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I have a confession to make. My life without Pawn Stars, Wife Swap, 50 Day Fiance (The Other Way included), and some others would never be the same. I love the absurdity, the drama, the lack of profoundness these reality TV gems bring us. And even if the day has been the worst bender in a 365-day marathon, it’s still complete and quasi-satisfactory after a handful of those episodes before falling asleep.
This is on one condition, of course. If you want to enjoy the TV shows like that, you gotta turn a blind eye to the fakery that comes with it. And although we suspect it's huge, this viral thread on r/AskReddit shows exactly how humongous it is.
“Redditors who have been on a reality TV show such as Hardcore Pawn or Pimp My Ride or Pawn Stars, how FAKE was it,” someone asked on Ask Reddit and the responses started rolling in. Below we selected the most interesting ones, to remind us all to take things with a pinch of salt. Or rather, the whole bag of it.
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#1
I was on set for a filming go Ghost Hunters in Buffalo. On the show, they are "investigating" an upper level of the Buffalo Central Terminal when they hear a "disembodied" voice say "Get out!"
It was the property manager on a lower level yelling at some homeless people to clear out. Everyone knew it was him, but it somehow made it in the show as an "unexplained" event.
#2
Not me but one of my good friends got fired by Trump on the non-celebrity Apprentice. He had the longest Board Rooms in show history because Trump couldn't find a reason to fire any of them. Three hours later the producers went in, spent five minutes, then the contestants were all called back in and Trump fired my buddy.
The main reason was that during the confessionals my friend wouldn't dish on the other players. He tried to play the game straight up and therefore wasn't dramatic enough for the producers who ended up hating him.
Also, Trump is a d*ck in real life.
#3
A friend of mine was on the bachelor. This was years ago and she ended up being one of the last 4 girls. She said they were constantly fed alcohol, were put on a strict sleep schedule where they were literally put to bed and woken up. Also, there were no clocks anywhere, so all the girls were in the constant state of alcohol fueled disorientation. There were no "chance" encounters where the guy is sitting on the couch and the girl goes up to tall to him, all of that is staged. Even their conversations were re-shot over and over if the reactions weren't right or their wording was off. The entire thing was completely controlled and she said no one really knew they guy because none of their interactions were real.
If you’re a fan of 50 Day Fiance, a mega-popular American reality television series on TLC like myself, you know very well how addictive it may be. The level of entertainment is so powerful, there’s a huge fanbase behind every character in the show, with the news being discussed on countless subreddits, forums and Facebook groups. What’s more, you can easily binge the entire season and make yourself bloodshot-eyed the next morning.
The paradox of watching reality TV shows is that no matter how fake and staged they may be (and most viewers are very aware of the fact), how absurdly cringy they seem, we still can’t look away from them. So what is it about that reality drama that’s so appealing that people from different walks of life, of different age and background, and even nationality, find it that addictive?
#4
My brother was on Xfactor UK. There are several rounds before the televised rounds, so all those rubbish acts you see on TV have been picked by producers to go through.
I've also been in the audience of The Voice and Xfactor and they make you do loads of fake cheering, dancing and clapping before the show starts so they can cut it in to the actual show. 90% of the cheering you see/hear on the televised shows have been added in post production.
#5
My boss was on [a certain reality TV show] as a guest judge. In the episode, one of the contestants sprained got injured. My boss was nice and all concerned, but they edited in a shot of her laughing, that was actually laughing at someone's joke from earlier. The filming session for that scene was 10 hours long. They edited it down to about 5 minutes. With that much footage, you can edit it into just about anything you want.
#6
When my wife and I were looking to buy a home in Michigan, our agent told us we had the opportunity to be on House Hunters if we wanted to. We talked to some person from the show, and they told us the basic process: we'd buy whatever home we wanted, then they would film us there before we moved in, as though we were just looking at the place as well as looking at two other "prospective" places that they had selected. Then we'd ultimately "choose" the house we'd already bought and live happily ever after.
We watched a few episode (or I did, my wife already liked the show) and I convinced my wife of how stupid they would likely make us look, so we passed.
