We've all seen an episode or two of at least one reality show, and we all vary in how entertained we are by these shows.
We can all understand that these shows are exaggerated for the sake of entertainment, but we have to wonder, what really goes on behind the curtain?
Curious, Redditor body_by_art asked:
"People who were on shows like 'Supernanny,' 'The World's Strictest Parents,' or 'Scared Straight!,' what was the experience like?"
"And what was the aftermath?"
Perpetuating Stereotypes
"I really dislike this ‘idiot dad’ narrative that a lot of media pushes. It’s sexist not only in that it says that men are stupid, but also in that it assumes women’s ‘place’ is managing the household."
For Health Benefits
"I'd like to contribute from a different show; hopefully someone sees this! My brother was on a show called 'Violent Children: Desperate Parents,' and honestly they were brilliant."
"I wasn't part of this whole experience because I was in University at the time, but my father and my brother both were in this show and the show staff was honestly brilliant."
"Here in the UK, especially Wales where my family lives, mental health is not really a thing the poor have access to and my family is definitely working class. This show gave my brother and my father access to mental healthcare they would have never been able to access themselves and made quite a large difference in both their lives."
"They continued to support my family for almost a year after filming with offers of more mental health help, and both my father and my brother are happier people today because of this."
"One thing I will say is the only reason we were featured on this show was out of pure desperation. There was basically no other way that my father could imagine getting help, given he'd spent almost eight years fighting with the NHS to get my brother psychological help, all to basically no avail."
"My family was made into entertainment for the masses so that we could access something fairly basic. Something about the whole experience doesn't sit right with me at all."
- kn100
Exaggerated to a Fault
"I'm a little bit late to this one, but my younger siblings, mother, and then stepfather were on a program in the UK called 'Mum's On Strike' in the mid-2000s."
"The premise was that the mother would be sick of doing everything around the house, and would be whisked away to a luxury spa for a weekend, leaving the clueless father in charge of trying to take care of the household duties."
"A lot of the conversations and scenarios were faked. I supposedly visited them for the weekend, but I did multiple different shoots across a few hours on the last day of filming, then went back home."
"They'd cause fights between the siblings by purposely creating situations where one was favored over the other, so the others would throw a tantrum."
"There was a shoot on location in our local town center, and they encouraged my little brother to run off into all sorts of different shops, causing hilarity as my stepfather tried chasing after him with two other children in tow."
"Mealtimes were a bit of a farce as well. As it was a weekend, my stepfather had to cook a traditional roast dinner. The production company intentionally supplied incorrect ingredients to make sure my stepfather looked like an idiot. They filmed my reaction to him trying to add beans to the roast a few different times, so they could pick the best one."
"In the end, after they'd got all the footage they wanted, they sent one of the production team out to the chippy to get us some actual edible food."
- Henry1691
No Air Time
"I was on 'Scared Straight,' and my episode never even aired because they only select a very small amount of footage to make it look a lot worse than it actually is. Most prisoners were pretty nice."
- franklinclinton1
Dramatic Transformations
"A classmate was on MTV's 'Made.' They came to my high school too and turned a classmate into prom queen. It wasn’t a stretch, she was naturally pretty but went back to her nerd look right after they left."
"It was crazy how MTV made it look like she had no friends when she actually had a huge group she’d hang out with all the time."
"They also made her love interest look like such a jerk when he was actually the nicest guy you’d ever meet."
"I haven’t believed reality TV since 2005. Still enjoy the ridiculousness of it sometimes."
- TheRealMrsNesbit
So Staged
"A friend of mine worked on 'Nanny 911' in NYC. Nothing on that show happened unless the producers okayed it. They would come up with scenarios and plot points to film."
"You don't just shoot TV shows like that and hope that something magical happens. They created every 'issue.'"
"Reality TV is not real."
"Also, the camera crew who worked on 'Nanny 911' also worked on other shows like 'Real Housewives of New York,' Kitchen Nightmares,' and 'Hell's Kitchen.' The film business is a very small world."
- Jonlife
Nothing Revelatory About It
"My friend was on 'Supernanny,' they don't actually do anything, it's just acting, he and his brother are still exactly the same as they were before."
- screamingXeagle
Breaking the Cycle
"Her techniques on 'Supernanny' (and, honestly, the children themselves) are never really the problem, it's the parents."
"She's not there long enough to break years of bad parenting habits. I imagine that a lot of the parents just revert right back to their old ways as soon as the camera crew packs up their stuff."
- xaviira
Safety Precautions
"One of my friends in grade school was on 'Nanny 911' as a kid (maybe around five years old)."
