The "Rules" of Reality TV

I recently attended a lecture & panel discussion through the departments of Communications, American Culture, and Screen Arts & Cultures called the Goldring Symposium. Entitled “New Trends in Popular Culture: From Reality Television to Hip-Hop and Jerkin’”, it had 3 Michigan alums talk in their respective areas of contemporary music, women’s studies, and television production.

The one speaker that stood out to me as a Screen Arts & Cultures student was Joel Zimmer, the head of current production for his company, 495 Productions. His company produces solely reality television content for networks like MTV and NBC amongst others. Of the most well known shows he has produced are the hit series “The Jersey Shore” and “A Shot at Love” with Tila Tequila.

Joel’s approach to delivering a talk was less academic than the other presenters – it was conversational and allowed the audience to really understand his role in the business. Joel supervises all the shows 495 is producing, which he described could be anywhere from 3-10 shows at any given point during the year.

I will explain how reality TV really doesn’t play by any set rules through several points, each of which fall under a single principle: Reality television is an enticing genre for producers because the content is cheap to produce and it generates a sizable audience – including some of the largest on network television.

1.     The crazier the subjects, the better. When casting for reality shows, Joel made it very clear that they’re not out to find individuals that embody characteristics of someone that can relate to the masses – It’s actually the complete opposite. They seek people that are crazy enough to be entertaining, but not so off-the-wall that they would be too big of a risk for the producer’s investment.

2.     The structures of the stories are completely up in the air.  When a series is green lit to enter production, the producer only has a general idea of the messages the series should convey to an audience. The individual storylines that drive the story through each episode don’t emerge until the middle stages of post-production. Because of this, there are literally endless possibilities for what each episode can communicate.

3.     The director has no say in shaping the content – all the power lies within the producers and executives. The director’s role on set if solely to make sure production runs smoothly. As you can imagine, though, it is impossible to actually direct the actions of the talent in this genre. Similar to the second point where the story takes shape toward the middle of post-production, the decisions made are almost completely dictated by the producer’s desire for profits, not a director’s creative vision.

 Can you think of any additional ways in which this genre disregards conventional rules of scripted television to increase viewership?