The behavioral scientist Dr. Juliette Tobias-Webb, explained to The Latch that people can become obsessed with this kind of drama not only because it is “emotional and exciting” but it can also give people a sense of meaning.
“The physiological arousal from drama is exciting; increasing our heart rate, visceral arousal and leading to the release of endorphins in the brain which are pain-suppressing and pleasure-inducing, not much different than the effect of some drug addictions,” Dr. Tobias-Webb commented. “Like any addiction, you build up a tolerance that continuously requires more to get the same neurochemical effect. In the case of drama, then means you need more and more crises to get the same thrill.”
#7
I was on a European version of "Survivor" where we went to an island and had to survive for 2 weeks. Whatever was seen on camera was what actually happening.
The only fake thing is that we got some food to maintain a somewhat healthy diet.
#8
My family was on World's Strictest Parents. We hosted two rebellious teenagers in our allegedly really strict home. The producers were bummed because the kids actually liked us and we got along with them, so they had to go up to the kids and convince them to get angry for no reason and cause drama. We're still close with the two teenagers and talk to them often!
#9
I was on a reality ambulance tv show when I was an EMT. The patients were real and their medical conditions were real. Everything else about the show was fake. When we filmed it was for a bariatric ambulance tv show. In the morning when the camera crew got there they filmed us driving lights and sirens around the parking lot. Then we did personal interviews where they let us talk about moving bariatric patients and how we felt about our jobs. Then they made us say a bunch of stuff that we normally would never say like "without us these patients would die" etc.. they used these clips of the stuff they made us say and spliced it into the real stuff we said. Our actual ambulance transport seen in the tv show was 100% planned and scripted. The patient wanted to go to the ER and have some decubitus ulcers looked at. However this patient being diabetic had a high blood sugar of 400 having just eaten and taken insulin. We took that and were forced to treat it like a life or death situation and then they used our earlier footage of saying things were life and death and our driving around the parking lot lights and sirens to make it seem like we were fighting for her life. In reality in about 30 min her sugar was going to go back down to normal and life would be good.
The whole experience actually really turned me off to reality TV and made me realize how fake everything is. If people are interested I'm sure I can find the youtube clip. I just have to double check and make sure I didn't sign a non disclosure agreement.
The thrill of the drama may explain part of the reality TV addiction, but the same goes with other TV entertainment, action and adventure movies. Another theory that explains our ongoing fascination with reality TV is that it makes us feel better about ourselves. Dr. Tobias-Webb suggests that people watch television shows to simultaneously make comparisons with the people on the shows and to feel better about themselves and their personal circumstances.
#10
I worked on a cruise ship when they filmed 'Undercover Boss'. The CEO pretended to be doing a documentary and had various crew members train him for a few hours. While no one was expressly told what the gig was, the show had already been going on for a year, so we all sort of knew what was up. When they were doing the shooting, he claimed to stay in a crew cabin to get a 'real' feel for how it was to be a crew member. Not only did they use a passenger cabin in the shot, he didn't even stay there. He stayed in the grand penthouse!! When they did the 'reveal' that he was actually the CEO, they did like five shots of the crews' 'surprise'. His big gesture at the end was $150,000 towards crew welfare (pays for parties, day trips, etc). It came to like $8 per crew member when you consider how many crew members there are. Those that were featured (and even one who got cut from the show) on my ship did get an all expense paid European cruise, so that was nice for them at least, provided they wanted to go on a cruise on their vacation from working on a cruise ship.
#11
I was on "this morning" when I was about 7 and they did a big makeover for me and my siblings. The premise they created was that we were a nightmare and my poor mum just wanted us to look smart for an upcoming christening. The main part I remember was them telling us to jump in the mud and shout no when our mum asked us to stop. Normally we wouldn't have dared so I remember that being fun! Oh and my sister ruined her hair three times before going on stage so they made us hold her hands so she couldn't touch it.
#12
When I was in university about 7 years ago we got an email inviting us to take part in 60 minute makeover (UK). It's a show where a person's family calls in a team of experts to totally re-furnish their house while they're away from home for the day. The audience at home are led to believe that all of the work is done within 60 minutes, and they make a point to start their countdown on camera and rush everyone in to meet their deadline.
