Reality television

"Reality TV" and "Reality Show" redirect here. For the channel formerly known as "Reality TV", see CBS Reality. For other uses of "Reality Show", see Reality Show (disambiguation).

Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as The Real World, then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor, Idol, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature the gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves.

Documentaries, television news, sports television, talk shows, and traditional game shows are generally not classified as reality television. Some genres of television programming that predate the reality television boom have been retroactively classified as reality television, including hidden camera shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and court shows featuring real-life cases and issues.

Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that by placing the participants in artificial situations, coaching them on behavior, generating storylines ahead of time, staging the scenes and editing footage in misleading ways, reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality. Some shows have been accused of rigging the favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of either untalented people or infamous figures or both; and that they glamorize vulgarity. This has been a recurring pattern in the reality TV world, especially when it comes to normalizing cruelty and violence. Reality TV has been known to favor disruptive behavior because it enhances the drama and entertainment factor of the show. This pattern often leaves cast members with many mental health issues, and personal self-esteem problems.

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