"There were a lot of kids in her family and one of the biggest problems the nanny had with their household was safety. She baby-proofed the entire house and lectured them on safety precautions they have to take in their lives to ensure that the children wouldn't get hurt."
"She even gave them all helmets to wear whenever they rode bikes or 4-wheelers."
"After she left, a lot of the safety precautions went out of the window, and later my friend told me that they still had the helmets but they were all sitting in a dusty corner."
- -k_d_t-
Scripting Matters
"I worked on 'Teen Mom' and saw how the process works. It’s mostly just the crew following the people around, letting them live their lives with the producer occasionally throwing in some talking points and guiding the 'talent' on what topics they need to touch on."
"But there was no actual scripting involved. There was way more emphasis on the editing if anything."
- TostitoNipples
Small World
"I lived in India. Once in my school when I was in sixth grade, these 'foreign kids' popped up with a bunch of cameramen and stuff. Speculation went wild. We thought our terrible principal probably wanted to create a 'cool' image for the school and was creating some kind of weird advertisement."
"Anyway, years later, I saw a YouTube clip by complete chance of 'The World's Strictest Parents.' It was my school and those exact kids! They had come to visit an Indian family, whose children went to my school."
"The episode was a lot of drama. The parents were kind of obnoxious, at least for the episode."
"However, the last I heard on asking a few friends was that those parents were fine and their children are doing reasonably well. Not sure about the 'foreign kids' who came."
"What a small world! Seems like ages ago."
- ReelWatt
Close to Home
"Like three years ago, I lived in a big 5-bedroom house with four other friends in college. The house was in an episode of 'Supernanny.' We found out because our nice neighbor literally gave us a signed headshot from Jo Frost as a gift out of the blue."
"He literally told us, 'I think y’all would like this more than me and get a kick out of it.'"
"It made our week and we found the episode online and watched it. I asked about the family to the neighbor as our house was rented out and owned by a property company."
"He told me after the show the parents fought all the time, lost all of their money due to 2008 crisis, and lost the house to foreclosure."
"The picture stayed on our mantle for three years and I thought about that family every time."
- Redditor deleted
Beyond Surreal
"My childhood home had been in a famous episode of a famous reality show. (I'd doxx myself if I said which.)"
"It was so odd watching it. It was filmed before we bought it and my parents remodeled it. So it was weird seeing how it looked when we first bought it. Seeing all the old stuff. And also my neighborhood. The outside of my best friend's house was also featured heavily in the episode."
"My parents loved pointing out bits they personally remodeled. 'I remember pulling that out!' and 'Ug, remember that awful wallpaper!' and that sort of thing."
"The funniest part was that they pretended a closet door was a bathroom door in the show. My parents actually built a bathroom there, before ever seeing the episode. So it was really head-spinning to see that."
- harpejist
The Dreaded Watch Party
"A coworker was featured on SuperNanny. They had a pretty good experience filming and were so excited for their show to air that they hosted a watch party."
"I’m sure you can imagine what’s next. The way the show was edited made the parents look SO bad (like, neglectful bad) and made the kids (who were pretty wild) look even worse."
"It ended up being a pretty awkward watch party."
- shan_diego
A Great Future
"I don't know if this counts but I was on an episode of 'MADE' on MTV (if anyone remembers that show)..."
"It was my senior year of high school, so about seven years ago. People gave me crap about it forever and still do. I was made into a 'screamo' singer, and the experience was interesting, to say the least."
"The money and flight/trip to NYC though at 17 years old made the whole embarrassment worth it. Plus, I work in the broadcast business now, so it really opened up a lot of doors and showed me a career I LOVE."
"Seeing kids now that were in my shoes, so fascinated by entertainment media, makes me so genuinely happy."
- BLONDEB***HH
While everyone expects reality shows to be at least somewhat exaggerated, it's interesting to think about what goes on behind-the-scenes in order to make those dramatic scenes happen. Imagining someone acting completely out of character for the sake of a few scenes is particularly wild.
We are inundated with so much "entertainment" content these days.
The list of what I refuse to waste time on long outweighs the stuff I can't wait to see.
Some of these shows look like a mess.
RedditorRepairOdd2957wanted to hear about what we're avoiding in film and television and why? They asked:
"What's one show/movie that you just refuse to watch, no matter how popular it is and why?"
I avoid most tv. Especially if it's a reality thing. And I'm at peace in that life choice.
Done
kj apa riverdale GIF by NETFLIXGiphy"Riverdale. No further questions your honor."
Devillishbeans
Minus 50
"50 shades of grey (cause it’s terrible)."