About 10 of us joined the makeover team at around 8am on the day and were given flat-pack furniture to make outside the house before they started the makeover. The crew had a skip outside where they threw all of this poor unsuspecting guy's furniture, only to be replaced with this cheap stuff that was only available to him via sponsorship of the programme. (They list all of the new furniture's manufacturers in the credits at the end of the show.)
They also masked off all of the skirting boards and light switches ready for painting before we were let loose inside.
We were let into the house as a member of the ITV crew declared the start of our 60 minutes. After 30 minutes of frantic, patchy wall painting, carrying lamps, uncomfortable seating and chip board coffee tables into the house we were told to vacate.
We then had lunch in the street while the experts went in to clean up our mess and then did it all again for another strict 30 minutes.
After we were finished and the official 60 minutes were over, there was another period of professionals tidying and filling in our shoddy decorating before we all gathered outside and waited for a man to come home from work. He would find that all of his furniture had been smashed into a skip outside his house and replaced with stuff that may look good on camera for a couple of seconds during a quick sequence, but would be very disappointing to live with.
This man would be happy about his makeover and we would leave the scene as more experienced, well rounded students with an insight into TV Production.
Another interesting theory is that reality TV allows Americans to fantasize about gaining status through automatic fame. Ordinary people can watch the shows, see people like themselves and imagine that they too could become celebrities by being on television. And even if the contestants are shown in not the best light, the fact that so many people are still refusing to turn it off means they matter to us in one way or another.
#13
I tried out for Canadian Idol. The contract they made us sign literally stated that the producers could override the fan votes if needed to make sure the person they wanted to win would win. I still tried out. I was not the next Canadian Idol.
#14
In Holland there was a Dutch version of pimp my ride, a player of a football team we played against had his car ''pimped'' the car didnt even make it home, he had to call the car repair service on his way back from the studio...
#15
Obligatory not me but my cousin: She was on Hell's Kitchen and said that they would film for over 10 hours on a day, then would go to sleep around 11pm only to get woken up at 2am to film again to make them more irritable. The producers would purposely bring up topics to create drama within the chefs. They re-tapped when they answered the door in the beginning a couple times to make them seem "more surprised." They portrayed my cousin as the "classic hot blonde". It was certainly more of a reality TV show then a cooking show...
#16
Several years ago, my cousin went in for a tattoo at the shop from 'Inked'. The one in Vegas. It was an 'off' filming day, so NONE of the artists from the show were in. He got his tattoo started, and they asked him to come back in a few weeks when it was healed up to schedule an appointment to finish it. When he showed up, filming for the season was finished. The shop was closed, cleaned out, and the space was for sale.
#17
I was on Jerry Springer. The episode never aired but the entire thing was fake. They even asked me to find friends to complete the storyline of a double love triangle. Coolest part of it all was when they literally asked me if I wanted a fake doctors note or a fake death certificate made out in a fake family members name in order to get me out of work. They literally had a guy on staff whos only job was to get people out of work so they could attend filming.
#18
I had a friend who auditioned for The Voice on the second season I think? He has a beautiful voice but was told his "look" wasn't right for the show. Always thought that was pretty stupid.
#19
Not me, but my best friend was on 16 & Pregnant. Now I don't know if this is always the case, but none of the drama on her episode was fabricated. However at one point, they did ask her to reenact a conversation that she had had with her mother off camera. The funny part is, they had her reenact it about a week after giving birth so she was no longer pregnant. To hide that, she wore a big sweatshirt and held a teddy bear in front of her tummy so you couldn't tell the difference.
#20
My friend was on Intervention. We have the same genetic condition and live with severe pain, do that really pissed me off. They lied to get her on the show, saying it was a documentary about chronic pain patients. Then they forced her to take medicine when she didn't need it just to get shots of her "using" for the show. Then of course they editing everything to make her look bats**t insane. Her episode doesn't have a "several months later" segment at the end because when they sent her to rehab they realized she was in legitimate pain and actually increased her meds. I worked in the film industry and I understand you need to edit things to fit a narrative, but lying to someone to get them on camera and editing it to make them look bad is pretty sh***y IMO.
