Welcome to Litsy!

A behind-the-scenes look at reality TV from its emergence out of ‘40s radio programming to the early aughts boom that transformed the industry.

It shows the genre as far more established (if ever-evolving) than I realized, but I remain a “snob” who hates it. Despite occasional (often accidental) wins for representation, more exploitation, manipulation, & greed saturate the model. & the book‘s section on the ramifications of The Apprentice hurts.

Some reviews said this was too long and writing was slow at times, but I didn‘t find that to be an issue (since I was listening to the audiobook). I was more interested in the beginnings of reality programming such as radio shows, early game shows and into the 70s. The history of shows from the 90s and 2000s was ok, but not as interesting to me.

This has been on my radar forever. I had an audible credit so I decided to go the audiobook route. So far I really like it. I like the narrator and the author has done a good job of describing the evolution of reality television.

Added bonus- I can use it for the #letterC in the #LitsyAtoZ challenge. @Texreader

I absolutely loved this! Even having lived through the proliferation of reality tv there was so much to learn even about shows I actively watch(ed). This mainly focuses on American tv so it would be interesting if someone wrote about international reality tv history.

I‘ve finally emerged from a weeklong hyperfixation binge of books I don‘t keep track of and can now enjoy reading in the yard with Rolo again. Shoutout to the Libby app for saving me the expense of buying the books I binged.

It‘s almost Big Brother US season so I thought it would be fitting to start the tagged while Rolo and I get some vitamin D
#DogsOfLitsy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Engaging history of reality TV, from a mid 20th century show about a California family through The Apprentice. It focuses on a subset of particularly influential/pivotal shows and follows the genre‘s evolution and impact on society. I‘m not much of a reality TV person, but this was interesting.

This book goes back and looks at the history of reality programming, which actually started on the radio, taking a look at how it‘s evolved up until almost today. I found it really interesting to hear about both shows I‘d never heard of and those that are very familiar. Really well done.

My only 5⭐️ in June!

NYT TV critic Nussbaum takes a look at the evolution of reality TV from early iterations like Candid Camera and The Gong Show to the beginning of the explosion via Real World and Survivor through to current mix on Bravo and The Bachelor. She tells the larger story through a limited number of shows, which made for a strong narrative. She ends on The Apprentice and our first (and hopefully last) reality TV president.

Drinking coffee and reading this gem…out next week, about the rise of reality tv. I‘m not a huge reality tv fan but this is entertaining and very readable. #netgalley