2017 }}; Mark Adrejevic, ''The New York Times'', October 21, 2012</ref> 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.<ref name=couldry1>[http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/52405/1/Couldry_Reality_TV_secret_theater_2008.pdf "Reality TV, Or The Secret Theatre of Neoliberalism"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111112243/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/52405/1/Couldry_Reality_TV_secret_theater_2008.pdf |date=November 11, 2016 }}; Nick Couldry, in ''Review of education, pedagogy, and cultural studies'', 2008</ref>

=== As a substitute for scripted drama ===
Reality television generally costs less to produce than scripted series.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

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."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200705/reality-tv |title=The Case for Reality TV |first=Michael |last=Hirschorn |magazine=The Atlantic Monthly |date=May 2007}}</ref>

[[Television critic]] [[James Poniewozik]] wrote in 2008 that reality shows like ''Deadliest Catch'' and ''[[Ice Road Truckers]]'' 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."<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1808612,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526235721/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1808612,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 26, 2008 |title=Reality TV's Working Class Heroes |first=James |last=Poniewozik |magazine=Time |date=May 22, 2008}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Mike White Accepts the Criticism |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html |first=Kathryn |last=VanArendonk |date=August 15, 2021 |work=New York |access-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071309/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Instant celebrity ===
[[File:One Direction at the Logies Awards 2012.jpg|thumb|The English-Irish [[boy band]] [[One Direction]] formed during the [[The X Factor (British series 7)|seventh series]] of the British singing competition ''[[The X Factor (British TV series)|The X Factor]]'' in 2010, and later became one of the [[Boy band#Best-selling boy bands|best-selling boy bands]] of all time.]]
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 mostly 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]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/big-brother-contestant-and-radio-nerd-make-peace|title=The Big Brother contestant and the Radio Nerd make peace {{!}} radioinfo.com.au|website=www.radioinfo.com.au|date=September 29, 2009|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116034154/https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/big-brother-contestant-and-radio-nerd-make-peace|url-status=live |author1=Iamadmin }}</ref> Mick Newell from ''[[My Kitchen Rules (series 4)|My Kitchen Rules]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/mkrs-mick-makes-breakfast-hobart|title=MKR's Mick makes breakfast in Hobart {{!}} radioinfo.com.au|website=www.radioinfo.com.au|date=April 10, 2013|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018000209/https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/mkrs-mick-makes-breakfast-hobart|url-status=live |author1=Iamadmin }}</ref> Heather Maltman from ''[[The Bachelor (Australian TV series)|The Bachelor]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/sea-fm-serves-fresh-new-breakfast-show-gold-coast|title=Sea FM serves up a fresh new breakfast show on the Gold Coast {{!}} radioinfo.com.au|website=www.radioinfo.com.au|date=November 20, 2016|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122185138/https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/sea-fm-serves-fresh-new-breakfast-show-gold-coast|url-status=live |last1=Napier |first1=Kim }}</ref> and Sam Frost from ''[[The Bachelorette (Australian TV series)|The Bachelorette]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/rove-and-single-woman|title=Instant Access {{!}} radioinfo.com.au|website=www.radioinfo.com.au|date=November 23, 2015|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018001033/https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/rove-and-single-woman|url-status=live |author1=Iamadmin }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/2dayfm-start-2017-new-breakfast-team|title=2DayFM to start 2017 with a new breakfast team {{!}} radioinfo.com.au|website=www.radioinfo.com.au|date=January 5, 2017|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-date=January 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107173733/https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/2dayfm-start-2017-new-breakfast-team|url-status=live |last1=Napier |first1=Kim }}</ref>

Some reality-television alumni have parlayed their fame into paid public appearances.<ref name=Aurthur>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/arts/television/10aurt.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&oref=slogin|author=Aurthur, Kate|title=Reality Stars Keep on Going and Going|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 10, 2004|page=2|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-date=April 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416213626/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/arts/television/10aurt.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&oref=slogin|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CNNMoney>Childers, Linda (July 7, 2011). [https://money.cnn.com/2011/07/06/smallbusiness/rick_harrison/ "Rick Harrison of 'Pawn Stars' spills success secrets"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021314/https://money.cnn.com/2011/07/06/smallbusiness/rick_harrison/ |date=November 12, 2020 }}. [[CNN Money]].</ref>

Several [[socialite]]s, 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]], and many of the rest of the [[Kardashian]] family.

