Reality Bites?

In our work here at Taylor, we do a fair amount of TV program pilot testing. And a fair number of those pilots are reality shows -- or "real-life shows," as some of our clients call them. "Real-life shows" seems to have a much nicer ring to it. Since the barrage of reality TV shows began sometime in the late 90s, I think it can be safely argued that they've gotten steadily . . . well, trashier. (Anyone remember "The Littlest Groom" or "Temptation Island"?) "Reality show" has a certain connotation -- and it's not a good one. "Real-life," on the other hand . . .

We recently conducted focus groups on some raw footage that our client may turn into a series, a documentary, or a TV special -- based on real people. And prior to the groups, we watched and discussed the footage internally. We reached a consensus that our focus group participants later mirrored: that real people on TV are interesting only to the extent that they feel like real people.

I'm not into the shows that follow B-list celebrities trying to boost their careers. I could care less about "Living Lohan," "House of Carters," "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," or -- especially -- "Denise Richards: It's Complicated." (Thanks for spelling it out for us, Denise.) These celebrities are already known -- and I know their lives are not like mine. They're so far removed from my world that watching them is just a little piece of fluff, cotton candy.

Then there are the shows that, for me, cut to the bone of "real life." These shows are different from those listed above because they involve people who could be me -- or could be my neighbors, my friends, my coworkers. They are regular people made famous by an extraordinary quirk or quality.

I see three categories under this umbrella:

1) Shows featuring an extraordinary family:
"Jon and Kate Plus Eight" -- a couple with eight children: twins and sextuplets.
"Little People, Big World" -- a couple who are little people and their four children -- three of whom are of average height, one of whom is little.

2) Shows featuring people with extraordinary jobs:
"Ice Road Truckers" -- drivers of big rigs over the Arctic ice.
"Deadliest Catch" -- crab fishermen in the treacherous Pacific waters off Alaska.

3) Shows featuring people facing an extraordinary obstacle:
"Intervention" -- people dealing with various addictions whose families attempt to stage an intervention.

To me, these shows all have one thing in common -- people who are willing to expose their flaws, even it makes them look overbearing, strung out, scared, gritty, or ugly. Kate Gosselin is no Denise Richards -- and she certainly isn't always wearing make up. Then again, if she was, we wouldn't buy that she was successfully parenting eight children without a full-time staff.

"Intervention" is so emotionally raw that I often can't even watch it. I once saw an episode about a woman battling anorexia (her addiction was control), and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterwards. I even searched for information about her online -- was she okay? Did she recover? Did she die? The harshness of this reality is what draws us to these shows -- and what creates a successful connection with a viewer.

Do you agree? Do you wonder how the crab season will go on "Deadliest Catch," or are "The Girls Next Door" your guilty pleasure?

What makes you connect with reality shows -- and do you believe any of them actually portray reality?