LiquidSoapie
"I read the first book knowing it was terrible but I just had to 'experience"'it. However, I HIGHLY recommend this blog, it's so funny and I'm not ashamed to say I read every single post : https://redlemonade.blogspot.com/p/fifty-shades-of-tedious-f*ckery.html"
moudine
Gross...
"The Bachelor."
Nubianfromthenine
"And the Bachelorette. It all feels gross."
ConnieLingus24
"It is gross. I still can’t believe someone pitched that idea and everyone in the room was like 'that sounds awesome!' Then they aired it and waaaaaaay too many people said 'this is awesome!' Meanwhile I’m feeling like the crazy one for thinking it’s gross."
oldgeek123
No K!
"Keeping up with the Kardashians. There's no reason to watch it."
The_Young_Trader
"I'm proud of having never seen as much as ten consecutive seconds of anything K*rdashian. That was everywhere a few years ago, but I got to be very fast at closing browser tabs or changing the channel quickly whenever it showed up."
GozerDestructor
Decades Later
people love GIFGiphy"Grey's Anatomy. I don't need to see 18 seasons of people in a hospital."
EveryVehicle1325
I do love Grey's. So rethink avoiding this one.
No Carole
Congratulations Congrats GIF by CameoGiphy"Tiger King. I don't care."
ArtistWhoStarves
"I sat down to watch it at the height of its popularity. Five minutes in, the power went out and so I took it as a sign from the universe to just not continue."
Accomplished-Fox7532
13 No's
"Thirteen Reasons Why. I work in mental health, and this show should never have been created."
Spartanhalforc
"I didn't watch all of it. I remember a scene in which Clay says 'I cost a girl her life because I was afraid to love her.' That disturbed me. As if the suicide was partially his fault because they didn't become a couple on her schedule. Nobody is required to date someone at the time that the other person wants it."
"The idea of blaming someone for your suicide-- and taking such extra measures to make sure that they know it's their fault-- is so toxic. It never sat right with me, both while reading the book and watching."
EveryVehicle1325
Too Cruel
"90 day fiancé. It just sounds like a really cruel premise and I feel bad for the people who come from another country to marry someone just to end up hating them or realizing they’re not compatible."
carissadraws
"Season one was really interesting and felt way more like a good look at the process of the fiancé visa. Then it got more focused on the drama then by season… 4 it just started fully exploiting people and got too uncomfortable to watch."
somechild
Be Quiet!
"The Masked Singer. Just… no."
Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
"The kid I nanny used to watch it and she would tel me about it and bee like 'guess who the bee was?!?! DONNY OSMOMD!' And have absolutely no ducking clue who Donny Osmomd was because she was 8. It was hilarious honestly."
somechild
"When I saw that Rudy Giuliani was one of the singers I wondered who did the singing for him because I can't imagine him having a good singing voice."
Duluthian2
I'm going slow...
Angry Fast And Furious GIF by The Fast SagaGiphy"The Fast and the Furious. I just don't care about cars going vroom vroom."
Beginning-Bed9364
"The first few are pretty decent heist movies but they get ridiculous, the latest one they strap a car to an icbm and go to space in diving gear. That’s not even the dumbest scene."
BikerScowt
Bored Now
"The Walking Dead, I’m just really tired of zombie stuff, there was a while where everything had zombies in it and it was just super overused and talking to the fans of the show it’s basically, find base, get locked in, have fight with people or zombies and have to find more home."
JoeMaMa_2000
Well I have successfully avoided most of this mess. Good on me.
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People Confess Which Fads Lasted Longer Than Anyone Expected
Fads are, by their very nature, trends that come and go in seemingly no time at all.
Sometimes, though, things we thought were fads end up sticking around way longer than anyone would have expected.
Redditor GhostintheCircuit0 asked:
"What fad lasted longer than most people expected?"
Social Media
"Social media."
- Masterofthe3fucks
"In 2012 I read an article that Facebook was bleeding more monthly users than gaining. I was really hoping it would be irrelevant by 2016 and boy was I wrong lol."
- ziggy_zaggy
"I can't tell if people commenting on Reddit about how terrible social media is are being ironic or not."
- Trim_Tram
Reality TV
"I wonder if anyone really thought reality TV would have such legs. One year, many years ago, it really seemed to take hold and it never went away."
-Colonelfudgenustard
"Tv producers did. They saw how cheap Cops was to produce with barely a scrip, no real actors, and the barest of scripts, and ran the numbers. Their eyes turned into dollar signs, just like in the cartoons, and the world of TV hasn’t been the same since."
