Reality TV History
Reality television is a genre which has come to be a popular aspect of television programming of late. It is known for its un-audited drama, unscripted performance and realistic situations preformed by a cast of ordinary people selected through nationwide or worldwide auditions and often focused in various locations in curious situations. Reality television has been known since a long time but only in 2000’s have they come to be popularized under the name usually associated with highly influenced forms of surveillance and voyeuristic camera handling. Note that news, sports shows and most documentaries are not covered as reality shows.
Searching the history of reality TV, one finds that Allen Funts “Candid Camera” was the first to debut in this genre. It was a televised extension of a popular radio show which caught the reactions of unsuspecting random citizens to hilarious pranks played upon them. It’s known to be “granddaddy of the reality TV genre” as following its debut a number of shows had been motivated by it, where some are seen even today which have drawn a direct inspiration.
Follow ups include many over the ages like Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts which worked in similar lines as the American Idol, the first of the many Miss America Pageants broadcasted in 1954 which boosted the careers of many individuals as well as national and international celebrities.
The first reality show which was completely understood and defined the modern approach would be the series called An American Family in the early 1970 followed by its UK counterpart The Family which shows normal families undergoing various tricky situations. By the 1980’s, COPS showed up on the scene and defined Reality TV as we know it.
Only in the late 2000 Reality TV gained the global popularity mainly due to the success of Survivor series and the American Idol which have gained the highest television ratings and has been enjoyed by one and all. These series were followed up with many other original broadcasts like The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, “Fear Factor” and Big Brother which achieved almost equal recognition and fame.
Initially it was argued upon that the popularity and influence of reality TV was limited and their DVD sales are unlikely to become popular. But as facts and statistics note, the DVDs for various popular shows such as The Amazing Race, Project Runway, America’s Next Top Model and the Real Orange County have all been known as best sellers. Many have in fact outsold documented drama. Reality TV has achieved such mainstream success that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced on April 2008, a new category known as the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality Show which will follow starting September 21 .
Today as we know it, there are two major television channels dedicated entirely to reality television namely Zone Reality from the UK since 2002 and Fox Reality which is broadcasted from the US since 2005. Apart from that there is many more coming up and amongst them the Adventure Channel is taking the lead. The increasing number of reality shows introduces the much wanted variety in television programming and makes for engaging viewing.