The Reality TV Equation: Then and Now
Reality Executive, Joanna Eberhart
“Wanna be on top?” Tyra Banks’s voice boomed over the television set in my parents’ bedroom.
I am ashamed to say that I was partly raised by Tyra Banks. We can unpack that later. Every Sunday, I’d munch on 100 calorie snack packs while watching Tyra shave a model’s head only to send her home the next week. Over a decade later, I can confidently say that America’s Next Top model remains one of the most unhinged reality television shows of all time, although it’s fair to say the franchise had formidable competition.
The discovery of reality television in the early aughts changed human civilization forever. I write this facetiously, but a small part of me really believes to a degree, reality television has and will continue to shape our already soft and smoothing brains. We talk about it at work. We talk about it at a party consisting of friends of friends. We talk about it with our mothers and mothers-in-law. America has a fascination, a borderline obsession, with watching everyday plebeians struggle on their television screens. Like a child entranced by a snow globe, we love to be hypnotized by a reality that has been meticulously created to entertain us.
The Swan, Fox 2004
In the 2000s, reality success was driven by the uncanny and morally bankrupt. One of my favorite examples of this was The Swan, a reality show that aired on Fox (of course) in which women underwent a makeover inclusive of cosmetic surgery and competed against one another in a final pageant. They were sequestered for months without a mirror until producers filmed their ‘unveiling’ and live reaction to their new face and body. Despite near universal panning from critics and audiences alike, the show reeled in over 9 million viewers during its first season in 2004.
Reality television has always been a carefully designed reflection of society. The wild and unhinged reality debauchery of the 2000s encompassed an era that was overrun by the problematic. Back then, reality puppeteers were very far from being masters of their universe. There were all kinds of liabilities and legalities overlooked in those first few years, it’s shocking there aren’t more (publicized) lawsuits. Over time, networks learned from their mistakes and slowly mastered the equation to begin churning out hits one after the other.
I still think about her…I hope she is doing well
Now well into 2024, we’ve built a reality multiverse. With streamers entering the chat, the reality-verse has tripled in size over the last two decades. Rather than reality television hinging on society, society now hinges on it as the genre has become the most profitable for networks with low production costs and consistently high revenues. What drives success in 2024 is faux relatability and commercial design for the masses. We see this in shows like shows like Netflix’s Love is Blind with a set that looks like a Target home goods display and transition music that reminds me of the tunes my local CVS plays while I stand in line to get my antidepressants refilled.
It doesn’t matter how generic or prescriptive the ‘reality’ is. Reality television has been our escape after a long day click-clacking away. Regardless of the format, we’ll continue cozy up on our couches and snicker as everyday fools line up one after the other all vying for love or money, and most importantly, a chance at Internet fame.
#TeamMaria all the way.