-thin_white_dutchess
"The real kicker was the writer’s strike in the early 2000s. The Screenwriters Guild went on strike for better pay, and suddenly networks couldn’t air any scripted programming, so there was an explosion of cheap reality shows. A lot of them fell by the wayside because they were just Survivor but worse, but we are still living through the aftermath,"
-BarroomBard
GiphyRap Music
"I remember Casey Kasem proclaiming that rap music was a fad that wouldn't last."
- Gao_tie
"I keep saying the same thing."
"We had the jazz era and the rock era. Aren't we overdue for another radical shift?"
- SeattleUberDad
"The rock era was overtaken by the rap era at least a decade ago."
- kings_lead_hat
Cool
"The use of the word 'cool' to informally refer to things that are very good or excellent. Different alternatives come and go but they do not have the staying power of the word 'cool.'"
-SoloMK
"It fit a niche gap of a word meaning 'interesting' and 'unpretentious' and 'popular' at the same time."
"I think what solidified it was American GIs bringing the concept to places in Europe in WW2, plus the next 70 years of American cultural hegemony, so terms used in American movies and music became common. The Beatles and all the British Invasion bands were copying (mostly Black) American artists and art styles. People would say 'cool' in a movie and almost the whole English-speaking world would pick up on it."
"So now you have a word Boomers/Gen X/Millennials/Gen Z all know and use. Words that almost every speaker of a language knows tend to last in ways teen slang doesn't. Similar words like 'groovy' or 'rad' or 'epic' didn't have the broad usage among several generations."
-comragegritty
GiphyQR Codes
"QR codes really holding on for dear life, tbh."
- VincentStonecliff
"They're used for pretty much everything in half of Asia."
"I'm sick of having to scan them every five seconds."
- LeutzschAKS
"Supermarket in Australia added QR code functionality at the checkout.
"As the cashier is scanning your stuff you can open the app and scan the QR code on the payment terminal."
"Automatically adds your rewards (for me, as I'm an employee of the company that's 5% plus points, $1 =1point, 2000points = $10 discount). Also adds extra points from any running promotions."
"So it discounts my bill, I get points, it uses any gift cards I have and then puts the final tally on my credit card. All from scanning a QR code. It's awesome."
"If you have a good phone (like a flagship Google pixel or Samsung) the QR code scans before I can even centre in the app."
- Ziogref
Video Games
"Video games. In the early 80’s it was just a fad that was going to die out."
-RockySlough
"In a way they were kinda right, the entire video game market crashed in 1983, of course it didn’t last long as the Nintendo Entertainment System came out in 1985 reviving the whole market."
-Night-Monkey15
GiphyTikTok
"TikTok! I thought people would get bored of dancing and making short videos."
- festiveanarchy
"It filled the much-mourned Vine niche!"
- MaximumAsparagus
"It's expanded outside of dancing now."
"One popular TikToker is a woman who cleans headstones in her local cemeteries and posts updates on their transformations over the year, but that particular hobby is very dependent on warm weather, so I have to wait until the spring to watch any new videos."
- Starfire-Galaxy
Skateboarding
"Skateboarding. It's still here all these decades later."
-mike-hellstrom
"I was at Redondo beach the other day, and a dude in his mid 40s (so just a tiny bit older than me) was tearing up the stairs overlooking the beach on his skateboard- in a business suit. His jacket and briefcase were tossed to the side, and he was just working it out. It was truly impressive."
"I used to longboard to class, but I never did any fancy tricky things, just used it for transportation. My husband did though, and he was watching, cheering the dude on, high fiving."
"Suit guy was all smiles. When we got home, my husband pulled his board down from the rafters in the garage. He’s probably going to break an arm or something, but hey."
-thin_white_dutchess
GiphySkinny Jeans
"Skinny jeans."
- TartanApe
"I used to wear these when I was a scrawny young thing, but now I can't pull it off."
"I remember it being very difficult to use the pockets though. My wallet used to uncomfortably dig into my thigh, and I'd get left with a bruise there if I wore them all day."
"A couple of my pairs had wallet+phone shaped marks on the outside of the pockets from where it stretched the fabric out."
- Renwaldo
"It's crazy the lengths we would all go to. If anything feels that good to take off, just don't put them on to begin with."
- TartanApe
"I take it you aren't familiar with the bra."
- JuniperHillInmate
Pokémon
"A lot of people thought Pokemon was just a fad. They were wrong"
-Sable mint
"Even Gamefreak themselves thought that, Pokémon Gold/Silver were meant to be the last games in the series."
-a_little_toaster
"Pokémon is the most valuable media franchise the world has ever seen with over 90 billion dollars in revenue."
-eastbayweird
GiphyHomemade Slime
"Slime videos."
- Skittles_the_Jester
"Those still exist?"
