Reality Shows Don’t Have to Be Cruel

Conflict is drama—and high drama is the essence of reality television. That has been the accepted wisdom in Britain for two decades, since Big Brother cooped people up in a shared house and forbade them access to anything that might stop them from getting on one another’s nerves.

Audiences have been conditioned to accept that reality television must involve dislikable people being immiserated. “It’s a shame,” says a TV producer in a comedy sketch on , reviewing the rushes of a show in which everyone is tediously competent. “I thought it would be interesting to watch talented business people competing for a prestigious job.” Luckily, his colleague has a brilliant idea: “What is born.