2005 BANFF WORLD TELEVISION FESTIVAL
Reality feels so good
by Tara Merrin
Calgary Sun
BANFF— Reality TV is here to stay. At least that’s what the industry big-hitters are predicting.
BE HAPPY ... David Lyle of Fox Reality Channel enjoys the clean and messy sides of the popular genre.
“There is going to be good and there is going to be bad, but it’s not going to go away,” says Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, who spoke on the future of reality at the Banff World TV Festival.
“I don’t know what the next big thing is going to be, but I think people want to see something a little more uplifting. We are going to see more of the docusoaps like Supernanny.”
During the fall of 2004, a number of high-profile reality TV flops had the media declaring reality television was dead.
Now, thanks to the success of shows such as American Idol, Survivor and The Amazing Race, the networks are jumping back on the reality bandwagon, with close to 30 new series premiering this summer.
Keoghan says many of the new reality shows such as Dancing With the Stars and Hit Me Baby One More Time are following the “niceness” trend.
“If there was a weakness to The Amazing Race in the beginning, it was that there was nothing nasty about it, because trainwreck TV works,” he says. “But people are now turning towards shows like The Amazing Race. It is doing better now than when it was launched — it’s huge.”
Casting Survivor All-Star winner and runner-up Amber and Rob Mariano on this season’s race certainly help ratings, but Keoghan does not believe that will spark a trend at other networks.
“People like to see fresh faces. They like to watch ordinary people do extraordinary things.”
That’s why CBS executives decided to make the eighth instalment of The Amazing Race a family version rather than bring back ex-players, he says.
“The obvious thing was to do an all-star version, but our show is huge with families. I admire the fact that the network is taking a chance when everybody else is making insurance TV.”
That said, Keoghan hopes the new trend in reality TV will be creativity. In the beginning, all the networks followed the Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Survivor formula, offering a $1-million prize to whoever “won” the show.
Today, Keoghan believes many series, including The Amazing Race, could work even without the big pay-out.
David Lyle, GM of Fox Reality Channel, which launched last month in 15 million homes, agrees the trend is towards “feel-good” reality. That, however, is not going to stop him from going after the dirty ones.
“I have picked up Paradise Hotel, so it will live again,” he says with a smile. “Our viewers want us to be at the more tawdry end, which I am happy to oblige. I am trying to stay away from that bout of niceness that Phil’s leading.”
Lyle, who is also responsible for the extreme make-over/beauty pageant masterpiece The Swan, says Fox is in the process of finding former reality TV stars for a new show about what they are doing now.
“The Swan was a worthless piece of television, I’m sad to say I produced. Those women were left sort of looking like cheap hookers and sent back to their small towns. I’m really interested to see what has happened to them. I think the follow-up will be more interesting than the original.”
Lyle says other current reality trends include self-contained shows, families, docusoaps and celebrities.
“But it will change. That’s the wonderful thing about reality TV, it doesn’t stand still.”
2005-06-17
http://www.calgarysun.com/perl-bin/niveau2.cgi?s=films&p=96351.html&a=1