Reality television personalities often get derided as "[[A-list|Z-list]] celebrities". Some have been lampooned for exploiting an undeserved "[[15 minutes of fame]]".<ref name=InsideEdition>[http://insideedition.com/news/7392/kim-kardashian-is-fighting-back-against-backlash.aspx "Kim Kardashian Is Fighting Back Against Backlash"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115031000/http://insideedition.com/news/7392/kim-kardashian-is-fighting-back-against-backlash.aspx |date=January 15, 2012 }}. ''[[Inside Edition]]''. December 21, 2011</ref> The [[Kardashian family]] is one such group of reality television personalities who were subject to this criticism in the 2010s,<ref name=InsideEdition/><ref>*[http://www.theimproper.com/18677/elton-john-trashes-kim-kardashian-reality-television "Elton John Trashes Kim Kardashian, Reality Television"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212174053/http://www.theimproper.com/18677/elton-john-trashes-kim-kardashian-reality-television |date=February 12, 2012 }}. The Improper. February 4, 2011.
*Vanderberg, Madison (December 23, 2011). [http://www.hollyscoop.com/kim-kardashian/kardashian-family-the-backlash-of-being-overexposed.html "Kardashian Family: The Backlash of Being Overexposed"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511190015/http://www.hollyscoop.com/kim-kardashian/kardashian-family-the-backlash-of-being-overexposed.html |date=May 11, 2013 }}. Hollyscoop.
*Gostin, Nicki (December 12, 2011). [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/jonah-hill-the-sitter-kardashians_n_1146242.html "Jonah Hill Talks 'The Sitter,' Weight Loss And Disgust With Kardashians"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001184049/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/jonah-hill-the-sitter-kardashians_n_1146242.html |date=October 1, 2018 }}. ''[[The Huffington Post]]''.
*Marikar, Sheila (March 19, 2012). [https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/03/jon-hamm-defends-kim-kardashian-criticism/ "Jon Hamm Defends Kim Kardashian Criticism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111065057/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/03/jon-hamm-defends-kim-kardashian-criticism/ |date=January 11, 2020 }}. [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]].</ref> Kim Kardashian in particular.<ref>Mitchell, Houston (July 14, 2012). [https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2012-jul-14-la-sp-sn-ronda-rousey-kim-kardashian-20120713-story.html "Ronda Rousey wants to beat up Kim Kardashian"] . ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>

=== Springboard for political success ===
Two international franchises, ''[[The Apprentice (franchise)|The Apprentice]]'' and ''[[Dragons' Den]]'', 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 [[President of the United States]] [[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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Poll: Trump Surges Past Hillary, Biden, Sanders, and Gore -- Here Are Some Reasons Why |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/423646/poll-trump-surges-past-hillary-biden-sanders-and-gore-here-are-some-reasons-why-david |first=David |last=French |date=September 7, 2015 |publisher=National Review Online |work=The Corner |access-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306122900/http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/423646/poll-trump-surges-past-hillary-biden-sanders-and-gore-here-are-some-reasons-why-david |url-status=live }}</ref> [[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,<ref>{{cite news |title=A Rich 'Apprentice' Host in Politics? But This Mayor Says He's No Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/world/americas/a-rich-apprentice-host-in-politics-but-this-mayor-says-hes-no-trump.html |first=Simon |last=Romero |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 10, 2017 |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211042425/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/world/americas/a-rich-apprentice-host-in-politics-but-this-mayor-says-hes-no-trump.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.