#21
I went on The Doctors show after my whole "man with no butt crack" story went viral. See my top post history for more info.
Got a call from CBS a couple days after everything went down, and they asked me to come out to California for their "What The Health?!" segment.
Everything on the actual set was real. Essentially just an interview. But the little "montage" backstory beforehand was completely setup and fake. They rented a house to pretend it was mine. They asked me to act like I was in more pain than I really was. I had walk around the pool that I don't own and reflect on my difficult life.
It was super awkward for someone with zero acting experience. But it was also a ton of fun. They flew my wife and I out for free, put us up in the Roosevelt Hotel, and gave us a certain spending amount every day for reimbursement. They didn't "pay" me anything, but they did reimburse me for lost wages from work since I had to be out there for a few days. All in all, it was really cool because I essentially got a free vacation for my wife and I, all expenses paid. Plus, we got to go on a legit television set which was pretty cool.
#22
I was on an Australian reality called Surprise Chef. The premise of the show was that the celebrity chef would meet someone at the supermarket and then cook dinner for them. On my episode I volunteered at an Aquarium. The story in this episode was the chef met my boss at the supermarket, then cooked all the aquarium volunteers a nice surprise dinner.
Of course this was all pre arranged. There was no meeting by chance. We all knew what was happening so for the scene we all got surprised in the shark tank, we knew what was happening and did 7 takes of fake surprise.
The celebrity chef cooked nothing. He went in for a few takes and an actual chef cooked all the food while the CC stood outside chain smoking. The food was average, basicaly local RSL quality, chicken parmy and profiteroles.
I think I drew the short straw of things you get in a reality show, a shi**y meal. Others get like cars or renovation makeovers.
#23
My uncle was on Pawn Stars attempting to sell something. The item wasn't even his. He knew a guy who worked on the show.
#24
My brother was just in another reality TV show. It's the third or fourth he's been in. Without giving too many details(so he wouldn't get in trouble and so the show won't get ruined too early), it's insanely fake. He was given a new name and backstory, and even his "wife" in the TV show is some random actress he's never met that is married to someone else. They set up 90% of the stuff in his house specifically for the show. The only real parts of the show are his dogs and his house(as in the house itself, a lot of details were changed).
It's not even just this show that is super fake. As I said before, he's been in several and all of them have done the same thing. The first one I remember him on was Room Raiders(pretty old now but it was on MTV back in like 04 or around then). They did use his room, but they staged almost everything. All the "significant" things that the girl would comment on or look at were all placed there by the crew, so it was all pre-planned and fake.
#25
I was on Amazing Race. It was not filmed daily I remember it was like every week as compared to what is shown on TV. And it was filmed months before airing so you already know the winner but cannot say to anyone because "non-disclosure agreement". Everything has to be in perfect shot, like how you run from A to B, how you open the paper tasks, how you ask from people etc. The only thing that's not scripted are the people we choose to ask randomly to complete the task - they are really just random people we meet on the street. But everything was like "okay we will re-shoot the part when you are climbing the tree/running in the subway etc." because there were not "much action/drama/sweat". Also I felt cheated. I kinda felt that the producers has an "apple of their eye" who are destined to win the game even before the show started. The game was played fair in the beginning till mid part, but during the final episodes, the "favorite team" are getting all the special treatment they would get in order to be in advantage. Since your team is being shot at different location as the other team, you wouldn't know what kind of cheating could have happened. Yes, you got it right, the "producer's favorite" won the race and I felt/cheated used for the sake that they have contestants/drama/whatever. There are real contestants like me who auditioned from scratch and there are lucky ones who are close to some big guy and got in the show and are set up to win. So if you are joining these sorts of reality shows, prepare for this "reality".
#26
This probably doesn't count but I interviewed for What Not to Wear. It started at a punk show on the west coast. On the east coast, you dress punk for a punk show. I'd just moved to the west coast and didn't get the memo that everyone would be wearing a plaid shirt and jeans so I was in full on regalia. So this woman approaches me and says she likes my outfit and that she works for a fashion show that she'd like me to be on, and asks for my contact info so she can follow up afterwards.
