REALITY TV?

I wanted to share something with you - and apart from it just being interesting to me, I think it might say something about Reality TV as a genre.

So, mid conversation yesterday my other-half was describing the trials and tribulations a friend of our’s is experiencing in her career. Then it came… “Oh yeah… and now she’s, like, producing a reality TV show?!”.

There it was.

Right at the end of the sentence was the question-mark - that upward inflection of incredulity and questioning uncertainty that comes along when talking about something rather unsavory.

She followed up by stroking my ego a little. “Oh, er… you know. You know what I mean?”.

But, aside from the abject indignity our friend was so clearly (in my other-half’s opinion) having to live through while being associated with Reality TV, it struck me that this is actually a problem the whole genre faces.

You see, Reality TV has always been seen as the rather fun, young uncle of ‘propper tv’, the one who knows how to have a great time, knocks em back at family functions - amuses everyone with his self-confident ballsy behavior and his cheeky Coyote Ugly dancing, and who sometimes shows us his butt-crack for a laugh, but …er… has that problem with Bacardi and Coke and that issue with your daughter’s high school friends. Yes, that guy.

When I speak to friends or get introduced to people - even at a party last night - I find myself saying ‘oh, but not all that RUBBISH reality TV - you know, good stuff’.

I do have a rule when I choose a job - 1) NO ISLANDS/HOUSES WITH CONTESTANTS and 2) NO VOTING OFF. I’ve done pretty well by those rules. You know, the ‘good stuff’.

But, I think now we all have to recognize that it’s ok - multi-million dollar companies are making shed-loads of cash off of Reality TV, more and more people are being kept employed by the industry, in a time when movie production is slowing and dramas are cutting back - and I’d like to think expectations and therefore the bar is being raised.

 This week, I wanted to call a few DoPs - people who all work in features or drama to come and shoot a show I’m producing right now, they were all busy shooting reality shows. All of them. How many other filmmakers is Reality TV keeping in work? Keeping ready to produce the next awesome indie feature or award winning Documentary?

So, aside from the fact that Reality TV is evolving fast and keeps a lot more people working than a lot of other film and tv genres, it’s worth remembering also that Reality TV has been on major network tv for over fifteen years, keeping the networks nice and rich and happy.

So, I think Reality TV should come out of the closet and take a bow.

Welcome to society Reality TV. We’ll get you sober and present you to the family soon. (But, er, stay away from Suzy and her friends please).