- Alternative_Ad7856
"There are actual slime online shops where they sell slime made from various things."
"I actually like looking at slime videos, where YouTubers review a slime shop."
"These slime shop owners would actually make really well done slimes, some would look like food and have the smell of it."
"You'll be a little impressed by them if you search them up."
- BellalovesEevee
Crocs
"Crocs. I’m 27 now, they first came out when I was in elementary school and people are still wearing them today."
-LexTheSouthern
"I love my crocs. I work in a kitchen and it's great that if I spill stuff all over them i can just hose them down in the dish pit."
-tenjuu
"Crocs have been my most worn shoe of all time, and I don’t even wear them in public that often. They’re cheap and last me an extremely long time compared to my other shoes. They’re also stupid easy to clean if you don’t count the fuzzy ones."
"Need an easy and quick to put on shoe for around the house? Crocs"
"Don’t want to track mud into your truck? Put your muddy boots in the bed and slide them comfy Crocs on."
"Crocs are better that flip flops imo."
-DuckAHolics
GiphyFortnite
"Fortnite! Holy sh*t!"
"I remember seeing the game advertised in its original format, horde defense!"
- SucksAtCluedo
"Fortnite aint no fad. It's an amazing game that has a little something for everyone."
- NinjaMelon39
Leggings
"Leggings."
-Quinn inn
"That booty will never go out of style."
-JoieDeVivre
"Leggings were just ok when they were just emerging. When they started making them with pockets though, I mean if regular pants don’t follow suit very soon they face a grim future."
-yuxngdogmom
GiphyTattoos
"Getting Japanese tattoos."
- Much_Committee_9355
"I'm glad tribal tatts went away."
- Wizdad-1000
"My talented tattooist friend talked me out of this one when I wanted a koi on my arm."
"He bluntly said he was tired of doing Japanese koi and refused to do any more."
- Renwaldo
Jeans
"Jeans. Somehow they transcended fashion and are just kind of unquestionably normal now. There's a lot of kind of pants out there but jeans and slacks are like the only normal ones for the last few decades and that's weird."
-T-MinusGiraffe
"I also love how the blue denim color is considered a neutral. Doesn't clash with any color even though it's technically blue."
-RocinanteMCRNCoffee
"Jeans and a burgundy solid tee: totally normal."
"Burgundy pants and an indigo solid tee: interesting choice"
-PretendMaybe
GiphyMillennials
"Marketing and media tying everything to 'Millenials'."
"I remember being in a work meeting almost a decade ago discussing the next generation that we were going to focus our branding toward because millenials were now older and settling down etc..."
"Well f'k me if we can’t let hyper fixation on that poor generation die out, all because it’s an instantly recognizable buzzword. It’s so stupid and I really feel bad millenials get tagged into or blamed for everything."
- Giveushealthcare
"I don't get why they're trying to appeal to us when we have no money."
- ChristmasSkeletor
Minecraft
"Minecraft. A friend started playing it the first week after it was released. Then he went to PAX and it exploded. Thought the lame graphics would kill it in 6 months."
-Wizdad-1000
"My young son and I got into Minecraft last year. Its appeal is that it's limited only by your own imagination."
-boredsittingonthebus
"Minecraft is essentially Lego now. There have been other games with better mechanics and excellent features, but at the end of the day they will always be seen as knock offs, no matter how good they are."
"I remember getting it when it was a free exe you could download from some dude. My pre-teen son is sitting beside me at this very moment building an automated potion vending machine on a server that also has 20 of his classmates playing."
"His math teacher also plays. I still play."
"I can't believe it is still working on JRE with all of the stuff they have added. I don't think it is ever going to die."
"Like I said, Legos. I was playing with them in the 1970's. They are still awesome."
-phenolic72
GiphyWorld Wide Web
"The internet."
- Lady_of_the_Seraphim
"Funny that Bill Gates got this wrong."
- 01kickassius10
And Finally...
"Rickrolling."
-hamsandwidth
"Jesus, its still happens to this day. I've been rick rolled for over a f*cking decade... in internet time thats like a century. A century of getting rick rolled."
-Notesandstuff
"I have a QR code on the lid of my laptop, which people often ask me about. I always say, scan it, to which their hesitant, but it shows the link as YouTube and so they are like 'well what's the worst that could happen?' This is the worst that could happen. Get played son."
-Dowzer721
"Or Foo Fighters rickrolling their audience by playing the song and then actual Rick came out from back stage with a mic and sung the song with them."
-Jumper5353
GiphyFads often die out quickly, but sometimes things we thought were going to be just fads turn into cultural cornerstones.
