Kelsey Phillip
Editor-in-chief of Design
Reality TV is an attempt at showing the human condition. For all forms of reality TV there is a base equation: real people + way too many cameras and mics x an added variable depending on show = fame, fortune and most importantly, great ratings. Reality TV falls into these categories based on the added variable they share.
First up is the work place variable, with shows like “Below Deck,” “Vanderpump Rules” and “Selling Sunset.”
“Below Deck” is an international show that follows the life of the crew of a super yacht as they go from charter to charter. “Vanderpump Rules” is a drama-filled Los Angeles based Bravo show which is centered around the staff at the restaurants owned by Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump, and their relationships with each other. “Selling Sunset” revolves around the lives of the realtors at the Oppenheim group, from selling houses to starting drama the show has grown in popularity and listing LA areas from Sunset Boulevard all the way to the Valley.
Up next are the shows that are technically about the kids, but the drama is all about the moms; “Dance Moms,” “Toddlers in Tiaras” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians.”
“Dance Moms” started out as a small dance studio in Pittsburgh with six dancers, their moms and their energetic dance teacher Abby Lee Miller. But after a move to California, the girls aging up and Abby being sent to jail for concealing bankruptcy, the show was put to an end. “Toddlers and Tiaras” was about the children’s pageant world and how their moms can be a little overbearing in pursuit of a trophy. “Keeping up with the Kardashians” was originally about the blended family of Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner but it soon began to shift, now being all about Kris’s daughters Khloe, Kourtney and Kim and how they interacted with their “mom-ager.”
Lasty, shows about finding love in usually unorthodox places; “Love is Blind,” “Love Island,” and "The Bachelor”
“Love is Blind” takes out one of the most vital parts of dating - physical attraction - forcing contestants into getting to know people emotionally before they see them. “Love Island” has UK, U.S. and AUS variants but they all have one thing in common, a villa filled with young people who lack good judgment but make up for it in theatrics. “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” are all about one person's journey to find love, in a mansion full of 25 potential suitors, and it's done during two months of non stop speed dating.
No matter what show you watch - especially ones not listed here like “Survivor” and “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” - all reality shows show the highs and lows of the human experience. With highs like “Love is Blind” season 1 alums Amber and Matt getting married on the show and recently having their first baby together, or lows like Jen Shah from “Real Housewives” of SLC being arrested for fraud, these portray the extremes people experience.