Reality Check: Unscripted TV from the Producers' Lens
Reality television has been a staple of entertainment for decades, captivating audiences with its promise of raw, unscripted drama and excitement. From survival challenges to cooking competitions to dating shows, reality TV has showcased its share of shocking moments, like teammates deviously backstabbing one another or enraged housewives hurling drinks in the faces of their frenemies.
For many fans, the unpredictability has been a refreshing alternative to traditional scripted programming, proving that truth is stranger than fiction. But all those over-the-top plot twists have caused others to doubt the genre’s authenticity, leading to a question that has intrigued viewers for years:
Just how real is reality TV?
The short answer is, reality TV is not entirely real. While it’s meant to expose the unfiltered lives of ordinary people, much of what winds up on screen has been crafted by an entire production team who tailor the narrative to get the most excitement into every episode. Here, we get the inside scoop from producers on what they do to alter our sense of “reality”:
Reward bad behavior from the start.
It’s no accident that reality shows feature cast members in constant conflict. Kindness and harmony may be what people strive for in their daily lives, but they don’t make for the most thrilling entertainment. Producers know this, so when they begin the casting process, they seek out individuals who may easily lose their cool. In fact, hostility is not only encouraged, but also often incentivized.
One longtime popular series featured brides-to-be struggling to keep their sanity while planning their upcoming weddings. According to producers of the show, the cast understood that they wouldn’t be compensated until the episode received an airdate. And if they didn’t bring the drama, their entire story could end up on the cutting room floor.
Essentially, the brides were driven to be as difficult as possible, which is why so many appeared to be a holy terror right up to holy matrimony, throwing a fit over, say, a tiny flaw in the veil, if the wedding cake was missing an extra layer of frosting, or when the DJ wouldn’t play “The Cupid Shuffle”.
Push the drama during production.
Even if the cast has been chosen for their bad attitude, they still may need a nudge from the crew on set. This could involve both reminding them of reasons to go off the deep end and creating situations to help get them there.
For example, the cast members of the Lifetime series, “Little Women: LA” were part of a close-knit community with a long history. Which also could mean that the women held years’ worth of grudges against each other, and surely, would erupt in spectacular fashion in every scene. Or so the producers hoped.
However, in the first few episodes, the characters hadn’t found their combative groove yet. According to producers watching the early footage, the cast were often trying to work out their differences on camera, only to have a field producer step in to suggest an alternate, less peaceful way to approach the situation. The crew would bring up past grievances or remind the women of insults and slights, and voila, the gloves came off and arguments ensued. And if a fight ended with everyone refusing to talk to each other, the producers would rekindle the chaos by setting up scenarios to bring the adversaries back together, like a group vacation to Hawaii. The official intention of these trips was to mend their friendship, but of course, it usually led to another Little Women war .
Fix it in post.
Even with all the preparation that goes into creating a compelling narrative, sometimes the footage still isn’t conveying the kind of thrills that may hook viewers. That’s when the post-production team – story producers and editors – need to really work their magic, heightening the drama with a few post tricks of the trade:
Editing reactions.
Reality shows don’t always have to play out in the actual sequence of events. Once producers find the moments they need, they can manipulate the order to convey the desired effect.
This is often the case on business makeover shows like “Bar Rescue” or “Kitchen Nightmare”. In many episodes, it may appear that the industry expert is recoiling to a disgusting problem at the establishment (e.g. rats or cockroaches), prompting them to yell at the owner. But what plays out on screen may be the result of the post team choosing a moment of the expert looking off camera, placing it after a b-roll shot of the vermin, along with a percussive sound to punctuate the disgust, audio of the expert yelling from a different occasion, and then a shot of the owner appearing sad for a completely unrelated reason. The juxtaposition of these sights and sounds creates the desired story, even if it didn’t quite happen that way.
Interviews.
In many reality shows, participants are asked to provide "confessional" interviews where they reflect on their experiences and share their thoughts with the audience. But much of what is said is suggested by the producers to provide the desired insight into the contestants' motivations and emotions. In many cases, those interviews are scripted altogether.
“Zombie House Flipping” is a home renovation show on A&E in which rundown properties are fixed up and sold for a profit by house-flipping experts, who provide OTFs, or “on-the-fly” interviews, about their progress. But there’s rarely time for those OTFs to be recorded in the moment on the fast-paced production. They’re often shot days or weeks later, and by then, storylines such as roof repair or plumbing issues may have been added or dropped. So rather than rely on the experts keeping track of everything, the production team writes out the OTFs for them to read.
Frankenbiting.
Even when the interviews are scripted, the producers may find that the cast hasn’t quite delivered the information or emotion needed for the episode. That problem is often solved by frankenbiting, an editing technique where sound bites from different parts of an interview or conversation are spliced together to create a cohesive narrative. It may be done to enhance drama and clarity, but it can also be used to alter the original context or intent of the speaker to suit the narrative.
Frankenbiting is pervasive on "Married at First Sight”. On that show, singles agree to marry a stranger, and after several weeks as husband and wife, they decide whether to stay together or get a divorce. In its first season, one couple appeared to be an ideal match, clearly smitten with each other. While their lovefest made for great viewing throughout the season, by the end, it was becoming too obvious that they would choose marriage. To keep the audience guessing the couple’s fate, the producers carefully selected specific lines from their interviews.
And so, while the bride might originally say: “I don’t know if I have any doubts about us. I want my new husband and I to stay married.”
After frankenbiting, she says: “I have doubts about my new husband. I don’t know if I want us to stay married.”
Although the newlyweds’ words may have been manipulated, their final decision to stay together was genuine. That’s because there seems to be an unwritten and final rule for reality TV producers:
Adjust whatever’s necessary, but don’t alter the outcome.
Believe it or not, there are laws against tampering with or changing the result of a competition broadcast. But even if producers of a reality show can’t adjust the ending, it doesn’t mean they can’t make the journey to get there more interesting.
Using all their techniques, production teams will build suspense by turning a blowout competition into more of a nailbiter. For example, on a car racing series, they’ll show footage of the winning hotrod struggling earlier in the competition, or they’ll highlight the mistakes of every pastry chef in the kitchen so it’s unclear who’ll win the big bake-off.
On the perennial hit competition series “Survivor”, the stakes are particularly high, for both the competitors and producers. While the cast vies for a million dollars, the crew works hard to build the tension to the end of every episode. And even though the production team has no say in who gets voted off the island… usually, they already know.
While the players plot and scheme in their respective camps, field producers are observing everything. They then report to executive producer and host Jeff Probst. So by the time Tribal Council rolls around, Probst is aware of every secret alliance and backstabbing plan, and can stir up the controversy by asking extremely insightful questions to the contestants.
Although, it should be noted that the tribe has occasionally made last-minute changes in their votes, creating unpredictable twists that surprise even Probst and the entire production team. So while much of what we see on screen is manufactured for entertainment purposes, there are moments of authenticity that shine through.
So the next time you tune in to your favorite unscripted program, remember to take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the spectacle for what it is: a carefully constructed illusion of reality.
What’s your take on the reality of reality TV?