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Reality TV Staffers Share The Best Behind The Scenes Secrets Producers Don't Want You To Know
I miss the good old days of "reality" tv. Don't you? Do you remember The Real World & MTV's Road Rules? Those were the days, long before everything got convoluted. Then Jerry Springer came along with Survivor and the Kardashians and now it's all just scripted chaos. The fact they use the word "reality" proves they don't know the meaning of it. It's all a show darlings.
Redditor u/flyingbeetlekites was dying to hear from behind-the-scenes peeps who work on tv that sell "realness" by asking...
People who work on reality TV: What happens behind the scenes that you don't want the public knowing?
"unannounced"
busting in season 1 GIF by Ash vs Evil DeadGiphyI love when they show up "unannounced" at someone's house and there's a film crew IN THE HOUSE!
Repeat after Me....
I worked with someone who had been on one and he said they tell you what to say and how to answer. They also mix and match the answers. They basically film you completing a set of sentences in a controlled way and then thread the narrative they're going for. It's utter nonsense end to end.
"Therapy"
Was on a kind of "documentary" years ago for British TV. The kind where the person has a problem, the TV people offer therapy, activities and fun things to solve the problem (think supersize vs superskinny) when they did the wrap up interview, the edited the hell out of the segment to get the result they wanted. To the point where they spliced audio together and made it a voice over etc.
Eg,
Original audio: This didn't solve the problem, but it's a start and I'm really optimistic.
Authors....
fail seth meyers GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersGiphyI've got an old friend who writes for a reality TV show. That's right... scripts the spontaneous stuff for actors to say.
Counting Cars
On Counting Cars. Two scruffy dudes in torn clothes and biker tattoos entering someone's garage unannounced and the homeowner is like, "Hi, how are you guys?"
I've noticed this too. Not to mention, scruffy guys driving alongside you, asking you too pull over so they can get a better look at your car; then asking if they can drive your car. The number of antique cars with completely trusting owners is not realistic. Not to mention they buy many of these cars on the spot. I like the show enough to overlook the obvious staging.
Let's Date?
A German satirist once managed to sneak an actor he hired into one of those reality TV dating shows and while the character he created already was very weird; the TV channel that produced the dating show made him completely over the top.
The whole thing is on youtube with english subtitles even. It's brilliant.
Consent
I acted as a lawyer for a reality TV show many years ago. They fired me when I started advising them that they needed informed consent from participants to appear. They said that was impossible, and in any event, half the participants are mentally unwell anyway. I said that just makes me even more certain you need informed consent, and in that case, make sure you have a fully qualified mental health professional sign off of the capability of the prospective participant to give informed consent.
I have not worked for any reality TV shows since.
So much to splice...
f for fake film GIFGiphyI have a friend who worked as an editor for reality shows a few years back. The thing I remember him telling me is that because they shoot so much footage, he can make any storyline the producers want with it.
For 5 Minutes....
I saw something about those shows where young people live in a house together, go out and get drunk and pick up randoms to take back to the house and have sex with.
Well the production companies have a duty of care to the drunk randoms, so they are taken away from the "celebs" made to sober up enough to provide consent, provide full ID and sign a waiver.
They then meet back up with their match and go have sex on camera and then get put in a cab home.
When I thought they were just drunk it was bad enough, but when you realize they have been sitting around sobering up and still go do this it's just sickening what people will do for 5 minutes of "fame".
Again & Again
basketball wives smh GIF by VH1GiphyThe retakes. Endless retakes. It's tiresome. You think filming has wrapped up but then have to do pickups. The stuff someone messed up on and there can be many.
Not Their Issue
This is a really interesting piece by someone who was in Masterchef but never signed the required NDA, allowing them to be really open about the whole process.
"In the "MasterChef" contract, which a casting director later told me was essentially identical to those of most reality competition shows, they asked me to agree to be subjected to physical and mental distress, to agree to have my medical history used in any way that they wanted and to use it in perpetuity, to agree that my family would likely not be contacted in the case of an emergency.
They asked me to release the show and its employees from liability for any injury to myself from risks both known and unknown. They asked that I release them from liability from the social and economic losses that could result and to please note that the consequences could be substantial and could permanently change the future for me, my family, friends and significant others."
Bear
bear grylls yes GIF by NBCGiphyA friend of my family worked uncredited with Bear Grylls for man vs wild. Because Grylls is at the end of the day an actor (although pretty knowledgeable about what he's talking about) he's required to be insured by his studio. In comes family friend.
