Editing Reality television (section)

=== Reality competition or game shows ===
{{further|List of reality television programs}}
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2009}}

Another subgenre of reality television is "'''reality competition'''", "reality [[playoff]]s", or so-called "reality game shows", which follow the format of non-tournament [[Single-elimination tournament|elimination]] contests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/10/stay-tuned-why-reality-shows-eliminate-people.html|title=Why Do Reality Contest Shows Eliminate People? Your Pressing TV Questions, Answered|date=October 28, 2015 |publisher=Vulture|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=July 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727054905/http://www.vulture.com/2015/10/stay-tuned-why-reality-shows-eliminate-people.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Typically, participants are filmed competing to win a prize, often while living together in a confined environment. In many cases, participants are removed until only one person or team remains, who is then declared the winner. Usually this is done by eliminating participants one at a time (or sometimes two at a time, as an episodic twist due to the number of contestants involved and the length of a given season), through either [[disapproval voting]] or by voting for the most popular to win. Voting is done by the viewing audience, the show's own participants, a panel of judges, or some combination of the three.

A well-known example of a reality-competition show is the globally syndicated ''Big Brother'', in which cast members live together in the same house, with participants removed at regular intervals by either the viewing audience or, in the American version, by the participants themselves. There remains disagreement over whether talent-search shows such as the ''Idol'' series, the ''Got Talent'' series and the ''Dancing with the Stars'' series are truly reality television or just newer incarnations of shows such as ''[[Star Search]]''. Although the shows involve a traditional talent search, the shows follow the reality-competition conventions of removing one or more contestants in every episode, allowing the public to vote on who is removed, and interspersing performances with video clips showing the contestants' "back stories", their thoughts about the competition, their rehearsals and unguarded behind-the-scenes moments. Additionally, there is a good deal of unscripted interaction shown between contestants and judges. The American [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] have nominated both ''American Idol'' and ''Dancing with the Stars'' for the [[Outstanding Reality-Competition Program]] Emmy.

Game shows like ''Weakest Link'', ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', ''[[American Gladiators (1989 TV series)|American Gladiators]]'' and ''Deal or No Deal'', which were popular in the 2000s, also lie in a gray area: like traditional game shows (e.g., ''[[The Price Is Right (franchise)|The Price Is Right]]'', ''[[Jeopardy!]]''), the action takes place in an enclosed television studio over a short period of time; however, they have higher production values, more dramatic background music, and higher stakes than traditional shows (done either through putting contestants into physical danger or offering large cash prizes). In addition, there is more interaction between contestants and hosts, and in some cases, they feature reality-style contestant competition or elimination as well. These factors, as well as these shows' rise in global popularity at the same time as the arrival of the reality craze, have led to such shows often being grouped under both the reality television and game show umbrellas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/how-can-i-audition-reality-shows-wbna16530873 |title=How can I audition for reality shows? |publisher=[[Today.com]] |date=June 1, 2007 |access-date=November 10, 2019 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920090203/https://www.today.com/popculture/how-can-i-audition-reality-shows-wbna16530873 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

There have been various hybrid reality-competition shows, like the worldwide-syndicated ''Star Academy'', which combines the ''Big Brother'' and ''Idol'' formats, ''[[The Biggest Loser]]'', which combines competition with the self-improvement format, and ''[[American Inventor]]'', which uses the ''Idol'' format for products instead of people. Some reality shows that aired mostly during the early 2000s, such as ''[[Popstars]]'', ''[[Making the Band]]'' and ''[[Project Greenlight]]'', devoted the first part of the season to selecting a winner, and the second part to showing that person or group of people working on a project. 

