Reality TV still raking in audiences

MANY of us have a love-hate relationship with reality TV shows. We love to hate them and we hate to love them but the bottom line is, we are still watching them.

When the Big Brother series came to an end in 2010 after being on UK’s Channel 4 for a decade, people thought it would signify the death of the genre, but it did quite the opposite.

A plethora of other reality formats started sprouting up round the globe.

American Idol exploded on the scene in 2002 with 9.9 million viewers, which skyrocketed to almost 27 million in Season 4, making it the most watched reality series in America for six straight seasons. In the UK, reality “fever” shows no signs of abating. In fact, the viewership has grown even larger.

The opening episode of last year’s X Factor attracted a record of about 11 million viewers (which comprises almost half the entire viewing audience).

The Apprentice pulled in eight million strong viewers and the finale alone of Britain’s Got Talent reeled in a staggering audience of more than 14 million viewers.

According to the Observer, the combined viewership of all these reality shows, added up to about 41 million, which outstripped the 27 million people who voted in UK’s last general election.

So what is the attraction of reality TV? People can’t put their finger on the precise reason behind this phenomenon. There are a myriad of theories to explain why it seems to work though.

Reality TV helps people escape the conundrum of their own daily lives. Whether or not we choose to admit it, we humans are somehow fascinated watching real people we can relate to, rather than actors with a script, struggling to reach their “goals”.

We empathise with them, root for them and identify with their problems like a soap opera unfolding in real-time.
In fact, we get so involved that we even feel compelled to actively participate in their ultimate fate. Die-hard fans cannot bear to passively stand by and watch their favourite contestants being sent off so they try to “save” them with their votes.

In a world dominated by Facebook and Twitter, where decisions are made with a click of a few buttons on who to follow, who to “like” or become friends with, this type of interactivity and involvement from audiences are common amongst the new Social Media generation.

When I first found out that my production house, kyanite.tv was going to be producing Miss Malaysia Universe 2012. Beauty Camp, I was naturally excited because it was the first time this pageant has been turned into a reality format.

On the other hand, I was also worried as a producer whether Malay-sian contestants would actually bare their souls, so to speak and share their real emotions with us. I was curious as to whether the same ingredients, which make reality TV a success overseas, would apply here in Malaysia.

Well, we have already shot five episodes of the series, and as it turns out, there are some things, which are clearly universal.

You cannot possibly put a bunch of women together in a bungalow, wake them up at the crack of dawn to endure physical, mental and emotional challenges and NOT have real drama. Add in national director of Miss Universe Malaysia and the show’s host, Andrea Fonseka and you have a recipe for even more drama and brutal honesty on your hands.

Fonseka is tough as nails as a host and does not sit on the fence as a judge. If she thinks a contestant performed terribly in a challenge, then that’s what she’ll be telling her and why. On the panel of judges, actor/producer, Hans Isaac, does not hold back his opinions either. When he was judging a particular photo challenge where two contestants had to pose with an exotic bird for a fashion shoot, he bluntly commented, “I’m sorry girls but the winner in this shot is the bird!”

We’ve seen some real stories, and real tears being shed with beautiful characters as well as manipulative ones being pitted against each other in Beauty Camp.

As the show’s director, Michael Lim of Kyanite.tv says, “It’s been intense. For the girls. For the crew. For the audience. It’s been 30 days of living out of each other’s pockets where there was as much drama behind the scenes as there was on camera.”

In last week’s episode, I was personally touched by the strength of character demonstrated by a contestant called Deviyah who suddenly got eliminated but exercised her ‘wild card’ decision to at least save her fellow contestant, Suchitra from the same fate. She was already out herself, yet still able to think of someone other than herself, at her weakest moment.

It’s these real-life twists and turns, which make reality TV so addictive. I’ve experienced a whole range of emotions myself from observing the girls and how they deal with situations that get thrown at them.