The Biggest Reality TV Tropes Are…
30 years after the first season of The Real World debuted as a quote-unquote “social experiment,” reality TV has become a genre unto itself, with character types, stock stories, and cliches that rival the laziest detective dramas. Whether it fits into the subgenre of the dating show, social experiment, ensemble drama, celebrity show, competition of skill, or “competition” that’s an excuse to watch Instagram models get drunk, hook up, and fight with each other, the best reality TV is made from the same ingredients. There are the bald-faced lies, the knock-down, drag-out fights, the apology ritual, the alliances, villains, and hot messes; and, of course, the drama. Here’s our list of the most essential tropes and characters in reality TV, and why some of them are just so played out that we wish they’d pack their bags.
The Villain
If there’s one thing reality TV needs, it’s a villain. Good villains are the schemers, the egomaniacs, and the bullies – they stir up all the drama, they’re the center of attention, and they’re not here to make friends.
The villain trope has been around since the earliest days of reality TV: in season 3 of The Real World, Puck relentlessly antagonized the HIV-positive Pedro Zamora. And during the first season of Survivor, Richard Hatch created the series’ first alliance, using his ability to persuade the other players to manipulate who was eliminated—something that other players originally considered cheating. Survivor even had an entire season with a tribe full of past villains—including the now-infamous Russell Hantz, who on just his first day on the island insulted several of the women on the show, sabotaged his own team’s water supply, and lied about losing his dog in Hurricane Katrina.
Some villains are just naturally selfish or nasty people, like Bachelor Arie Luyendyk, who broke up with the winner of his season on camera before getting back together with the runner-up. But the villain is such an essential reality TV type that some reality stars will deliberately play up their villainous side for entertainment value – Bachelorette contestant Justin Rego told Entertainment Weekly that after he realized he was getting the villain edit, he thought, ‘Why not? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why not just go with it?’” Tiffany “New York” Pollard has also spoken about how she saw an opportunity to have some fun when she was on Flavor of Love – she quickly established herself as an iconic and memorable villain within the first ten minutes of the first episode. Reality personalities have even announced their villain status on the air. Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation” famously said and The Glass House’s Alex sent out a question to America.
The villain rarely wins the whole show, but some have managed to build their entire career off of being a reality TV villain (sometimes going on to far greater success than the technical winners). Consider Omarosa Manigault Newman, who was the highly memorable villain on the first season of The Apprentice. Omarosa went on to return to The Apprentice, appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, wrote a book, and even briefly had a job in the Trump White House—all launched by her persona from The Apprentice. Similarly, Johnny Bananas went from being a villain on The Real World to competing on The Challenge, where he won seven seasons and infamously screwed over several of his fellow castmates. Eventually, he even became the host of his own show on NBC. Still, while some of these villains have relished and earned their reputations, others have been pushed into acting rashly or irresponsibly by producers, given a misleading edit in post-production, or even completely misrepresented in the final version of a show that airs. They’ve also dealt with extensive backlash from fans, sometimes lasting for years and years after their time on TV. As is often the case with reality TV, everything is not always as it seems in the edit.
The Hot Mess
We love to hate the villain, but we love to laugh at the hot mess. Instead of being a bully or a malicious schemer, the hot mess is just drunk, chaotic, and mesmerizing. These are often the breakout stars—people like Snooki from Jersey Shore or Brandi Glanville from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It’s not hard to understand why these people become popular: They’re fun to watch. They enjoy themselves, let themselves go, and constantly get into trouble. In fact, the entire premise of The Simple Life was about turning wealthy socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie into hot messes by placing them in rural, working-class settings out of their comfort zone.
But sometimes a production’s effort to create a hot mess can go too far. Alcohol helps loosen everyone up to stir up messy drama, but, as happened on Bachelor in Paradise, sometimes this can create an outright dangerous environment for actors. And even once the production wraps, some of the most beloved hot mess characters have gone on to develop mental health and substance abuse problems. The mental health and well-being of reality TV stars have become more of a spotlight for productions recently. In fact, these problems have themselves become a part of the reality TV industry – Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew featured several people struggling with addiction after appearing on reality TV, These kinds of shows can help reveal a more human element of reality TV stars, but the best recovery television doesn’t always equal the best recovery.
The Twist
Everyone loves a good twist, which is why reality TV is full of them. There are the twist challenges and trips that audiences expect, like Love Island’s Casa Amor, where both the men and women on the show are given the opportunity to mingle with an entirely new group of singles. And then there are wholly unexpected twists, like Jack’s ex-girlfriend being one of the Casa Amor singles in season 4.
