How Real is Reality TV?
Photo art compliments of Pexels
Are you a watcher of reality TV? Perhaps a Love Island fan or Dance Moms connoisseur? Well, if you are, get ready for a deep dive into the world of your favorite television! Reality TV shows are supposedly real, with nothing scripted. But have you ever wondered to what extent it is genuinely authentic? How much is production involved? Are interviews scripted, what is real? While it is difficult to know 100% of the truth, certain marketing strategies from Reality TV production can be extremely visible.
“Love Island” is a show where a group of single people live in a luxury villa on an Island to find love and have fun. Relationships are built, put to the test, and change throughout one season. First of all, the show’s producers help decide who talks to whom when forming couples. In an interview with Heat Magazine, members Hugo Godrey and Jess White from the “Love Island” 2024 cast shared their experiences on the show.
Hugo said, “You’re guided to chat with certain people, but what you say is what you say.” This is one marketing strategy from “Love Island”’s production. Similarly to Hugo, Jess explained, “It’s really important to remember it’s an edited show, and there are things that don’t necessarily get shown because it’s not classed as exciting or entertaining.”
Marketing does not only come from the producers telling cast members how to interact, but it can also come from how the show is edited. A 2022 Islander, Jay Younger, revealed that producers staged an argument between him and fellow islander Ekin Su. This is a top-tier example of marketing by producers to tailor to what they think will be the most captivating.
When asked about their thoughts on “Love Island” Grace students recognized many of these examples. Ruby S. ‘27 says that “It’s easy to tell that the producers of “Love Island” single out contestants on the show to make them look like bad people.”
Anika A. ‘26 shared similar thoughts, explaining “There is always a designated villain of the season.”
Mara M. ‘27 claims: “It is staged. Contestants only care about making money, and there are no genuine romantic connections between people on the show.” Mara also described how “most of the couples break up after the show.”
Another captivating reality show, “Dance Moms”, is infamous for its weekly “pyramids,” where teacher Abby Lee Miller would rank the students based on their performance during competitions. Dancer Chloe Lukasiak spoke out about this to Business Insider, saying that the pyramid was only for production purposes and did not exist in the studio before filming the show. This iconic and entertaining aspect of ”Dance Moms” only exists because of production. Another dancer, Payton Ackerman said, “They never hand you a script, but all I can tell you is that they set up situations that might not have happened, which causes a reaction to something that happened that wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t set it up.” While most reality TV shows are not necessarily scripted, there are many scenes completely set up by producers. In terms of “Dance Moms”, the production teams set up many things, specifically their pyramids.
Many Grace students are avid “Dance Moms” fans. Nora G. ‘28 explained her thoughts on the validity of the show, saying that, “While most of the conflicts were staged by producers, the emotions were real.”
Zoe Z. ‘26 exclaimed, “There is lots of editing of the show and the speakers to make them sound a certain way.”
Bravo TV’s famous franchise, “The Real Housewives”’, has had its viewers questioning what is real or fake for years. Screen Rant revealed that the engagement between Harry Dublin and Sonja Morgan was completely fake. Cast member Heather Thompson spoke out and said, “It was a ring that Ramona (Singer) was wearing. And she took it off and gave it to Harry to pretend that it was his … it was one-upmanship.” A fake storyline of an engagement was set up only to entertain viewers.
Similarly, many students at Grace have watched “The Real Housewives”, including Gordie H. ‘27, an avid “The Real Housewives” fan. He does not believe it is staged, but rather thinks “it’s very real form of human interaction”
While producers set up many storylines and fights, these shows, as well as many other reality TV shows, are not scripted. While it can be annoying to observe exaggerated storylines, I have realized that this excessive drama and stretching of the truth only add to the story and draw people into these shows.
Many Grace students are reality TV connoisseurs. Despite the fact that most things are not completely authentic and that some things are simply for entertainment, reality TV can still be a perfect guilty pleasure. Don’t expect to watch something fully truthful, but definitely expect to enjoy it.
Chloe Frischman ‘27, the author, is a staff writer for The Grace Gazette.