Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. 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, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature the gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves.
The Bachelor is an American dating and relationship reality television series that debuted on March 25, 2002, on ABC. For its first 25 seasons, the show was hosted by Chris Harrison. As the flagship of the original The Bachelor franchise, its success resulted in several spin-offs including The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, The Bachelor Winter Games, The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!, and The Golden Bachelor, as well as spawning many international editions of the shows.
Fear Factor was an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled Now or Neverland.
History Bites is a television series on the History Television network that ran from 1998 to 2004. Created by Rick Green, History Bites explored what would be on television if the medium had been around for the last 5,000 years of human history.
Robert Carlo Mariano, known by the nickname Boston Rob, is an American television personality, known for appearing in the CBS reality show Survivor. He placed tenth in the show's fourth season Survivor: Marquesas, finished as the runner up to his eventual wife Amber Brkich in the show's eighth season Survivor: All-Stars, came in 13th place in the show's 20th season Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, won the show's 22nd season Survivor: Redemption Island, returned for the show's 39th season Survivor: Island of the Idols as a mentor for the new players alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine, and came in 17th place in the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War. He is the first contestant to appear on Survivor six times, and play five times. He also competed on The Amazing Race twice alongside his wife, where they placed second and eighth.
My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss is an American reality television series broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The series premiered on November 7, 2004, while its tenth and final episode aired on December 12, 2004. Filmed in Chicago, Illinois, the series depicted twelve contestants in competition for a position at the venture capital firm Iocor.
MTV's The 70s House is an American reality television show created by Aaron Matthew Lee. The show premiered on MTV on July 5 and ended on September 6, 2005. The show featured twelve contestants participating in a 24/7 simulation of the 1970s. They were required to part with all modern technology including cell phones, laptops, and MP3 players, as well as all modern clothing and lingo, only to adopt their cultural equivalents of the 1970s.
Battle of the Network Reality Stars is an American television series that aired on the Bravo cable network from August 17 until September 21, 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition Battle of the Network Stars, the show consisted of thirty-three competitors from several different reality television shows. Some of the better known contestants include Adam Mesh, from the Average Joe TV series, Richard Hatch, Survivor winner, Sue Hawk, Ryan Starr and Nikki McKibbin of American Idol fame, Evan Marriott, of Joe Millionaire fame, and Will Kirby, winner of Big Brother season 2. Chip and Kim McAllister, winners of The Amazing Race 5, also participated. Veteran NBC sportscaster Mike Adamle hosted the show and featured reality reporters Trishelle Cannatella, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, and Bob Guiney. Austin Scarlett of Project Runway made fashion commentary in several episodes.
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006, and concluded on May 24, 2006. Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. Taylor Hicks was named the winner, while Katharine McPhee was the runner-up. 18 contestants got record deals – nine of them with major labels.
American Idol Extra is a television show that was shown on the Fox Reality Channel and Star! and billed as "the show that picks up right where American Idol leaves off". The program featured the first full-length interview with the most recent eliminated contestant and various behind-the-scenes material.
Total Drama Island is the first season of Total Drama, a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration with a special 44-minute season finale.
A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila is an American reality television dating game show. It is the follow-up season to A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. The series is a bisexual-themed dating competition where 15 hetero males and 15 lesbian females live in a house with Tila Tequila and compete for her attention and affection. The contestants, unlike in season 1, are aware of Tequila's bisexuality. The winner of this season was contestant Kristy Morgan, who declined her "shot at love", stating she was not ready for a relationship with a woman.
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is the twentieth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. Premiering on February 11, 2010, it was the show's fourth season to feature contestants from past seasons, after Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Micronesia, and was only the second season to feature a cast consisting entirely of returning players, after All-Stars. The season was filmed in Upolu, Samoa. Unlike previous seasons, the preceding season and this season were filmed back-to-back with a commenced short break occurred between seasons due to budget circumstances over the worldwide Great Recession.
50 Cent: The Money and the Power is an American reality television series which premiered November 6, 2008 on MTV. The show was hosted by 50 Cent and follows the same mold as The Apprentice. It was meant to serve as a "visual companion" to 50 Cent's book The 50th Law, which he co-wrote with Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power. The show was cancelled after one season.
Justin Michael Gaston is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actor who was also a contestant on Nashville Star on season 6. He finished 10th overall out of 12 contestants. He portrayed the role of Ben Rogers on Days of Our Lives for less than four months in 2014. He appeared on the magazine cover of Tetu in 2013.
Russell Dennis Hantz is an American television personality, best known for his appearances on the U.S. reality show, Survivor. He was the runner-up on Survivor: Samoa, and the second runner-up on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. He also competed on Survivor: Redemption Island and Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, where he was the second player to be eliminated both times.
Tyson Apostol is an American reality television personality, best known for his appearances on multiple seasons of the CBS reality television show Survivor. Apostol originally competed on Survivor: Tocantins in 2009, finishing in 8th place. He returned as a villain on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains in 2010 and came in 15th place. In 2013, he returned again and was eventually crowned the winner of Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Apostol competed for a fourth time on the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War, finishing in 11th place. He also competed on The Challenge: USA, a CBS spinoff of the MTV franchise.
Charla Baklayan Faddoul is an Armenian-American reality television personality who appeared on The Amazing Race 5 and The Amazing Race: All-Stars television shows. Charla was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, and is 4' tall. Her partner on The Amazing Race was her cousin Mirna Hindoyan.
The Taste is an American cooking-themed reality competition series on ABC. It aired from January 22, 2013, through January 22, 2015. On May 7, 2015, ABC canceled The Taste after three seasons.
Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson are American television personalities and twins, most commonly known as "The Twinnies". They appeared on The Amazing Race and Survivor: San Juan del Sur. Nadiya was the first contestant to be voted out, while Natalie was crowned Sole Survivor, winning the show's $1 million prize. Natalie also competed on Survivor: Winners at War, an all winners season. After being voted out first, she battled her way back into the game from the Edge of Extinction and finished runner-up on the season.