Later on I get an email from her and find out it was What Not to Wear. Obviously this made me feel like complete sh*t since I felt like my outfit looked pretty nice. I battled a lot internally about whether or not I should enter. They told me I would get a prize of my choosing worth $20,000 plus an entire new wardrobe of fashion designer clothing, but the trade off is that it would be really degrading and probably ruin my self esteem, plus they would destroy all of my "alternative" clothing. They said I would have to get all of my friends and family on board so they could have interventions to tell me how bad all my clothes are.
Eventually I decided money is money and went into the audition which was in the SAG building (I also decided I was going to hide all my favorite clothes so they couldn't destroy them). A filmographer was asking me some questions when the director walked in and dragged him out of the room. She came back in a minute later and told me she thought my outfit looked great, that she had no idea how I had ended up there but that I was welcome to recommend any other poorly dressed friends to the show.
I guess in the end it was a confidence boost but $20,000 prize would have been pretty sweet.
#27
I have a friend who signed up to audition for a show that she thought was "The Bachelorette", or something similar. I guess its standard practice to not give the actual name of the show, and just say, "We need good looking, energetic young women for blah blah blah."
So she got called back, went through a few different interviews and a screen test. Finally, they tell her that the concept is that she will be running a Pawn Shop with another woman. She is a dental assistant with no experience remotely related to the Pawn business.
"Pawn Queens" ended up being on for two seasons and they gave her a backstory about how/why she got interested in the pawn business. Not exactly SHOCKING, but it was pretty interesting to see that they basically looked for hot girls first, then put them into a proven concept ("Pawn Stars"-type reality show).
#28
I worked on a couple of low key reality shows a while ago. This is what I learned from the people who worked on other shows.
- Each show has a team of "Story Producers" who stand behind the cameramen with walkies telling them to get specific shots. As the reality is happening, the story producers are there to make sure they're getting the shots they need to make whatever story for the episode. It's really hard to make something that didn't happen, but it's not too hard to change an emotion, or a mood, within what happened. Like when a woman doesn't like seeing the guy kiss the other woman. Just use some out of context shots and boom.
- Mostly everything that people say on a show is what they said, but sentences can be taken out of context. Sometimes if the editor is good they can "frankenbite", which means they can take specific words to make a new sentence. This is rare because it's pretty hard to do, and you have to find a place to put it. Usually off camera and subtitled.
- Producers will often talk sh*t in private interviews to get reactions. "Did you hear that so and so said this about you?" Booze also helps fuel drama. And they cast people who are going to be dramatic anyway.
- Producers will also select people to be on the show. Like Pawn Stars. The producers select which customers get to be on the show. With Hardcore Pawn, it's the same thing, but more for a dramatic event rather than someone who has something interesting.
- When it comes to makeover shows, it varies. You could either have a Pimp my Ride, which did cosmetic fixes to cars. Or an Overhaulin, where they did a full resto-mod on the car. It just depends on the show.
- However, if it's a game show, or any show where you win money, the federal government sends a rep to make sure the game is fair. There's laws against rigged gameshows.
#29
A friend of mine was on the MTV show Next. It was a really crappy "speed dating" show where 3 guys go on a date with 1 girl (or vice versa) and she can yell "next!" at any point in the date to meet the next guy.
Nearly 100% of it was fake. Date locations weren't picked by the contestants (even though they state they are), lines were fed by producers, and the prize money (you could choose to date the girl again or get something like $200 iirc) was a lie, too. They all got paid a flat rate for the day, even if you didn't make it on the show. Most notably, the 'bio' that showed on screen when the contestant first shows up was completely made up, too. It'd list things like Name, Age, and 3 "interesting facts" about them, and none of them were true about my friend or anyone else. I think they even got his age wrong lol
Anyway, that show sucked really bad and disappeared pretty quickly, but it was really funny to see my friend on it and get a peek behind the veil.
#30
My sister Julie was on The Real World. Our entire family went down to visit her. Julie was really excited for us to come down, but she also gave the show a ton of footage of her being annoyed that we were coming. When we got down there, she started inventing issues and even picked a big fight with my dad. When our family was leaving, the producers begged us to stay. They even offered us money. No one in the family had any hard feelings about the fight. We all knew it was drama she made up for the camera. When the show aired, my family had like four episodes. Julie was by far the most successful cast member. These shows don't pay well, but she made a ton of money on her celebrity.