Before an episode, family friend (a former british army paratrooper) attends a meeting with Grylls, and his team, who tell him where Grylls wants to go, and what he wants to do while there (EG: The congo, build a raft, survive via fishing, and set up a tree shelter). Family friend is then jetted off to the place in question with his own team, and the group of them mess around in the wilderness, seeing how viable Grylls's plan is.
After a few weeks they jet back, and inform the company about the hazards, validity, and expected cost. This allows the production company to correctly determine any insurance, gear, safety issues, and plan out Grylls's survival trip.
Family friend has some really good stories about being in survival situations, and is always really blasé about things like "oh yeah we picked out a cave to camp in, and a bear tried to eat us lol'.
The Top 100
I was offered top 100 in an early season of a singing show in Australia. I rejected it because the contract they wanted me to sign had a non-compete clause that stated that even if they didn't use me, I wouldn't have been able to release music independently for 2 years and not have been able to release music with a competing label for 5 years. In retaliation they used my footage but heavily edited my voice and used footage of the judges saying "no" instead of "yes". I also wasn't allowed to discuss it publicly for a number of years and am never allowed to use that show's name in conjunction with my career.
I also had a family friend who won a cooking show here in Australia as well. The final was filmed about a month before it aired, after filming the winning contestant, they re-set everything up and then filmed the other person winning. This was so if it got leaked that the intended winner had indeed won, they would switch the footage and air the loser winning instead (giving them the prizes instead). Luckily for me one of their family members told me in secret and I won a couple hundred betting on them to win whilst they were weren't considered a favourite.
We All Know
I live where a show is filmed and have had friends on it twice. The entire premise of each episode was completely fake. Not a single bit of what was happening was real at all. And they told one of my friends--who is an expert on the item he was talking about--what to say because the real description he gave of the item wasn't dramatic enough for the show. So, the description that made it to tv is not even accurate--it's fantasy made up by the producers.
Another friend was on a different reality tv show. In it, he gets caught doing something he isn't supposed to do and is thrown out by security. It's portrayed in the show as if this is all actually happening. Nope. He was hired as an actor to come in and break the rules to get kicked out. Everyone was in on it.
Pre-Ordained
Classic not be, but... A friend of mine has a sister who made it to the X-Factor semifinal 10+ years ago. From around their second or third audition, she signed a contract that specifically said how far she would make it before she got sent home. Everything was planned from her first televised act (there is a pre-audition or two that isn't shown on TV where they select the contestants). The bands and singers that made it to the final also knew beforehand, but my friend's sister told us that she wasn't sure if they were told exactly who was going to win.
Also, if you don't have a tragic nor specifically interesting story to tell when you're interviewed, they'll make up a sob-story themselves. Of course it's been so many years since she was on the show that a lot of things can have changed, but this is how it was back then.
They Own You
i had a friend who was going to go on one of those tv talent shows but wanted me to look at the contract first because i knew quite a bit about the music industry. the contract was horrible. like i've seen some crappy contracts in my time but never any this bad. basically you had to scrub your online history, they own any song ideas/covers you ever posted online, any original songs you come up with now belongs to the record company, the contract you're signed to a 6 album deal if you come in top 5.
And if you try to get out the contract then you'll have to pay them back any money they put into you along with any money they claim your music "lost" which was really just you not meeting projections. you'll also have little control over your artistic voice but will still be blamed if they don't think the songs are good enough, even if you were working with the song writers they force on you.
The Shill
GiphyProbably already pretty well known, but on House Hunters, the people looking to buy a house have already bought and signed a contract on their chosen house.
The two other homes they are shown are "shill" properties that might or might not even be for sale. If the house is shown fully furnished, it's a shill. I have friends who were on the show years ago and still laugh about their great acting jobs pretending to be interested in houses that weren't even on the market.
Not so Great
I work in reality and docuseries. Can answer specific questions if you have them. The turnaround time in renovation shows means that the quality is atrocious. Never let your house be used in a renovation/rehab show. You'll end up paying almost full price for crap quality. I would say the only exemption is something like Grand Designs where they document the building process but don't interfere with it at all.
The Bigger they Get
Anyone ever work with "Impractical Jokers"? I love their show, but I don't understand how the people they prank don't recognize them.
I have for some years. As the years have gone on, the boys have gotten bigger and it's gotten to be more of an issue. But they also put a big premium on real interactions.
It may take longer now, but it's all a numbers game of approaching enough people. If they are recognized, they may swap out who is "on the floor" or take a short break until the crowd has changed enough to go back out. I have nothing but nice things to say about how hard they work to make it real.
person holding black remote control
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Lesbian Couple Shares Heartwarming Story Of How They Met Competing Against Each Other On 'Jeopardy!'
A couple took to Twitter to share their unique saga of love, which began 10 years ago.
