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, Idol, 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 essence 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!, The Golden Bachelor, and The Golden Bachelorette, as well as spawning many international editions of the shows.
J.R. Digs is a Canadian television personality. He is best known for his Gemini Award-nominated late night show JR Digs: Man with a Van, which aired on Global from 2008 to 2014.
Kandi Burruss, known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American actress, businesswoman, dancer, producer, singer, songwriter, and television personality. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the multi-platinum R&B female vocal group Xscape. As a songwriter, she has received writing credits on the singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child, "There You Go" by Pink, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande, and "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran. In 2000, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her work on the TLC hit song "No Scrubs".
The Challenge is a reality competition show on MTV that is a spin-off of two of the network's reality shows, The Real World and Road Rules. Premiering in 1998, it originally featured alumni from these two shows. Casting for The Challenge has slowly expanded to include contestants who debuted on The Challenge itself, alumni from other MTV franchises including Are You the One?, Ex on the Beach, Geordie Shore, siblings and friends, and from other non-MTV shows and competitions. The contestants compete against one another in various extreme challenges to avoid elimination. The winners of the final challenge win the competition and typically share a large cash prize. The Challenge is currently hosted by T. J. Lavin.
Pure Pwnage is a Canadian Internet-distributed mockumentary series from ROFLMAO Productions. The fictional series purports to chronicle the life and adventures of Jeremy, a Canadian and self-proclaimed "pro gamer". In 2010, an adaptation of the web series began airing on Showcase, a Canadian cable television channel, but the series failed to be picked up for a second season.
Vanessa Joy Lachey is an American television host, model and actress. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and hosted Total Request Live on MTV. She has starred in two network sitcoms and hosted various competition and reality shows. Lachey portrayed the lead role in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Hawaiʻi (2021–2024) for three seasons.
The Real World: Chicago is the eleventh season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. It is the first season of The Real World to be filmed in the East North Central States region of the United States, specifically in Illinois.
Alan Michael Ritchson is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star between the fifth and tenth seasons. Ritchson had a starring role in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State (2010–2012), a role he reprised in the 2016 film sequel. He also headlined the SyFy action series Blood Drive (2017), and returned to superhero television as Hank Hall / Hawk on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2021. He gained wider recognition for portraying the title character in the Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher since 2022.
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate.
Audrina Patridge is an American television personality, model and actress. In 2006, she rose to prominence after being cast in the reality television series The Hills, which chronicled the personal and professional lives of Patridge and friends Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag and Whitney Port. During its production, she was cast in positions with Quixote Studios and Epic Records.
Kendra Leigh Wilkinson is an American television personality and real estate agent. She first gained recognition as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends and for her role on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door (2005–2009), on which her life in the Playboy Mansion was documented. Although not a Playboy Playmate, she has appeared in three nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door co-stars Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. She subsequently starred in her own reality shows, Kendra (2009–2011) and Kendra on Top (2012–2017).
A web series is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single instance of a web series program can be called an episode or a webisode. The scale of a web series is small and a typical episode can be anywhere from three to fifteen minutes in length. Web series are distributed online on video sharing websites and apps, such as YouTube and Vimeo, and can be watched on devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and Internet-connected television sets. They can also be released on social media platforms. Because of the nature of the Internet, a web series may be interactive. Web series are classified as new media.
The Real Housewives is an American reality television franchise that began on March 21, 2006, with The Real Housewives of Orange County. Each installment of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives of a group of affluent women residing in a certain city or geographic region. Eleven different series have been produced in the United States, and there are 21 international adaptations in addition. The American series is broadcast on Bravo; previously the Miami installment aired for a time on Peacock.
Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes is an American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer. She first rose to prominence after becoming the breakout star on Bravo's reality television series, The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She is widely regarded as one of the most notable personalities from The Real Housewives franchise and a prominent figure in reality television and pop culture.
Harry Shum Jr. is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015), Magnus Bane on the Freeform television series Shadowhunters (2016–2019), and Benson Kwan on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy (2022–present). He was nominated for six Screen Actors Guild Awards for best ensemble performance in Crazy Rich Asians, Glee and Everything Everywhere All at Once, winning for the latter two. Shum won the award for The Male TV Star of 2018 in the E! People's Choice Awards for Shadowhunters.
All for Nothing? is a Canadian real estate and design television series that aired on the W Network. The series was produced by Mountain Road Productions and was based in Ottawa and its surrounding areas. The first season premiered on October 7, 2010, comprising 13 one-hour episodes and has since aired on Casa. It also aired on the Ion Life channel in the United States.
First Dates is a British reality television programme that has aired on Channel 4 since 20 June 2013. The programme has been narrated by Brian Protheroe since 2015.
The seventeenth season of the American police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds, subtitled Evolution, follows members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they investigate the mystery of Gold Star. As that conspiracy unfolds, the BAU is met with an unexpected complication when Voit negotiates a deal that transfers him to federal custody, in the BAU’s own backyard. It is the second season of the revival of the series premiered in 2005 on CBS, which originally ended in 2020. The season premiered on June 6, 2024 on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other regions on June 7, 2024.
