I have a confession to make.
I watch TV. Lots of it.
But I don’t just watch anything. My televisual poison is watching real people in real life scenarios doing real life things.
“Surely the ultimate case study in how to go from nowhere to everywhere in the blink of an eye, the Khardashians started ruining our attention spans in 2007 and have barely stopped.”
I’m who I am today because Simon Cowell and his pals brought a new type of famous person into our living rooms: the average Joe.
The you.
The me.
People from Essex.
But why?
I guess we’ll never really know.
All I do know is it changed how we view fame, and who we accepted as being worthy of fame. No longer did it have to be Hollywood A Listers or singers in rock bands.
Yes, I was hooked early. Like, back in the 2000s early. And you know what? I’ve never looked back or flicked over to see what else was on.
I’ve been there, couchside, from Nasty Nick to bushtucker trials to actually famous for actual reasons Katy Perry not just taking up space, but making space.
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Ahem.
Yup, according to my own research – which is utterly rigorous* – a reality TV watcher like me would have been hitting something like these viewing numbers over the years:
Hours of reality TV watched each decade:
That’s 4,800 hours overall.
That’s 200 full days of viewing.
That’s 7 months, non-stop, if you want to binge the whole lot.
Not sure even I could watch all that back, but I digress.
Yes, the fame game changed after reality TV hit our screens, but which shows changed it? Here’s a few of my favourites:
Big Brother (Series 1)
The OG.
When this came out in 2001, launching normal people into our lives like supersonic rockets packed with weirdness, we saw ourselves reflected in our TV screens.
Amazing stuff.
And when Nasty Nick went nasty, well….they don’t write ‘em like that anymore.
X Factor
Ok, so Pop Idol walked so X Factor could run, but come on, this is where the real talent flourished. Global stars were born here, right before our eyes.
Jedward.
One Direction.
Leona Lewis.
Ant and Seb? That’s right, Ant and Seb. Fame. Redefined.
Come Dine with Me
Making people household names by exposing their horrendous taste in home furnishings, possibly illegal cooking habits and inability to hold normal conversations, Come Dine with Me is a reality TV stalwart even now.
Taking us to kitchen tables all over the country, and giving us new anti-heroes to celebrate.
Oh, what a sad little life Jane.
Maybe it’s been part of our cultural psyche for longer than we think. It’s always been there, the reality TV itch.
We just learned how to scratch it.
The Khardashians
Surely the ultimate case study in how to go from nowhere to everywhere in the blink of an eye, the Khardashians started ruining our attention spans in 2007 and have barely stopped.
Fun fact 1: Kim Khardashian was a sometime stylist for Paris Hilton (another notoriously famous-but-why? person).
Fun fact 2: Some people link the rise of the selfie to the Khardashians, who it’s safe to say, liked the odd snap.
