Will Reality TV ever implode? And how would it happen?

[Rikun]

By now, I think most of us recognize that 95% of all reality TV is either set up, re-enacted, or faked in some manner that we might as well call it "unscripted", but then again it still feels like that most people who watch it truly believe it to be real.

It really makes me wonder if there's a certain point in which the audience's suspension of disbelief will be shattered, revealing reality to be the hoax that everybody deep down knows it is. I honestly believe that at some point the curtain is going to be lifted in such a way that will have reality TV collapse in on itself before fading into relative obscurity. For me, I'd imagine an episode of any given reality TV show to devolve from typical "conflict drama" to full blown Michael Bay craziness where people behave so cartoonishly and the fights (and I mean full blown fisticuffs) become so unbelievable that "reality" no longer applies. (and if it takes a few dozen explosions, so be it)

For all you out there, do you think there is a reality threshold that, once crossed, would destroy Reality TV as we know it? What do you think it would take for reality TV to lose its audience? Love to hear what you all think.

 

[FalloutJack]

The explosions aren't the clincher. Mythbusters is real, in that it's an actual test of whether a myth is true or not using real physics and tests thereof. Explosions don't make things unreal unless it really is pointlessly over the top.

I suspect the viewers would have to be traumatized by something that's REALLY real going on, with harmful consequences. It will happen, because now that I've said it, someone will get an idea in their head and go about the dirty deed.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Probably multiple on-screen deaths in a short period of time, probably within a 2-3 month period.

The first death would get the show it was on cancelled, the 2nd and probably needing a 3rd would torpedo the entire genre.

 

[Piorn]

By reality shows I assume you mean American shows, like the one where they pretend to live in the post-apocalypse and have "fights" for "survival" with "rival gangs", right? Because that's just stupid.
I wish german TV was any better, though. Now that even "Wetten dass...?" has been run into the ground, all that remains to watch are History documentations( no, we don't include ancient aliens), and the news.
And Mythbusters of course, but that's not german.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Considering I saw an advert for a reality show which was basically duping a guy into thinking the apocalypse happened, locking him in a Truman Show-style encampment with a bunch of actors, and filming the results... yeah. If that didn't bring reality TV down, I don't think anything will.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

I guess, the US Gov will just videostream all the PRISM data back into the Internets for you to watch.

 

[CriticalMiss]

Considering I saw an advert for a reality show which was basically duping a guy into thinking the apocalypse happened, locking him in a Truman Show-style encampment with a bunch of actors, and filming the results... yeah. If that didn't bring reality TV down, I don't think anything will.

The Derren Brown thing? That was kind of weak although it wasn't really advertised as reality TV. (You might mean something else though).

I don't watch much 'reality' TV because of how horrendously shit it is. Just about the only reality stuff I watch is more on the competition side like The Apprentice (UK) or Strip Search. Even Kitchen Nightmares became more about drama than reality, although that was more about them editing things to make it seem like something was going to happen and it turns out to be something minor.

As for what would kill reality TV, I guess someone being killed or something so obviously fake that even die-hard fans can't ignore it. Which would probably have to be something like aliens landing or the second coming of Wally.

 

[Angie7F]

I like wheeler Dealer.
Any other reality show, I just watch but dont really believe it.

 

[Catrixa]

Probably in a similar way to how Jerry Springer basically devolved into just arguing and chair throwing, then got shoved into daytime TV hell. Every time I boot up some reality TV show in the hopes it will be somewhat about its subject matter, I'm always disappointed that it's pretty much "Oh, look at these cooky bakers/auto-repair guys/shop owners/whatever, they argue all the time. But can they get it together just long enough to succeed? Find out!" No one ever works as a team, has a good day, or is excited about their job (no, saying "I love my job, I just have to scream when my partner is around, which is all the time," in an interview does not count. I'm talking actual, genuine happiness at something, rather than explosive rage, seething rage, muted rage, or apathy).

Of course, the yelling and arguing is what's popular, so that's what's shown. I just don't think we've got a long way to go before it hits the Jerry Springer Singularity (0% show content other than yelling, except maybe a vague premise, like giving a plot setup for Bejeweled) and people realize it's all exactly the same. That's when it will go under.

