Reality Hell
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Over-the-top series pokes fun at wannabe reality stars.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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What's the Story?
In reality TV spoof REALITY HELL, participants are set up to think that they're on their way to stardom. In each episode, new targets are led to believe that they're going to be featured in shows about everything from a modeling competition to a cooking challenge or a wife swap. Actors stand in as "typical" reality characters, including crazy judges and over-the-top contestants. Viewers then get to watch the unsuspecting targets react to an endless array of wacky schemes, all of which have been specifically designed to confuse, mortify, or even scare them. Then, just when it seems that things can't get any worse, the actors reveal the truth.
Is It Any Good?
In order to poke maximum fun at the kind of people who are willing to do or put up with almost anything for their moment in the reality spotlight, the show exaggerates traditional reality show moments and tends to really push the envelope when it comes to sexual innuendo, language, and confrontations. In fact, some of the behavior (like posing in extremely suggestive modeling poses and shocking people sitting in electric chairs) is so extreme that it's just as bad as -- if not worse than -- the reality shows it's trying to parody.
Viewers might find themselves stifling a chuckle when watching the unsuspecting contestants navigate their way through these well-orchestrated pranks. But the show also offers, perhaps unintentionally, an uncomfortable commentary about this country's obsession with reality television and the behavior that viewers have come to expect from those who appear on them.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what inspires people to appear on reality shows. Do they really think that they'll become famous, or is it the prizes?
Are the show's pranks performed to make a point, or are they just for fun? When does a prank go too far?
Does this show perpetuate any stereotypes, either of people in general or specific kinds of reality TV "types"?
TV Details
- Premiere date: August 16, 2009
- Network: E!
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: February 24, 2022
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