Popular variants of the competition-based format include the following:

==== Dating-based competition ====
Dating-based competition shows follow a contestant choosing one out of a group of suitors. Over the course of either a single episode or an entire season, suitors are eliminated until only the contestant and the final suitor remains. In the early 2000s, this type of reality show dominated the other genres on the major U.S. networks. Examples include ''[[The Bachelor (American TV series)|The Bachelor]]'', its spin-off ''[[The Bachelorette (American TV series)|The Bachelorette]]'', ''[[Temptation Island (TV series)|Temptation Island]]'', ''[[Average Joe (show)|Average Joe]]'', ''[[Flavor of Love]]'' (a dating show featuring rapper [[Flavor Flav]] that led directly and indirectly to over 10 spinoffs), ''[[The Cougar (TV series)|The Cougar]]'' and ''[[Love in the Wild]]''. In ''[[Married by America]]'', contestants were chosen by viewer voting. This is one of the older variants of the format; shows such as ''[[The Dating Game]]'' that date to the 1960s had similar premises (though each episode was self-contained, and not the serial format of more modern shows). One of the more recent hits was ''[[Farmer Wants a Wife]]''.

==== Job search ====
[[File:Guy Fieri (cropped).jpg|thumb|Chef and restaurateur [[Guy Fieri]] won the second season of [[Food Network]]'s ''[[Food Network Star]]'' in 2006, and by 2010 had become "the face of the network".<ref>{{cite news |last=Moskin |first=Julia |date=August 10, 2010 |orig-year=updated August 18, 2010 |title=Guy Fieri, Chef-Dude, Is in the House |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/dining/11Fieri.html |page=D1 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-date=November 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124012323/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/dining/11Fieri.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
In this category, the competition revolves around a skill that contestants were pre-screened for. Competitors perform a variety of tasks based on that skill, are judged, and are then kept or removed by a single expert or a panel of experts. The show is usually presented as a job search of some kind, in which the prize for the winner includes a contract to perform that kind of work and an undisclosed salary, although the award can simply be a sum of money and ancillary prizes, like a cover article in a magazine. The show also features judges who act as counselors, mediators and sometimes mentors to help contestants develop their skills further or perhaps decide their future position in the competition. ''Popstars'', which debuted in 1999, may have been the first such show, while the ''Idol'' series has been the longest-running and, for most of its run, the most popular such franchise. The first job-search show which showed dramatic, unscripted situations may have been ''[[America's Next Top Model]]'', which premiered in May 2003. Other examples include ''[[The Apprentice (TV series)|The Apprentice]]'' (which judges business skills); ''[[Hell's Kitchen (American TV series)|Hell's Kitchen]]'', ''MasterChef'' and ''[[Top Chef]]'' (for chefs), ''[[The Great British Bake Off]]'' (for bakers), ''[[Shear Genius]]'' (for hair styling), ''[[Project Runway]]'' (for clothing design), ''[[Top Design]]'' and ''[[The Great Interior Design Challenge]]'' (for interior design), ''[[American Dream Builders]]'' (for home builders), ''[[Stylista]]'' (for fashion editors), ''[[Last Comic Standing]]'' (for comedians), ''[[I Know My Kid's a Star]]'' (for child performers), ''[[On the Lot]]'' (for filmmakers), ''[[RuPaul's Drag Race]]'' (for drag queens), ''[[The Shot (TV series)|The Shot]]'' (for fashion photographers), ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]'' (for dancers), ''[[MuchMusic VJ Search]]'' and ''[[Food Network Star]]'' (for television hosts), ''[[Dream Job]]'' (for sportscasters), ''[[American Candidate]]'' (for aspiring politicians), ''[[Work of Art: The Next Great Artist|Work of Art]]'' (for artists), ''[[Face Off (American TV series)|Face Off]]'' (for [[prosthetic makeup]] artists), ''[[Ink Master]]'' and ''[[Best Ink]]'' (for tattoo artists), ''[[Platinum Hit]]'' (for songwriters), ''[[Top Shot]]'' (for marksmen) and ''[[The Tester]]'' (for game testers).

