The Rise and Success of Reality Television
From Top Left To Right: Love Is BLIND: BRAZIL, The Real Housewives of Naroibi, Terrance House, and Indian Match Making
In recent years, as streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video have become the more popular choice for viewing entertainment, reality television has seen a rise in popularity and frequency. Shows like Love Island, Too Hot to Handle, Love is Blind, Selling Sunset, and The Bachelor draw in millions of viewers and high revenue for the streaming giants every year, because of the easy viewing and the fact that streaming platforms release entire seasons at once, encouraging binge-watching and creating a devoted and loyal fan base for the hit reality shows.
One aspect that makes reality television so successful, is its accessibility. Across the globe, different countries have their version of reality television hits, while popular shows like Love is Blind, are remade in different countries. The rise of reality tv in the past decade has been unprecedented and while there were a few reality tv hits such as Survivor or American Idol that have been on air for more than a decade, the new age of reality television is drawing in a much more diverse and younger demographic of viewers.
People of color are no strangers to reality television. Shows such as Real World, America’s Next Top Model, and Road Rules are some of the shows that pioneered the genre and feature diverse casts, that included black audiences. In the past decade, as reality television becomes more prevalent, there has been a rise, in reality, shows that exclusively feature black cast members, such as The Housewives franchise, Braxton Family Values, and Basketball Wives. These shows have been successful in proving representation of the black community and showing black people in a more positive light.
In recent years, reality tv has become increasingly more diverse. Shows that used to only feature a single racial demographic, have now shifted their model to include a more diverse casting. Shows now cater to black, Asian, and Indian audiences, providing representation and a sense of community amongst viewers. For example, when a reality television show travels from Hollywood to a place like Hollywood, Nigerian television producers are then able to add elements of Nigerian culture, music, and language to make the reality television show resonate with Nigerian audiences. One example of this is the Big Brother franchise which first aired on American screens in 2000. While the show was popular in America, it gained a larger audience when it went to African shores and became Big Brother Naija in 2006. The reality show where contestants live in an isolated house and compete for a large cash prize, by avoiding eviction from viewers. The show garnered over 14.6 million viewers and has one of reality tv’s highest viewerships and online engagement across the African continent. Bigg Boss is the Indian version of the Big Brother Franchise.
One of the most popular reality television shows amongst African Americans in the United States is Love & Hip Hop. The VH1 series follows the lives of up-and-coming hip-hop and music industry professionals, this includes producers, singers rappers, and managers. One of the show's largest industry exports is rapper Cardi B. The show has been critically praised for its portrayal of black relationships, and career display, and the show is credited with providing a platform for many black creatives in the entertainment industry.
Another popular reality television show that has made its way across the globe is The Housewives franchise. The reality hit started with The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006. The show, produced by NBCUniversal Studios, follows a group of wealthy women in Orange County as they navigate their personal and professional lives. The show features women of diverse ages and backgrounds. Due to its overwhelmingly good reception from audiences, the show soon became a franchise. The Real Housewives of Atlanta became popular amongst African American viewers but has been repeatedly critiqued for its portrayal of women. The franchise expanded to South Africa in 2018, introducing a cast of women in The Real Housewives of Johannesburg. Due to the show's popularity amongst audiences across Africa, more installments of the reality television show have been introduced to audiences including Durban, Pretoria, Nairobi Kenya, and Lagos Nigeria.
For South Asian Pacific viewers, one of the most popular reality shows was Terrace House which first aired in 2012 and came to an end in 2020. The Japanese reality television hit follows six strangers as they live together in one house, with a specific focus placed on the contestant’s personal relationships and career aspirations. The cast is made up of three men and three women, who start as strangers but through living together get to know one another and date each other. The show has been praised for its authentic portrayal of Japanese culture and has become popular amongst audiences around the world. Unlike most reality television shows that advocate for unrealistic drama and petty fights among its contestants, Terrace House promoted a more relaxed and thoughtful style of reality television, because of how it allowed its contestants to still live a semblance of their normal lives.
India has a long history of producing reality television shows, television shows such as Kaun Banega, Crorepati, and Bigg Boss are some of the region's most popular reality shows. Shows like Indian Idol, which aired in 2004, specifically cater to an Indian audience, by showcasing the rich and diverse landscape of Indian music and entertainment.
Indian Matchmaker is another popular reality television show in the South Asian Pacific region. The Netflix series follows Aunty Seema Taparia, a professional matchmaker who helps single Indian men and women across the globe find love, The show depicts Indian culture in an authentic manner that has not been seen on screen before while remaining modern and appealing to audiences everywhere. The show also honestly depicts the challenges faced by young Indians, especially Indian American immigrants who are trying to find a partner that meets their family’s expectations. The show provides representation for South Asians and promotes conversation around the ideas of arranged marriages and challenges faced by people of color in the dating world.
In addition to these shows, there are a number of reality shows that cater specifically to more diverse audiences. BET's Sunday Best is a gospel singing competition show that has been praised for its uplifting message and celebration of Black culture. BET also produces The Family Business, a reality show that follows the lives of the Duncans, a wealthy Black family in the world of organized crime.
The rise of reality television has been a crucial element in the success of streaming platforms. Reality television shows draw in millions of viewers across the globe and the success of these shows can be mainly attributed to their accessibility, and representation for different POC communities. These shows not only give audiences insight into different cultures and ethnic groups, but they also manage to change the conversation and break stereotypes surrounding certain groups of people. As reality television continues to grow in popularity, more subgroups and cultures can be expected to be included, as the representation and diversity of these shows continue to grow.