From the biggest breakdowns to the pettiest fights seen on TV, how real is reality TV, exactly? Considering the prominence of TV drama, what sets reality TV apart from all of it? Here's what you need to know.
How Much of Reality TV is Real? The Truth Behind the Drama
First of all, reality TV should be taken exactly how they're represented. These are moments shot while the cameras are rolling, pretty similar to how live shows are done in real time — there's no telling which is real or fake.
However, to give a more profound perspective on it, the electronic-media division head at the College-Conservatory of Music previously said, "Reality TV is a misnomer. In many cases, there is nothing remotely real about it."
According to MTV's The Real World co-creator Jon Murray, The Real World is an example of "not exactly scripted drama" but is somewhere in between "puppeteering" and "social engineering."
Initially, it was considered a social experiment where the artificial setting in itself was orchestrated to "elicit reactions" and provoke through the "Candid Camera" before it eventually started generating money.
Reality TV shows are essentially a mixed bag, depending on the intention of the show.
A dating show like Love is Blind, for example, is not scripted, as viewers would want a more authentic connection between strangers meeting up to handle difficult conversations before they tie the knot.
How Scripted are the Popular Reality TV Shows? Kardashians vs. Squid Game
Keeping Up with the Kardashians pretty much unveiled the dirty laundry each family member was hiding behind their mansions. But was it scripted?
However, as far as their show goes, a former producer who worked with the reality show from 2007-2021 confirmed that their lives on camera were "not scripted."
If anything, the most 'scripted' part of it was simply asking about particular life events they want to document and then leaving the camera crew to follow them for months and "take it from there."
Squid Game: The Challenge may seem like a predetermined mind game that Netflix played on their viewers who are fans of the original franchise.
But producer Stephen Lambert unveiled that the only 'scripted' aspect behind it was the post-production on how each episode should unfold its winners and how the scenes with guards were acted out.
Netflix even responded to accusations of the games and conclusion being 'rigged' and stated, “Any suggestion that the competition is rigged or claims of serious harm to players are simply untrue."
That, however, gets dispelled when Squid Game: The Challenge contestants told news outlets that the reality show was 'cruel' and 'rigged' to favor social media influencers, despite how they win or lose at each level.
So, again, the 'unscripted' aspect behind reality shows highly relies on the main intention of the production.
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