Reality TV loves a surprise reappearance: Flavor of Love brought back Tiffany “New York” Pollard during its second season, a genuine shock that presaged years of forced surprises. Now we have to wonder what special guests will show up at the Housewives reunions and which queens will reappear on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Some shows make twists their entire premise. There’s Too Hot To Handle, where horny contestants show up for a fake dating show with a name like Pleasure Island, only to learn they’re not allowed to touch or kiss at all. And then there’s Ex on the Beach, where singles expecting a traditional dating show instead have to live with their exes. Other shows with twists in their premise keep the contestants in the dark for as long as possible, like when a group of women thought they were competing to marry a business magnate in Joe Millionaire, or when a different group of women thought they were competing to marry Prince Harry in I Wanna Marry Harry. On Drag Race All Stars, the twists in the elimination process have escalated to the point where, for some viewers, the competition itself has become meaningless. Some fans think these extreme twists have gone too far – not only can they be excessively dishonest and manipulative toward the cast, but for the audience they’re distracting, and they can disrupt the narrative and momentum of a show. In competition shows where strategy is involved, twists can make it impossible for the quote-unquote “best” player to actually execute their plans and win.
Shows that lean too hard on twists and gimmicks can feel like they don’t trust their characters to actually carry the show, even though most of the time the people are what audiences come back for.
The Big Fight
Everything on reality TV is big—big parties, big outfits, and, of course, big fights. Often on shows like Selling Sunset and The Real Housewives, the glamorous events and luxurious outings are really just set dressing for a fight. Putting strong personalities in close quarters creates conflict, which is the whole reason we’re watching in the first place. Out of context, these fights seem to be overly intense and about nothing, which makes them especially memeable. And they do usually start with a small, insignificant slight or something thoughtless said in the heat of the moment. But they always escalate – sometimes because the characters say something truly hurtful or too emotionally real. But sometimes, it’s because they have to – they know they have to escalate the conflict further and further to surprise and delight the audience.
Some shows have been built entirely around the idea that good fights mean good reality TV: Bad Girls Club starts each of its seasons by showcasing a big, violent confrontation, then asking viewers to watch the full series if they want to find out how it happened. But even if it’s not a deliberate gimmick, lots of shows have iconic moments when the gloves come off. The tension between Ronnie and Mike on The Jersey Shore kept audiences watching until the fourth season, when they finally came to blows with each other… and also the wall. And one of the most iconic moments in all of America’s Next Top Model is when Tyra Banks lost her cool at a competitor who disappointed her. Knock-down, drag-out moments like these always usher in the next big reality tv gimmick…
The Apology
Every big fight needs an even bigger apology, and reality TV loves the drama of demanding, avoiding, accepting, or rejecting apologies. The Real Housewives are famous for their secret language of not really apologizing until the drama escalates to a peak where some kind of expression of contrition has to elaborately play out. Sometimes these apologies are for deeply hurtful words or behavior, like spreading malicious rumors, and sometimes they’re over incidents that are a little more frivolous. Demanding these apologies might seem petty, but it can be cathartic to watch – reality TV cast members get to have the kinds of conversations most of us only get to imagine in our heads, conversations where everyone gathers to formally discuss whatever trivial issue is weighing on one of them. Reality shows like Intervention and Marriage Boot Camp are all about bringing people together for “real”, emotional conversations that they wouldn’t otherwise have in their normal lives. Sometimes they even get to hold the person accountable in front of an audience on a reunion episode.
The Tragic Backstory
Speaking of sob stories, producers seemingly love to highlight a contestant’s personal struggles in a plea to force the audience to bond with or relate to them. And when an episode of Drag Race or The Bachelor delves into the emotional backstory of one of the contestants, you know they’re about to be sent home.
This is a so-called “exit edit,” where we suddenly learn a lot more about someone’s life and flaws just before they get eliminated so that the editors can make it seem like they got a complete arc on the show instead of just being kicked off. This gimmick doesn’t only apply to those who are about to be kicked off. So many contestants have gotten this edit on American Idol that Entertainment Weekly ran an article called “American Idol: 23 Classic Sob Stories.”
When Reality TV Gets Real
And finally, there’s the most meta trope of them all: The moment where all of the other tropes fall away, and reality TV manages to capture… reality. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s some of the most riveting TV around. In fact, these moments can often catapult a show from run-of-the-mill to a must-watch. Take Jersey Shore, which became a sensation in part because Snooki literally got punched in the face during filming on the first season. Those rare truly un-scriptable moments are why so many of us tune in to reality TV – last year, on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, housewife Jen Shah was raided by the FBI—seemingly unbeknownst to the production team—in the middle of a planned vacation. So despite all the repetitive tropes, scripts, and attempts to control, after decades of finessing reality TV down to a highly curated “art,” it does still feel like something is real – unplanned, out of control, and impossible to predict. Some of the best reality TV always leaves us wondering about what is quote-unquote “actually” happening. At the end of The Hills, Brody Jenner and Kristin Cavallari waved goodbye in a scene that was revealed to be shot on a set. Was the entire show faked? Just that scene? We might never know—and that’s what makes it great reality TV.
Sources
https://screenrant.com/reality-tv-cliches-tropes-reddit-thinks-need-to-end/
https://www.avclub.com/you-haven-t-seen-the-last-of-me-18-reality-show-cli-1798225226
https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelaandaloro/defining-reality-tv-moments
https://nypost.com/article/best-reality-tv-show-moments-of-all-time/