''Dragons' Den'' investors who have gone on to hold political office after appearing on their country's version of the program include [[Tommy Ahlers]] of Denmark, [[Nir Barkat]] of Israel, [[Anne Berner]] of Finland, [[Tomio Okamura]] of the Czech Republic, and [[Lencke Wischhusen]] of Germany.

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2010/10/sean-duffys-real-world-reprise-043894|title=Sean Duffy's 'Real World' reprise|last=Hunt|first=Kasie|date=October 20, 2010|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-date=December 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223164035/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43894.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Youth audience ===
In 2006, four of the ten most popular programs among viewers under 17 were reality shows.<ref name="Appeal of Reality Television">{{cite journal|title=The Appeal of Reality Television for Teen and Pre-Teen Audiences|journal=Journal of Advertising Research|date=March 2011|volume=51|issue=1|pages=288–297|doi=10.2501/jar-51-1-288-297|last1=Patino|first1=Anthony|s2cid=36976247}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Becoming Extra-Ordinary"/><ref name="New Media Practices in China">{{cite journal|last=Wallis|first=Cara|title=New Media Practices in China: Youth Patterns, Processes and Politics|journal=International Journal of Communication|year=2011|volume=5|pages=406–436}}</ref><ref name="Media Consumption and Global Visions">{{cite journal|last=Guo|first=Ke|author2=Ying Wu|title=Media Consumption and Global Visions Among Urban Chinese Youth|journal=China Media Research|year=2009|volume=5|issue=4|pages=80–94}}</ref><ref name="It's About Audience">{{cite journal|last=Paron|first=Katina|title=It's About Audience: How Adult Audiences Can Benefit Youth Media Organizations|journal=Youth Media Reporter|year=2008|volume=2|issue=1–6|pages=87–91}}</ref> Some critics have decried the positive representation of sexually objectified women in shows like ''[[The Girls Next Door]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Battista|first1=Kathy|title=Cindy Hinant's Make-Up, Glamour and TV Show|url=http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2012/september/19/cindy-hinants-make-up-glamour-and-reality-tv-show/|website=Phaidon|access-date=November 23, 2014|date=2012|quote=Such women are symbolic of both the triumph and failure of consumerism and popular culture, where Playboy models and reality TV stars are revered by a younger, impressionable generation.|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023065132/https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2012/september/19/cindy-hinants-make-up-glamour-and-reality-tv-show/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Barton|first1=Jennifer|title=Bunny Talk: Teenagers Discuss The Girls Next Door|date=2010|publisher=Media@ LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science|location=London|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/mediaworkingpapers/mscdissertationseries/2009/barton_final.pdf|access-date=November 23, 2014|archive-date=June 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611112611/http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/mediaworkingpapers/mscdissertationseries/2009/barton_final.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2007, according to the [[Learning and Skills Council]], one in seven UK teenagers hoped to gain fame by appearing on reality television.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jaded |newspaper=The Economist |date=January 27, 2007 |page=57}}</ref>

