Theres a new entertainment form – turning your private life into a soap opera. Its what the ‘famous for being famous’ industry is all about.
Tradtional entertainment – singing/dancing/acting is all about creating facade. People like the idea of being famous and they like to fantasise about what being famous would be like. But properly famous people don’t like to drop the facade and are very protective of their privacy and home life so you can’t find out.
Reality stars are all about allowing viewers to peer into your private life as entertainment. Even if your private life curiously seems to follow a shooting script and a production schedule.
Theres also a category thing. Broadcasters (particularly UK terrestrial ones) often have quotas they need to meet in terms of providing factual content as well as entertainment.- News, current affairs, documentary and so on. ‘Reality’ and ‘Factual Entertainment’ are ways working around those quotas producing easy-to-make cookie cutter telly instead of having to think or make or do anything. Come Dine With Me, What Peter Did Next, The Only Way is Chelsea, Sun Sex and Suspicous Parent – format-driven reality – these are things you can do with money and time you’re supposed to spend on Panorama, Horizon and Storyville.