Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV

Journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale explore how reality TV shapes our lives and the ethical questions raised by the format, featuring iconic shows and stars.

Radio 4,11 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

Introducing Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV
The dumbest genre in entertainment, or the one that tells us the most about ourselves?
10 May 2022,4 mins
1. The Social Experiment: Big Brother Is Watching You
How Britain’s first ‘official’ reality show became a global phenomenon.
17 May 2022,56 mins,
2. The Talent Show Boom: Pop Idol and The X Factor
How three men called Simon are responsible for the gold rush of talent shows.
17 May 2022,49 mins,
3. The Wild West Years: There’s Something About Miriam and Who’s Your Daddy
How the explosion of reality TV in the early 2000s caused ethics to fly out the window.
17 May 2022,44 mins,
4. The Makeover Era: The Swan and What Not To Wear
How the rise of cosmetic surgery collided with reality TV.
17 May 2022,53 mins,
5. The Birth of Scripted Reality: Laguna Beach & The Hills
The shows that birthed reality’s first wave of lifestyle influencers.
17 May 2022,50 mins,
6. Climbing The Ladder: Keeping Up With The Kardashians
America’s First Family and how they created an entirely new category of uber-celebrity.
17 May 2022,50 mins,
7. The British Docusoap: The Only Way Is Essex & Made In Chelsea
How these BAFTA-winning reality shows became national treasures.
17 May 2022,51 mins,
8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset
Property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude.
17 May 2022,53 mins,
9. The Influencer Sausage Factory: Love Island, Part 1
How Love Island became a finishing school for influencers and a commercial juggernaut.
17 May 2022,46 mins,
10. A Format In Crisis & The Future of Reality TV: Love Island, Part 2
How one of TV’s most popular shows became mired in tragedy and controversy.
17 May 2022,52 mins,