=== Appeal ===
A number of studies have tried to pinpoint the appeal of reality television.<ref>Lundy, L. Ruth, A. & Park, T.(2008). Simply Irresistible: Reality TV Consumption Patterns, Communication Quarterly, 56(2), p.208-225.</ref> Factors that have been cited in its appeal include personal identification with the onscreen participants; pure entertainment; diversion from scripted TV; vicarious participation;<ref>Ebersole, S. & Woods, R.(2007). Motivations for Viewing Reality Television: A Uses and Gratifications Analysis. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 23(1, 23-42)</ref> a feeling of self-importance compared to onscreen participants;<ref name="Reiss, S. 2004">Reiss, S. & Wiltz, J. (2004). Why People Watch Reality TV, Media Psychology 6(4).</ref> enjoyment of competition;<ref name="Reiss, S. 2004"/> and an appeal to [[voyeurism]], especially given "scenes which take place in private settings, contain [[nudity]], or include gossip".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Papacharissi | first1 = Z. | last2 = Mendelson | first2 = A. | year = 2007 | title = An exploratory study of reality appeal: Uses and Gratifications of reality TV shows | journal = Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media | volume = 51 | issue = 2| pages = 355–370 | doi=10.1080/08838150701307152| s2cid = 145099520 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Baruh | first1 = L | year = 2009 | title = Publicized intimacies on reality television: An analysis of voyeuristic content and its contribution to the appeal of reality programming | journal = Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media | volume = 53 | issue = 2 | page = 207 | doi = 10.1080/08838150902907678 | s2cid = 143928405 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Baruh | first1 = L | year = 2009 | title = Publicized intimacies on reality television: An analysis of voyeuristic content and its contribution to the appeal of reality programming | journal = Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media | volume = 53 | issue = 2 | page = 190 | doi = 10.1080/08838150902907678 | s2cid = 143928405 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reality Check for reality TV fans: You're more neurotic |url=https://www.today.com/news/reality-check-reality-tv-fans-youre-more-neurotic-1C7320186 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807154401/http://www.today.com/news/reality-check-reality-tv-fans-youre-more-neurotic-1C7320186 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 7, 2015 |first=Courtney |last=Hazlett |publisher=Today.com |date=November 9, 2012 }}</ref>

== 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 [[dystopia]]n 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"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://arthurwendover.com/arthurs/sheckley/prizep10.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051224121656/http://arthurwendover.com/arthurs/sheckley/prizep10.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2005 |title=The Prize of Peril |publisher=arthurwendover.com |work=e-text }}</ref> (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 novelette 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 [[gladiator]]ial 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]] 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 (novel)|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.
* The film ''[[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 a serial 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]]'' 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?]]'' 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]].
* In the [[Nip/Tuck season 5|season 5]] episode "Damien Sands" of American TV show ''[[Nip/Tuck]]'' (2007), [[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 disastrous 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]])''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-08-22 |title=Peter Kay returns with reality show spoof |url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/aug/23/comedy.television |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615065658/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/aug/23/comedy.television |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-13 |title=Organ Grinder: Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor was a pure delight |url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2008/oct/13/realitytv-channel4 |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615065413/https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2008/oct/13/realitytv-channel4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[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''.
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Bad Wolf]]" is set in a space station, Satellite Five, where residents of Earth are randomly abducted and forced to participate in lethal incarnations of game and reality shows, such as'' Big Brother'' and ''[[The Weakest Link]]'' (hosted by a robot modeled after the real show's then-host [[Anne Robinson]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Scott |first=Cavan |date=25 July 2013 |title=The Way Back Part One: Bring Me to Life |journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent |publisher=[[Panini Comics]] |issue=463 |page=17}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
* ''[[Chart Throb]]'' (2006) is a comic novel by [[Ben Elton]] that parodies ''[[The X Factor (UK)|The X Factor]]'' and ''[[The Osbournes]]'', 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]].<ref>Coral Ann Howells, "The Cambridge companion to Margaret Atwood", Cambridge University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-521-83966-1}}, p.186</ref><ref>John Moss, Tobi Kozakewich, "Margaret Atwood: The Open Eye", ''Re-appraisals, Canadian writers, volume 30'', University of Ottawa Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-7766-0613-1}}, p.398</ref><ref>Sharon Rose Wilson, "Myths and fairy tales in contemporary women's fiction: from Atwood to Morrison", Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, {{ISBN|0-230-60554-0}}, pp.43,49</ref>
* ''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), ''[[:ar:كت (مسلسل)|Cut]]'' (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".<ref>{{cite web |title=Kroll Show skewers reality TV, but in a friendlier fashion |url=https://www.avclub.com/review/kroll-show-skewers-reality-tv-but-in-a-friendlier--200820 |first=Brandon |last=Nowalk |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=January 14, 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701003200/http://www.avclub.com/review/kroll-show-skewers-reality-tv-but-in-a-friendlier--200820 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2014/05/sketch-anatomy-john-levenstein-goes-behind-the-scenes-of-kroll-shows-niece-denise/|title=Sketch Anatomy: John Levenstein Goes Behind the Scenes of ''Kroll Show''{{-'}} 'Niece Denise'|date=May 27, 2014|access-date=July 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118094236/http://splitsider.com/2014/05/sketch-anatomy-john-levenstein-goes-behind-the-scenes-of-kroll-shows-niece-denise/|archive-date=January 18, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some feature films have been produced that use some of the conventions of reality television; such films are sometimes referred to as [[reality film]]s, and sometimes simply as documentaries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jackass Number Two... the year's best, most twisted cross-over documentary—and don't forget it is, in every definition of the word, a documentary |first=Matt |last=Prigge |department=Repertory |work=[[Philadelphia Weekly]] |date=January 3, 2007}}</ref> [[Allen Funt]]'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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Heritage Film: Nation, Genre, and Representation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXsZl-ZxBO0C&pg=PA33 |first=Belén |last=Vidal |page=33 |publisher=Wallflower |year=2012|isbn = 9780231850049}}</ref>