What do you think ?
Tami 2 years ago
I know so much of those shows is staged, but I still get a lift out of watching the Susan Boyle and Paul Potts auditions on Britain's Got Talent. They're presented as such underdogs, but come out triumphant.
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago
There are so many good auditions on BGT. I know the show is manipulated, but the auditions are real and I'm pretty sure the families and friends reactions are too.
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Biba Little 2 years ago
I watched several seasons of America's next top model (started when I had a flu but then get involved), and later I found interviews from many participants, girls and boys. It's so fake! Producers literally make them say some things. They also keep them sometimes without sleep or with not enough sleep so they are drowsy and tired, and act more hasty than usual. It was also obvious for each season they pick "a villain" , usually poor girl who doesn't even realize what she is into. Those girls are mercilessly shown in worst possible ways by cuts and scripts and of course, later harassed by people who think that they are really like that. How bloody awful! I listened to interviews of several "villains" (although it was pretty obvious to me when I was watching it was all set up) and they were nice, smart persons who had a lot of problems with some persons who didn't realize "reality" is not that real at all. It was heart-breaking! Also, show bullied models so much.
Nicole A 2 years ago
I have a friend who was on a similar model type show (I think it only 1 or 2 seasons and I don't remember the name but Naomi Campbell was in it). She quit right before the finals to the shock of the production team because she was one of the favorites to win. She said it was so toxic being on the show and she realized that the modeling industry wasn't worth the negative effect on her mental and physical health. She still does some local modeling on the side but she's living a very happy life and doesn't regret it.
Load More Replies...
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
When reality tv first aired, people laughed at it--said it was obviously fake and hated the stereotypes it promoted. It was tested on university students. However, within a very short period of time, the same students began to believe the images presented to them, and the shows even changed the students' opinions about the groups of people presented in them--this is why these shows are dangerous. They promote negative stereotypes and bias. I believe the books is called "Reality Bites"--but there are lots of studies on the damage these shows do to the viewer
Tami 2 years ago
I know so much of those shows is staged, but I still get a lift out of watching the Susan Boyle and Paul Potts auditions on Britain's Got Talent. They're presented as such underdogs, but come out triumphant.
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago
There are so many good auditions on BGT. I know the show is manipulated, but the auditions are real and I'm pretty sure the families and friends reactions are too.
Load More Replies... Biba Little 2 years ago
I watched several seasons of America's next top model (started when I had a flu but then get involved), and later I found interviews from many participants, girls and boys. It's so fake! Producers literally make them say some things. They also keep them sometimes without sleep or with not enough sleep so they are drowsy and tired, and act more hasty than usual. It was also obvious for each season they pick "a villain" , usually poor girl who doesn't even realize what she is into. Those girls are mercilessly shown in worst possible ways by cuts and scripts and of course, later harassed by people who think that they are really like that. How bloody awful! I listened to interviews of several "villains" (although it was pretty obvious to me when I was watching it was all set up) and they were nice, smart persons who had a lot of problems with some persons who didn't realize "reality" is not that real at all. It was heart-breaking! Also, show bullied models so much.
Nicole A 2 years ago
I have a friend who was on a similar model type show (I think it only 1 or 2 seasons and I don't remember the name but Naomi Campbell was in it). She quit right before the finals to the shock of the production team because she was one of the favorites to win. She said it was so toxic being on the show and she realized that the modeling industry wasn't worth the negative effect on her mental and physical health. She still does some local modeling on the side but she's living a very happy life and doesn't regret it.
Load More Replies... Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
When reality tv first aired, people laughed at it--said it was obviously fake and hated the stereotypes it promoted. It was tested on university students. However, within a very short period of time, the same students began to believe the images presented to them, and the shows even changed the students' opinions about the groups of people presented in them--this is why these shows are dangerous. They promote negative stereotypes and bias. I believe the books is called "Reality Bites"--but there are lots of studies on the damage these shows do to the viewer
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