 

[Nielas]

Probably in a similar way to how Jerry Springer basically devolved into just arguing and chair throwing, then got shoved into daytime TV hell. Every time I boot up some reality TV show in the hopes it will be somewhat about its subject matter, I'm always disappointed that it's pretty much "Oh, look at these cooky bakers/auto-repair guys/shop owners/whatever, they argue all the time. But can they get it together just long enough to succeed? Find out!" No one ever works as a team, has a good day, or is excited about their job (no, saying "I love my job, I just have to scream when my partner is around, which is all the time," in an interview does not count. I'm talking actual, genuine happiness at something, rather than explosive rage, seething rage, muted rage, or apathy).

Of course, the yelling and arguing is what's popular, so that's what's shown. I just don't think we've got a long way to go before it hits the Jerry Springer Singularity (0% show content other than yelling, except maybe a vague premise, like giving a plot setup for Bejeweled) and people realize it's all exactly the same. That's when it will go under.

There already was a reality show crash at least once. The success of Survivor, Big Brother, Bachelor, etc resulted in a lot of cheaper knock-offs where people would compete in contrived competitions for a big final price. These shows were just not done as well as the first-generation shows and they tanked in rankings. Ever since, the successful big name reality shows kept adding new seasons while the contenders tried to find a new niche. We are back in the slice-of-life show territory which is in danger of going the Jerry Springer route. The US Big Brother is falling into that territory as well.

The long-runner shows like Survivor are getting long in the tooth now and there does not seem anything serious to replace them long term. So we might get a big crash when all those shows go away and take all the low quality shows with them.

 

[Tom_green_day]

People on here have a different grasp of the phrase 'Reality TV' to me. Where I live, in the UK, it means shows like Big Brother, Made in Essex, Jeremy Kyle etc. where it's your 'real' people not acting, just doing their everyday day-to-day life.
I don't think it'll ever fail, it's made for a niche audience. That's why the 'real' people aren't really realistic, they're the idols of the intended audience.

 

[balladbird]

the thing with reality tv is that it's soooo much cheaper to make than any other genre of program that even if the ratings for it dipped severely, it would still be profitable.

as such, I don't think reality tv is going anywhere in the near future, barring a series of tragedies, or a sudden spark of artistic integrity.

 

[Rikun]

So it sounds like nothing short of an onscreen death or something that's insanely unrealistic would kill reality TV. Though honestly, would some people still watch a show if the crazy unrealistic stuff starts cropping up?

For example, imagine an episode of "World's Worst Tenants" (on Spike TV, so we already know its authenticity), in which the crew drive up to a property and attempt to kick the current tenants out. The current tenants turn out to be a nefarious cartel with a literal army of thugs that rush the crew in such a manner that the police have been called, but it's not enough. Eventually, what started off as a simple eviction would turn into an all out war between drug dealers with RPGs and AKs and a fully armed National Guard with firefights, explosions, machetes, etc! It'd be the Anchorman rumble all over again...and I still think reality fans would watch it!

As for an onscreen death, I don't even know if THAT would deter a reality audience. A situation like this could easily pop up in a competition reality show where rivalries get extremely intense. Would reality TV producers accidentally drive it to a point where competition boils over to murderous rage? Hopefully we don't see anything like a reality TV version of Battle Royale or the Hunger Games. Though if they DO push it that far, by then all illusions of contestants not be actors would be null and void.

 

[shootthebandit]

Explosions would be nice especially if someone shoved some C4 up joey essex's arsehole and blew the annoying little prick up

 

[tilmoph]

I think at this point, reality tv is in the same category as pro wrestling; everyone knows its guided at best, completely scripted at worst (except cops, which is just edited to make it more entertaining/ hit the highlights), but that's built into their suspension of disbelief.

Also, I'm a little iffy about classing game show types as reality tv. Long haul game show, maybe? I just don't see how a show that just follows the "totally real" lives of random apparently famous people is in the same genre as something like survivor.