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."<ref name="Has reality television had its day?">{{cite news|last=Jury|first=Louise|title=Has reality television had its day, or are audiences still attracted to it?|url=http://find.galegroup.com/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=Relevance&tabID=T006&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R5&searchType=&currentPosition=2&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C18%29reality+television%24&userGroupName=drakeu_main&inPS=true&docId=CJ156684098&contentSet=IAC-Documents&docId=CJ156684098&docType=IAC|access-date=May 16, 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=January 4, 2007|archive-date=November 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107144608/http://find.galegroup.com/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=Relevance&tabID=T006&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R5&searchType=&currentPosition=2&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C18%29reality+television%24&userGroupName=drakeu_main&inPS=true&docId=CJ156684098&contentSet=IAC-Documents&docId=CJ156684098&docType=IAC|url-status=live}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysun.com/article/60745 |title=Reality Never Looked So ... Real |first=Steve |last=Dollar |work=[[The New York Sun]] |date=August 17, 2007 |access-date=February 24, 2008 |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503090634/http://www2.nysun.com/article/60745 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Television}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Broadcasting]]
* [[Bunim/Murray Productions]]
* [[The Climb (2023 TV show)|''The Climb'' (2023 TV show)]]
* [[Great Reality TV Swindle]]
* [[Matt Kunitz]]
* [[John Langley]]
* [[List of reality television programs]]
* [[List of television show franchises]]
* [[Low culture]]
* [[Scripted reality]]
* [[TV consumption]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

===Books===
* Andrejevic, M. (2004). ''Reality TV: The work of being watched''. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
* Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 
* Hill, Annette (2005). ''Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television''. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-26152-X}}.
* McGee, M. (2005). Self-help Inc.: Makeover culture in American life. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. 
* Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette, eds. (2004). ''Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture''. New York University Press. {{ISBN|0-8147-5688-3}}
* Nichols, Bill (1994). ''Blurred Boundaries: Questions of Meaning in Contemporary Culture''. Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-34064-0}}.
* {{cite book |title=Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV |year=2024 |first=Emily |last=Nussbaum |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0525508991}}
* S. Holmes & D. Jermyn (eds.), 2004. ''Understanding reality television''. London and New York: Routledge.
* Shoemaker, P. J., & Vos, T. P. (2009). Gatekeeping theory. New York / Abingdon: Routledge.