The tale involves plenty of serendipity, some adorable photographs, and a good old fashioned shut down delivered by the Jeopardy! host himself. Mr. Alex Trebek,
Ever since she met her current wife when the two competed against each other on the trivia game show, Emily Therese Cloyd, one half of the happy couple, is a clear fan of all things Jeopardy! and Alex Trebek.
Her Twitter thread love story details the entire journey from that first audition to appear on Jeopardy! and winds all the way to the wedding day.
As Cloyd mentions in her first tweet, the post comes on the heels of a ABC News Special featuring a long form interview with Trebek, who is currently battling pancreatic cancer.
Cloyd kicks off her story with a proud photo featuring her and Trebek on that fateful day of trivia competition.
It’s coming up on my 10 year (!) tape-i-versary for @Jeopardy, and with this week’s #JeopardyGOAT and last week’s A… https://t.co/aRkDXy0kaI— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578524772
She then walks through some behind-the-scenes moments of all that goes in to applying, auditioning, and appearing on Jeopardy!
After taking the online test, Cloyd was called in to audition along with other game show hopefuls.
Upon finishing the audition Cloyd pretty much returned to her life, nearly forgetting the thing that would eventually lead her to a soulmate.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity And then I waited…. I thought I did okay at the audition, but to get on the s… https://t.co/kIOAcLvyq8— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578524864
When she finally--unexpectedly--was called and invited to compete the in January 2010, Cloyd was obviously stoked.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity https://t.co/VAFk9EoI51— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578524911
When Cloyd arrived for her episode taping, she recognized a familiar face from that audition 18 months before.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity She didn’t recognize me. Or maybe she did, once I said I’d briefly met her at… https://t.co/4Hr7vYVGOc— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578525131
Cloyd spends a couple more tweets recognizing the fate of the moment. It wasn't a sure thing that the two would be faced off directly against one another that day.
"Remember I said that J! tapes 5 shows in a single day? You don't know which show you'll be on until they pull your name from a hat just before it is time to head into makeup before each show."
"And then my name was drawn. I'd be playing against Manny Maldonado III, who had just vanquished 4-time champion Regina Robbins, and Stacy."
Stacy utterly demolished her future boo that day.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity At the end of Double Jeopardy! It was clear that the game was a run-away: Man… https://t.co/iWDEZ81RXX— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578525521
Despite Emily only winning $50 during competition, she still went home with $1000, the minimum given merely for competing.
It was during the time back home in Washington, D.C. where Emily and Stacy both lived that sparks really flew.
They eventually had a joint viewing party when the episode was aired.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 At the viewing party, we each invited friends and family in the area. Sin… https://t.co/L6tjYJD0Zj— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578525616
After about 2 years of hanging out as friends, dating, and then moving on towards a relationship, Stacy and Emily got engaged.
And there was one obvious addition needed on that guest list.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich And a week or so later, we got the response card back. Alex Trebe… https://t.co/67NgMBOBCp— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578525751
And even though Trebek didn't make the wedding, the couple looks happy as ever.
@Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich #ThankYouAlex - @StacyCloyd and I can honestly say that you change… https://t.co/pSgLcErhXI— Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️ (@Rese (Emily Therese) Cloyd 🏳️🌈🌻🥾🚣♀️) 1578525844
Twitter thought the whole thing was down right adorable too.
@EngageClimate @Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich @StacyCloyd ❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/OnPvfP1OpU— Elyse Aurbach (@Elyse Aurbach) 1578529306
@EngageClimate @Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich @StacyCloyd What?! This is the BEST story! I love i… https://t.co/orzaXXhC1x— Dr. Becky Mackelprang (@Dr. Becky Mackelprang) 1578534813
@EngageClimate You two *are* the greatest of all time! Crying for your happiness.— Glenn Fleishman (@Glenn Fleishman) 1578611510
@EngageClimate @Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich @StacyCloyd It sounds like to me you both won Jeopardy!— Timothy S. Brannan - Working the NIGHT SHIFT! (@Timothy S. Brannan - Working the NIGHT SHIFT!) 1579800753
It didn't take long for some news outlets to grow interested in the uniqe story.
@EngageClimate @Jeopardy @UMichLaw @BreadfortheCity @350 @UMich @StacyCloyd Hi @EngageClimate! I'm a reporter for B… https://t.co/1L43zevBF7— Anneta K (@Anneta K) 1578608788
@EngageClimate Hi there! I’m reaching out on behalf of Global News, a news organization in Canada. We loved this st… https://t.co/Vp9KFculhY— Jessica Maxwell (@Jessica Maxwell) 1579799943
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