Reality is a genre that seems to be here to stay. I don't know how many of the new shows will last, but the more competition you have, the harder that pie is to slice up.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I don't want to be one of those 'hour' guys who is all bitter about reality TV. It's as viable as any other genre - when it's great, it's great. However! Reality does a certain thing. It burns quickly, brightly, and then it burns out. You can't repeat them.
Reality shows are all the rage on TV at the moment, but that's not reality, it's just another aesthetic form of fiction.
There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving only its hardiest show-offs. Instead, it has metastasized like toxic mold, filling every nook and opening new crannies.
If reality shows are so popular, that means their viewers are screaming for more realness.
But reality television is here to stay.
When we started with 'Big Brother' and created the reality genre, no one could ever foresee that there was so much space in the genre that it could deliver so many formats. There will be periods where there is not enough new stuff to keep the genre alive. But it will never die.
For better or worse, in the 21st century, reality shows are the variety show.
I have a thing against reality shows. I think they are so fake. I think they are produced before they begin. I think people know where they're going, what they're going to say, what the situation is. These things just don't happen and you know that.
I think the reality-show format is brilliant, has endless possibilities. It's documentary! But unfortunately, it's rarely executed well. So it becomes just a scripted show, but without actors.
What has reality shows got to do with reality? It is beyond unreality; there is nothing real about it.