===Articles===
{{Further too long|date=July 2024}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Andrejevic | first1 = M | year = 2008 | title = Watching television without pity: The productivity of online fans | journal = Television & New Media | volume = 9 | issue = 1| pages = 24–46 | doi=10.1177/1527476407307241| citeseerx = 10.1.1.1029.1828 | s2cid = 144976107 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Aslama | first1 = M | year = 2009 | title = Playing house: Participants' experiences Of Big Brother Finland | journal = International Journal of Cultural Studies | volume = 12 | issue = 1| pages = 81–96 | doi=10.1177/1367877908098852| s2cid = 145416654 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Biltereyst | first1 = D | year = 2004 | title = Media audiences and the game of controversy: on Reality TV, moral panic and controversial media stories | journal = Journal of Media Practice | volume = 5 | issue = 1| pages = 7–24 | doi=10.1386/jmpr.5.1.7/0| s2cid = 147854866 }}
* Boddy, W. (2001). Quiz shows. In G. Creeber (ed.), The television genre book (pp.&nbsp;79–81). London: British Film institute. 
* {{cite journal | last1 = Cohen | first1 = J. | last2 = Weimann | first2 = G. | year = 2008 | title = Who's afraid of reality shows? Exploring the effects of perceived influence of reality shows and the concern over their social effects on willingness to censor | journal = Communication Research | volume = 35 | issue = 3| pages = 382–397 | doi=10.1177/0093650208315964| s2cid = 13250076 }}
* Cooper-Chen, A. (2005). A world of "millionaires": Global, local and "glocal" TV game shows. In A. Cooper-Chen (ed.), Global entertainment media. Content, audiences, issues (pp.&nbsp;237–251). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Godard |first=Ellis |editor=Matthew J. Smith and Andrew F. Wood |encyclopedia=Survivor Lessons |title=Reel Life: The Social Geometry of Reality Shows |year=2003 |publisher= McFarland |isbn= 978-0-7864-1668-4 |pages=73–96 }}
* [[Bridget Griffen-Foley|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.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;44–58). London and New York: Routledge.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hall | first1 = A | year = 2003 | title = Reading realism: Audiences' evaluation of the reality of media texts | journal = Journal of Communication | volume = 53 | issue = 4| pages = 624–641 | doi=10.1093/joc/53.4.624}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hall | first1 = A | year = 2006 | title = Viewers' perceptions of reality programs | journal = Communication Quarterly | volume = 54 | issue = 2| pages = 191–211 | doi=10.1080/01463370600650902| s2cid = 144715771 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hall | first1 = A | year = 2009 | title = Perceptions of the authenticity of reality programs and their relationships to audience Involvement, enjoyment, and perceived learning | journal = Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media | volume = 53 | issue = 4| pages = 515–531 | doi=10.1080/08838150903310468| s2cid = 11086920 | url = https://irl.umsl.edu/communication-faculty/4 }}
* Hellmueller, L. C., & Aeschbacher, N. (2010). Media and celebrity: Production and consumption of "wellKnownness." Communication Research Trends, 29(4), 3-35. 
* 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. 
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hill | first1 = A. | last2 = Weibull | first2 = L. | last3 = Nilsson | first3 = A. | year = 2007 | title = Public and popular: British and Swedish audience trends in factual and reality television | journal = Cultural Trends | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 17–41 | doi=10.1080/09548960601106920| s2cid = 144728312 }}
* 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{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 
* {{cite journal | last1 = Holmes | first1 = S | year = 2004 | title = But this time you choose!" Approaching the "interactive" audience in reality TV | journal = International Journal of Cultural Studies | volume = 7 | issue = 2| pages = 213–231 | doi=10.1177/1367877904043238| s2cid = 145409122 }}
* {{cite news|last=James|first=C.|date=January 26, 2003 |title=Bachelor No.1 and the birth of reality TV|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 22, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/movies/television-radio-bachelor-no-1-and-the-birth-of-reality-tv.html }}
* Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Uses and gratifications research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523. 
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== External links ==
{{Commons category|Reality television}}
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100528235816/http://www.nplusonemag.com/reality-reality-television The Reality of Reality Television], Mark Greif's assessment of Reality TV from [[n+1]]

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[[Category:Reality television| ]]
[[Category:Television genres]]