Modern reality TV turns five

Five years ago, television changed.

On a Wednesday evening, the last day in May, 2000, 16 strangers were stranded in the South China Sea, led only by their instincts and a khaki-clad man who seemed capable only of reciting cheesy phrases such as “the tribe has spoken.” They began to form a new society, and started to play a thrilling new game.

By the time “Survivor” concluded, the series had become a phenomenon. More than 50 million tuned in to its finale, watching a middle-aged, overweight gay man named Richard Hatch win the game and $1 million. He was voted the victor by a jury of his “Survivor” peers, but his unapologetic conniving and Machiavellian game play had already earned him the attention of the nation and the media.

Other networks also paid attention, as CBS — previously best known as the network for old people ("Murder, She Wrote") and boring shows ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman") — brought in millions of viewers of all ages. During the summer, “Survivor” gained an odd little sibling “Big Brother,” which became a lesser kind of hit. Network television’s first accidentally interactive show imprisoned a group of strangers inside a house on CBS’ parking lot. But soon its viewers were actually paying for airplanes to fly over the house, conveying messages about the series, and about things they’d learned watching the houseguests 24 hours a day on live Internet feeds.

Together, “Big Brother” and “Survivor” showed that reality was a capable and viable genre, and other networks quickly got to work doing what they do best: copying and building on one another’s programming. In the fall of 2000, reality became a permanent member of primetime network television.

Living in "The Real World"
These two CBS shows were not the first network reality television programs, as ABC had debuted “Making the Band” in March of 2000, and FOX previously aired a much-discussed one-night reality special, “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire,” in February. Between the debuts of “Survivor” and “Big Brother” debut, PBS began broadcasting “The 1900 House,” a historical reality series from the United Kingdom.  And long before those shows, MTV aired, to much acclaim, attention, and consternation, “The Real World” and “Road Rules.”

While reality TV shows have a long history on American television, it was “Survivor,” delivered in a package well-crafted by Mark Burnett, that hooked us. It changed the game by showing America that real people could be just as (or even more) fascinating than scripted characters.

Today, five years later, reality TV’s influence is everywhere.  The genre has given people of all backgrounds the opportunity to become idols and apprentices, the opportunity to remodel their homes or their faces, and has offered teenagers and 20-somethings a new way to make a living other than actually working or going to school.

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