Editing Reality television (section)

==== 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>