Reality TV 3.0: How to Kill a Genre

What is happening to Reality TV these days? As the 3rd generation of Reality TV rolls out of the networks, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for Reality TV. Third generation, you may be asking. What's that? Well, here's a brief history of Reality TV to get you caught up.

Reality TV (The Formative Years)

Arguably, the roots of reality TV go back to the earliest days of television. Shows like Candid Camera and What's My Line? were adept at displaying the reactions of victims as far back as the '50s. Although these shows were good (for their time), they were little more than trendy game shows and comedy skits. They focused on amusing observations about people, often utilizing secret cameras. They had not yet acquired the characteristics of true Reality TV 1.0 shows: the ability to actually create a story and even celebrity.

In the 70's, there was An American Family on PBS, a show that focused on the chaotic lives of an average family. Special? Not really. Although, it did make the leap from merely observing people to creating a story about them via creative editing. It garnered 10 million viewers, which was probably admirable at the time, but it didn't really start a trend in programming for the masses.

Reality TV 1.0

The first true generation of modern reality TV programming started in the late '80s. America's Most Wanted (1988) focused on capturing criminals. Cops and Rescue 911 (1989) both focused on observing people in less fortunate moments by taking the viewer into typically forbidden realms of viewing—essentially, voyeurism. America's Funniest Home Videos in 1990 was the logical offshoot of Candid Camera, with a twist: now it was the viewers capturing themselves to be viewed and laughed at by the world. These early versions of reality TV programming can be credited with originating the genre of the modern Reality TV show.

The Rise of The Real World

None of these shows, however, can be called the granddaddy of Reality TV 1.0 programming. That award goes to The Real World (1992). This show was special because it was all contrived, not accidental. A stage was created for the creation of reality. Arguably the template for every decent reality show that followed, The Real World is the certifiable father of Reality TV. Everything from the clever casting to the staged dramatic conflicts of current reality shows began here. It spawned an entire genre of programming. There is no arguing about it.

Of course, with the success of The Real World came a ton of other reality shows, many of them more successful and polished. Survivor and Big Brother (both from 2000) were the logical offshoots of The Real World and quickly became the reigning lords of Reality TV, but the next generation was quick to unseat them.

The Apprentice builds a bridge

What's different about The Apprentice? I like to think of it as the bridge between 1.0 and 2.0 programming. The contestants are all fairly average, but they also harbor hidden talents that are displayed during the show and (usually) help them to win, thereby not only winning them a job working for Trump, but also garnering them huge celebrity. In terms of the timeline of programming, The Apprentice also seems to fall directly in the middle of the passing of the guard, between the generations.

Reality TV 2.0

So what is Reality TV 2.0, you might be asking? Well, It's the current generation of Reality TV. Whereas 1.0 generation programming was effective at gathering normal, average people and putting them in any number of stressful situations to create drama and fly-by-night celebrity, Reality TV 2.0 is slightly different from that rubric. Reality TV 2.0 programming focuses on people who already have talent (and often celebrity of their own). In effect, Reality TV 2.0 is seeking to brand and amplify celebrity using the talents of the individuals on display. Doing this strengthens not only the contestants, but the shows as well, because celebrities are now created, promoted, and contracted by the reality programs themselves. These shows currently rule the programming schedules, and there is some overlap with legacy 1.0 programs, but for the most part, 2.0 programming already dominates primetime.

Examples of Reality TV 2.0 programming include:

American Idol - Where pretty decent singers compete for bragging rights and the chance to be locked into draconian recording contracts.

Top Chef - Where chefs convene to present their culinary masterpieces and tenderize their competition like tough beef.

America's Next Top Model - Where tall, lanky girls get a start in doing coke being supermodels.

Project Runway - Where all the kids who knew how to use the sewing machines in Home Ec ended up.

So You Think You Can Dance? - Where good dancers stand a chance to finally get music video gigs.

Making The Band - Where pop divalettes are manipulated by Puff Daddy for the amusement of all.

The Surreal Life - Where has-beens get a second chance before they finally crawl under a rock.

The Contender - Trying, oh so desperately, to revive boxing from the knockout Don King delivered to it in the 90's.

Ultimate Fighter - Arguably my favorite (and the best) Reality TV 2.0 program of all. Why? Well, it's simple, really. All good Reality TV is essentially about contests and drama. What better show is there than one where the contestants display the tedious dramas of living together, then literally go to blows every week on their quest to get a contract with the UFC? This program is Reality TV 2.0 at its best!

Reality TV 3.0

There are really two ways of looking at 3^rd gen Reality TV programming, which is still in its infancy.

• On one hand, you have "staged reality." Shows like MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills fall into this genre. They aren't really Reality TV, but they're made to look like Reality TV in such a way that you begin to question what is real and what is contrived. Yes, it turns the entire genre of Reality TV inside out. And yes, I hate it. It's garbage. It hasn't been well-executed and it stands to destroy everything we hold dear about Reality TV because it begs the question: how much actual Reality TV is staged as well? If shows like this continue to be produced, we will soon invariably be inundated with shows that can't decide if they are real or not. Can you imagine a Survivor made entirely in a Hollywood studio by paid actors? I hope not.

• On the other hand, you have shows being produced by complete amateurs on sites like YouTube. Perhaps the next generation celebrity of Reality TV will not be produced by the networks at all? If so, I hope something better than people lip-synching in dormitories is what we have to look forward to.