Don’t believe everything you see on TV,
even if its marketed as “reality”.
Most shows have a team of writers who decide
where the story arc goes and how it gets there.
So when a genre comes along that claims to
remove any behind the scenes meddling with
the story, audiences expect that the show
is being driven by the people on screen.
But in some cases, that couldn’t be farther
from the truth.
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 Shocking Secrets
Reality TV Producers Won’t Tell You.
The Celebrity Apprentice
The show runners of The Apprentice do their
best to make it look like hard work.
And for a long time, audiences bought it.
But after a round of the show’s popular
celebrity edition, one star spoke out.
Penn Jillette, one half of the famous duo
Penn and Teller, wrote about his time as a
contestant.
And the reality is that the participants spend
most of their time waiting around doing nothing.
Jillette also stated that even when competition
time came around, they had nothing to do with
business.
He compared the experience to being in junior
high, saying the work is not very challenging,
and the people are crazy.
As for The Donald, Jillette had some choice
words about him too.
And wrote that Trump’s hair “looks like
cotton candy made of piss.”
Burn.
The Bachelor
Audiences are in love with love, and producers
have been capitalizing on that since day one.
Perhaps the most blatant example comes in
the form of ABC’s The Bachelor.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show’s premise,
think of it like this: one bachelor goes shopping
for his soulmate amongst a group of pre-selected
ladies.
With that much competition under one roof,
things get heated.
And apparently producers fan the flames by
filling the participants with booze.
Multiple ex-contestants have stated that they
were uncomfortable with the amount of alcohol
on set, and the constant suggestions that
they have more of it.
One past contestant even alleges that she
was kicked off the show for refusing a drink.
Big Brother
By this point, we know that the real stars
of reality TV are the producers standing just
off camera.They can have a lot of influence
on a shoot, and impact the final product in
a huge way.
Fans of the long-running Big Brother have
leveled charges at the show’s production
team, accusing them of rigging competitions
in multiple seasons.
Some ex-houseguests have said that producers
pushed them to be as shallow as possible in
interviews, so that they could be quickly
identified by audiences.
The editing team isn’t unscathed either,
and have been accused of manipulating footage
to favor some participants over others.
Talk about being taken out of context.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Theres no room for secrets in a court of law.
So when the worlds of show business and criminal
justice collide, the public gets a rare glimpse
into what really goes on behind the scenes.
And at one point, it was the Kardashian clan
who had their day in court.
During divorce proceedings between Kim Kardashian
and Kris Humphries, one of the editors on
Keeping Up With The Kardashians testified
that not all of the show’s drama is real.
Some scenarios were fabricated by the team
using footage that was edited out of context.
And the whistleblower specifically mentioned
cutting the show to make Humphries look like
a colossal jerk.
Duck Dynasty
How real does something have to be before
it can be labeled reality T.V.?
When it comes to Duck Dynasty, everyone has
a different answer.
The show came under fire after the stars let
slip that producers were in control of the
storyline, not the family.
The stars then backpedaled and emphasized
that since they created all the dialogue,
it’s not a scripted show.
But it turns out the family isn’t in control
of that either- as editors have inserted bleeps
to block out innocuous words.
Making the final scene look like a cuss-filled
one.
Dance Moms
Everything you need to know about the premise
of Dance Moms can be found right there in
the title.
It follows the mothers of a young group of
dancers as they interact with each other.
Simple right?
Well, it’s not actually that straightforward.
To spice up the show and kick up the drama,
show runners stage situations to make the
mom’s fight.
And judging by how often that happens, they
must be working overtime.
So it would only be natural to assume the
ladies hate each other for real… right?
Wrong.
Apparently as soon as filming stops, all animosity
disappears and it’s like nothing ever happened.
Talk about two-faced.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
If you’ve ever watched an episode of Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire and gotten every
answer right, then this next tidbit is going
to infuriate you.
The thing that differentiates Millionaire
from every other trivia show is its use of
lifelines.
If a contestant gets stuck, they’re able
to poll the audience, eliminate two wrong
answers, or phone a friend who they think
might know the answer.
The only logical problem with that last one
is that nobody can safeguard against the friend
hopping on the internet to look up an answer.
Turns out, that wasn’t actually a problem;
there wasn’t any rule specifically saying
it wasn’t allowed.
The option was removed in 2010 anyway, when
the lifeline got cut from the show.
The Real Housewives of Orange County
Thanks to shows like The Hills and Laguna
Beach, audiences have become fascinated with
the lives of the California elite.
And will watch as tanned blondes run a circuit
of hair appointments, shopping dates, and
manicures.
Opponents have argued that this kind of entertainment
is built on a lie, and that some situations
would have completely different outcomes if
producers were truly hands-off.
But despite all the evidence that things aren’t
actually as they seem, fans were still shocked
to learn that some moments from The Real Housewives
of Orange County weren’t as genuine as they
were led to believe.
A text sent by one of the housewives confirmed
they were in on it, and spoiled one of the
show’s biggest engagement reveals.
House Hunters
Finding a house can be a nightmare.
And as it is with most nightmares, it’s
kind of entertaining watching it happen to
someone else.
House Hunters chronicles the quest for a perfect
home by following homeowner hopefuls as they
compare three different places to live.
The participants always end the show with
a new home, so every episode has a happy ending.
And they should, considering that everyone
who applies to be on the show has to already
own one of the houses.
That’s right!
Participants know which house they’re going
to buy because they’ve already bought it.
Which kind of ruins the whole thing.
Cribs
Since there have been stars, there have been
tour guides trying to make a buck off showing
us where they life.
MTV took that idea and ran with it in their
show Cribs.
If you’ve ever watched an episode, you’ve
probably fantasized about having your very
own mansion.
Add a couple of european sportscars, a pool,
and a fridge stocked full of beer, and you’ve
got yourself a good time.
All the segments start with the same promise,
that the house we’re about to see belongs
to the celebrity giving the tour.
So when one homeowner tuned into the show
and saw Ja Rule giving a tour of her home,
she filed a lawsuit.
It turns out, the rapper had rented the place
for a weekend, and played it off as his own
for the crew.
What do you think of our list?
Do you know of any other behind the scenes
secrets from reality T.V. shows?
Join the discussion in the comments section,
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