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 gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves.
Candid Camera is an American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947.
Punk'd is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera and to TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which also featured pranks on celebrities. Being "punk'd" referred to being the victim of such a prank. New episodes hosted by King Bach and DeStorm Power aired on BET.
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a British reality TV series in which a number of celebrities live together in a jungle environment for a number of weeks, competing to be crowned "King" or "Queen of the Jungle".
Dateline NBC is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasional editions that focus on other topics. The program airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Special Weekend encore editions also air at 9:00 p.m.. Two-hour feature-length editions sometimes air on any given scheduled evening, often to fill vacancies in the primetime schedule on the program's respective nights due to program cancellations. In February 2021, the program aired its first ever docuseries, "The Widower", a five-hour true crime saga about a man who married six women, four of whom died.
Stephen Daniel Mulhern is an English television presenter, magician, and comedian. He began his career presenting children’s television shows for CITV, including Finger Tips (2001–2004) and Tricky TV (2005–2010). Mulhern has presented various television shows for ITV, including Britain's Got More Talent (2007–2019), Animals Do the Funniest Things (2007–2011), This Morning's Hub (2011–2014), Catchphrase (2013–present), Big Star's Little Star (2013–2018), In for a Penny (2019–present), Rolling In It (2020–2021), Deal or No Deal (2023–present) and Dancing on Ice (2024–present).
Oxygen is an American television network owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division and business segment of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The channel primarily airs true crime programming and dramas targeted towards women.
Roshumba Williams is an American supermodel who first became known for her appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in the early 1990s. She also works as an actress and reality TV show judge. As a teenager in 1987, she was discovered in Paris by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and quickly became a regular fixture on international runways.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian–Jenner blended family, airing between 2007 and 2021. Its premise originated with Ryan Seacrest, who also served as an executive producer. The series premiered on the E! cable network on October 14, 2007, and ran for 20 seasons over the span of almost fourteen years, becoming one of the longest-running reality television series in the US. The final season premiered on March 18, 2021.
Code: 9 is a hidden camera/reality series that premiered on July 26, 2012 on Disney Channel. It is hosted by In the Qube star Wes Dening. The series involves a family pulling a prank with their unsuspecting parents. The entire group has to plan and execute the prank with one family member going undercover to pull the prank off. The series was not renewed for a second season, and was cancelled after only 1 season, despite encouraging opening ratings.
Emma Louise Willis is an English broadcaster. She is known for her television and radio work with Channel 5, BBC, ITV, and Heart FM. Willis has presented Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother (2013–2018), as well as the spin-off series Big Brother's Bit on the Side (2011–2015). She has presented The Voice UK (2014–present), and the children's spin-off The Voice Kids UK (2017–2023). In 2019 and 2021, Willis presented the second and third series of The Circle. She will be Co-hosting Love Is Blind: UK with her husband Matt Willis
Undercover Boss is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate how their firms really work and to identify how they can be improved, as well as to reward hard-working employees.
Eli Holzman is an American creator–developer, writer, producer and television executive known for creating or serving as executive producer on a number of reality-based television series and documentaries, such as Project Runway, Project Greenlight, The Seven Five, Undercover Boss, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Free Meek, Living Undocumented, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Holzman is the CEO of The Intellectual Property Corporation, which he founded in 2016, as well as the President of Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction. As CEO of IPC, Holzman oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and its diverse slate of series, features, and projects in development across broadcast, cable and the major streaming services. As President of SPT Nonfiction, Holzman oversees the independent production companies which form the SPT Nonfiction group: 19 Entertainment & 19 Recordings, Sharp Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, Maxine, This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act Productions, Trilogy Films, House of Non-Fiction, and The Intellectual Property Corporation.
Natalie Nunn is an American reality television personality, known for being a castmate on the fourth season of the Bad Girls Club in 2009–2010. She subsequently appeared on Bad Girls Club season 13 as well as Hair Battle Spectacular. She was also a contestant on the second season of Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too. Nunn also participated on the first season of Bad Girls All-Star Battle. In 2018, she participated in the reality show Celebrity Big Brother. As of 2021, Natalie has been serving as Executive Producer and main cast member of the hit series Baddies.
Undercover Boss is an American reality television series, based on the British series of the same name and produced by Studio Lambert in both countries. Each episode depicts a person who has an upper-management position at a major business, deciding to go undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first season consisted of nine episodes produced in 2009 and first aired on February 7, 2010, on CBS. Companies that appear on the series are assured that the show will not damage their corporate brands.
Impractical Jokers is an American hidden camera reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, Impractical Jokers premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011, starring the members of The Tenderloins: James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto. Starting with the tenth season, the series airs concurrently on TBS.
Gogglebox is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for their observations and reactions to the previous week's television from their own homes. The first series launched on 7 March 2013, and the show will return for its twenty-second series on 8 September 2023. The show was narrated by Caroline Aherne from its launch until her death in July 2016, after which Craig Cash took over.
Undercover High is a Canadian youth comedy series, which premiered on YTV in 2014. A hidden camera prank show, the series staged pranks on students at high schools.
The Masked Singer Australia is an Australian reality television singing competition show hosted that premiered on Network 10 on 23 September 2019. Hosted by Osher Günsberg, the show is based on the international music game show franchise Masked Singer which originated from the South Korean television program King of Mask Singer. The show is filmed at Disney Studios Australia. A fourth season premiered in August 2022.
