10 Things Reality TV Won't Tell You

In case you haven’t noticed, reality shows are staking out more and more space in network lineups. In 2001, according to Ted Magder, chair of NYU’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communications, major networks devoted three hours a week of their prime-time schedule to reality TV and “challenge” game shows. The number increased to eight in 2002 and jumped to more than 20 in 2007. Today, reality TV accounts for 20 percent of prime-time programming on network television.

Fueling the trend is the format’s comparatively low production costs: typically less than a third of what it takes to produce hour-long dramas. But the bottom line behind the reality boom is ratings. In a Nielsen report for the 2006- 07 season, reality shows accounted for 6 of the top 10 most-watched programs, including all of the top five.

What’s behind our fascination with reality TV? Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University communications professor, says that an “evolutionary quirk” compels our curiosity about how others live and function. “It’s why we peer into other people’s medicine cabinets,” he says. “We can’t help it; we’re naturally voyeuristic.”