How much reality in "reality" t.v

I've recently become fascinated by how scripted/planned most reality t.v shows are and I was interested to know, if anyone knows of any secrets of particular reality t.v shows. I only watch RuPaul's Drag Race and The Apprentice but am interested to hear how other reality t.v shows operate.

RuPaul's Drag Race: I absolutely adore the show but it's not hard to see how editing/planning plays a major role in the running of each series. Willam knew he was going home when he was disqualified as he made clear to the producers he had prior commitments to an off Broadway play. Whoever is sent home on elimination day is told that morning, meaning, the lip synch counts for nothing or at least..very little. Tammie Brown spoke out on how Ru is given jokes through an earpiece. The reason many queens of season 5 got on Jinkx's back was because they were asked by producers to help her with her makeup.




Interesting article here

The last time MTV filmed a NY season of Real World (Red Hook, I think..) you would often find the cast at bars around town, including somewhere I frequented and knew staff. They always knew at least a few days before when the cast would have a "spontaneous" outing and staff would change shifts based on who did or did not want to be on camera. I happened to wander in a few times during filming and it was if they were filming a movie, not following obnoxious 20somethings with a camera. They'd direct them where to sit / stand and by whom, feeding topics of conversation, regulate who they were interacting with..

In reality TV, there is no script, but there certainly is a guideline. And in some cases, a plot.

Most reality game shows are different (Survivor, Top Chef, Project Runway, Amazing Race, American Idol, etc.). But even with those, the Producers still mold the show as it plays out, to create drama. And while they cannot plan who wins, they definitely shape out who the finalists will be. For instance, if it is a show where the home viewer gets to vote as to who stays, the producer can choose for the most "dramatic" contestant to get more airtime than others. Or edit their interviews to be more likable.

Shows like Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars, My Sweet 16, Jersey Shore, and Cake Boss are heavily shaped. My friend worked on a show that went on Cake Boss. The Cake Boss production company made a contract with the show ahead of time, told us when our appointment at the store would be, and asked what the event was and what they wanted the cake to be. This way, when they showed up to the consultation, Buddy had already known who was coming and what the event was, so he already had thoughts about the cake's design for the meeting. (He doesn't think up the ideas for the cakes on the spot. Who'd a thunk it?) The taped consultation was about a month before the event, so all the scenes where they built the cake were filmed over a long timespan, I guess.

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Just about everything is staged in reality TV. The producers are behind EVERY single aspect of a show. Especially a Housewives show. If you're interested, I would watch Alex Mcccord's vlog about the 5th season of Real Housewives of NY. She outs a lot of producers' tricks, and it sent Bravo into a fury.
http://www.youtube.com/user/RumorFix/search?query=alex+mccord

Another favorite staged reality trick of mine is on LONG ISLAND MEDIUM, when she randomly runs into "strangers" and reads them, but the stranger is wearing a microphone. It cracks me up when people are wearing a microphone during these "surprise" situations on reality TV. The food network also does this on those dumb "hidden camera" shows.

Updated On: 11/10/13 at 12:48 PM

Yeah, some stuff just seems so bogus. Like Kris Jenner claimed in a live interview I saw her at that Keeping Up With The Kardashians is 100% real. I do believe the family is as crazy as they make them out to be on that show, but I really think most of the situations are staged. Like what 14 and 16 year old girls would be able to sneak off for a day to Las Vegas by getting a ride to the airport and getting on a plane alone? And the question is, did they have their own credit cards to pay for things that mommy and daddy would not find out about? That was too much for me.

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I've been through the ringer on a lot of the talent shows and they are scripted beyond belief. America's Got Talent is one of the worst. They can't guarantee an act won't make it through, so they sabotage competitors. All those sideshow and dog acts until last year were given one time limit for their Las Vegas callback when they signed the contract to move on and then had that time limit cut down by minutes when they showed up. Ever try to reteach a dog a 4 minute routine as 90 seconds of material? Or have adequate time to do a series of really dangerous stunts when you need more than 90 seconds of banter to prep properly? That's one show even I wouldn't audition for and I got callback on everything from American Inventor to American Idol.

I also had the chance to talk to The Sucklord a couple years ago after he was on Work of Art Season 2. They recruited him to be on the show, then the judges gave him the same critique every week: what you do with resin action figures isn't art, so make art or go home. Then, we he actually used more traditional media, he was eliminated for not doing his wacky Sucklord street art. And we're talking, verbatim, the same criticism each week he landed in the bottom.

The candid shows are scripted because they put the people in scenarios and watch what happens. Anyone else remember reading that Mama June lost 100 pounds filming the first year of Honey Boo Boo because production demanded she get off the couch and participate in the activities?

And the candid interviews are designed to stir up trouble. They ask leading questions, make you own the question as your own thought by rephrasing the question as the start of your answer, and then put you face to face with the person or people they asked you about. It can be total lies, too, just to create more drama.

ljay, the new show most guilty of doing that is Catfish. I can't stand it. It is so disingenuous.

You're right, and I totally agree. There is no such thing as a "surprise ambush" on reality TV. Especially given that one must sign paperwork and confidentiality agreements to even appear on these shows. If you attend a Real Housewives event, every person in the room signs a confidentiality agreement, although this still does not stop information from leaking.

Double post.

Updated On: 11/10/13 at 01:38 PM

Several former daytime soap opera writers I know personally are now employed at reality tv (one is even a head writer for the WWE - if that counts as reality tv.)

They even do auditions for game shows. I went to The Price Is Right last year when I was in LA. It took up like 1/2 of my day between signing forms and having to talk to people to possibly get selected. I didn't because I'm sure I didn't look too great, was not with a huge group, and don't naturally scream an yell from excitement. It was still a fun experience to see though.

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A friend recently auditioned for a singing competition she had to wear the same outfit 4 days in a row and was asked "what's your sob story that we can use?"

I don't even really care, all I care about is if it's entertaining. Speaking of Drag Race, we should be days away from the official announcement for the Season 6 cast.

The cases on Judge Judy, and perhaps the other court shows are real, and the litigants are paid to air their cases on tv. In fact, those disclaimers are announced verbally and/or on the screen. At least they are on the shows I watch.

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