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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. [1]
- 1 Candid Camera
- 4 Real People
- 5 Cops
- 6 The Real World
- 8 Road Rules
The First Reality TV Show - 1948
Candid Camera is the first reality TV show with a creative concept from the start and began on the radio in 1947. According to Guinness World Records, the radio show was called Candid Microphone "and became so popular that it spawned a series of movie shorts using film cameras in place of concealed mikes. The TV version began in 1948 with the title Candid Mike" and switched to Candid Camera the following year. By 1960, the show was a mainstay on CBS, hosted by Allen Funt. The program has been...
Premiered in 1979
Just like it sounds, Real People was one of the first reality TV shows that captured the triumphs and challenges of real individuals. Subjects opened up to the camera crew about their most challenging endeavors, from flying warplanes to running across Canada. The show was hosted by Sarah Purcell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, and John Barbour, who introduced segments featuring a wide range of people and their stories. Each episode of Real People featured a mix of stories, including from ordin...
Premiered in 1989
Beginning in 1989, Copsspent 32 seasons on the air and depicted the routine duties of police officers. It was filmed in cinéma vérité style, eschewing incidental music and sound effects, narration, and scripted dialogue. With handheld cameras and no-nonsense editing, Copsmade viewers feel they were part of the action, from routine traffic stops to high-speed pursuits. Its signature theme song became iconic over three decades on the air. Though Cops continues production for international marke...
Premiered in 1992
The Real World premiered in 1992 and is MTV's original reality series. Known as a reality-based soap opera, the program put together a group of young adults who did not previously know one other and followed their interactions under one roof. While there were fake aspects of The Real World, it provided the model for many modern reality TV series. The series has 33 seasons, with some of the best seasons being the early ones. The iconic, long-running series enjoyed its latest incarnation on Par...
Premiered in 1995
The sister show to the Real World, Road Rules, premiered in 1995 on MTV and ended in 2007. With no money, young adults lived together in an RV and moved from one place to another, collecting clues and completing missions. The concept came from a road trip on The Real World, and the series established reality personas and archetypes that would surface on plenty of other shows, like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Road Rules represented a genre still exploring the possibilities of what viewe...
May 15, 2024 · From navigating romances in the Regency era to managing a farm during the Tudor period, historical reality shows are a delightful mix of education and drama. Many historical reenactment reality series are British, offering views into Victorian London, such as Victorian Pharmacy, The 1900 House, and 24 Hours In The Past.
Quest for the Sea is a 4x1-hour living history documentary series that follows 2 families as they return to a lost way of life in a remote fishing village in Newfoundland.
Nov 8, 2017 · Today, reality TV is sophomoric, contrived and often inane. Unlike “An American Family,” it rarely challenges viewers in a critical and thoughtful manner. But in the early 1970s, PBS thought ...
May 22, 2024 · The hidden-camera show Candid Camera, often identified as the first reality TV show, premiered on the ABC network in 1948 with the title Candid Microphone, reflecting the show’s roots as a radio program (various versions of the TV show aired from 1948 to 2014).
Sep 28, 2008 · Timeline: 60 years of reality TV programming. Allen Funt brings his popular radio show “Candid Microphone” to television as “Candid Camera,” and reality TV is born. After years of airing ...