One notable subset, popular from approximately 2005 to 2012, consisted of shows in which the winner gets a specific part in a known film, television show, [[musical theatre|musical]] or performing group. Examples include ''[[Scream Queens (2008 TV series)|Scream Queens]]'' (where the prize was a role in the ''[[Saw (franchise)|Saw]]'' film series), ''[[The Glee Project]]'' (for a role on the television show ''[[Glee (TV series)|Glee]]'') and ''[[How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?]]'' (the lead role in a revival of the musical ''[[The Sound of Music]]''). The most extreme prize for such a show may have been for one of the first such shows, 2005's ''[[Rock Star: INXS]]'', where the winner became the lead singer of the rock band [[INXS]]. [[J.D. Fortune]], who won the show, went on to be INXS's lead singer until 2011.

Some shows use the same format with celebrities: in this case, there is no expectation that the winner will continue this line of work, and prize winnings often go to charity. The most popular such shows have been the ''Dancing with the Stars'' and ''[[Dancing on Ice around the world|Dancing on Ice]]'' franchises. Other examples of celebrity competition programs include ''[[Deadline (2007 TV series)|Deadline]]'', ''[[Celebracadabra]]'' and ''[[Celebrity Apprentice]]''.

==== Different contestants per episode ====
Some job-related competition shows have a different set of contestants competing on every episode, and thus more closely resemble game shows, although the "confessional" commentary provided by contestants gives them a reality TV aspect. The 1993-1999 Japanese cooking competition ''[[Iron Chef]]'' could be considered an early example, although it does not include commentary by the participants, only by announcers and judges. Cooking competition shows with different contestants per episode that are considered reality shows include the ''[[Chopped (TV series)|Chopped]]'', ''[[Come Dine with Me]]'' and ''[[Nailed It!]]'' franchises, along with ''[[Cupcake Wars]]'', ''[[Cutthroat Kitchen]]'', and ''[[Guy's Grocery Games]]''.

Non-cooking competition shows with a similar format include ''[[Forged in Fire (TV series)|Forged in Fire]]'' and ''[[The Butcher (TV series)|The Butcher]]''.

==== Immunity ====
One concept pioneered by, and unique to, reality competition shows is the idea of immunity, in which a contestant can win the right to be exempt the next time contestants are eliminated from the show. Possibly the first instance of immunity in reality TV was on ''[[Survivor (TV series)|Survivor]]'', which premiered in 1997 in Sweden as ''[[Expedition Robinson]]'', before gaining international prominence after the American edition (titled ''[[Survivor (American TV series)|Survivor]]'') premiered in 2000. On that show, there are complex rules around immunity: a player can achieve it by winning challenges (either as a team in the tribal phase or individually in the merged phase), or, in more recent seasons, through finding [[Survivor (TV series)#Hidden immunity idols|a hidden totem]]. They can also pass on their immunity to someone else and in the latter case, they can keep their immunity secret from other players.<ref>Matthew J. Smith, Andrew F. Wood, ''Survivor Lessons: Essays on Communication and Reality Television'' (2003), p. 33.</ref> 
On most shows, immunity is quite a bit simpler: it is usually achieved by winning a task, often a relatively minor task during the first half of the episode; the announcement of immunity is made publicly and immunity is usually non-transferable. At some point in the season, immunity ceases to be available, and all contestants are susceptible to elimination. Competition shows that have featured immunity include the ''Apprentice'', ''Big Brother'', ''Biggest Loser'', ''Top Model'', ''Project Runway'', ''Lego Masters'', and ''Top Chef'' franchises. Immunity may come with additional power as well, such as in the American version of ''Big Brother'' where the winning contestant usually has influence over deciding who faces an elimination vote later in the week. In one ''Apprentice'' episode, a participant chose to waive his earned immunity and was immediately "fired" for giving up this "powerful asset".<ref>Frank J. Landy, Jeffrey M. Conte, ''Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology'' (2009) p. 151.</ref>