It's not a secret that a lot of TV shows are faked. Situations are conjured up by producers, both good and bad, things are planted to be coincidentally found, people are given fake names... The whole nine yards. Find out just how these shows do it!
Long Island Medium
There are some mediums that are legit… Usually, it’s the ones who aren’t exploiting their abilities for fame and money. The Long Island Medium is known to scout out her clients on social media to see if she can make any connections.
Social Media Stalking
It’s crazy what you can find through people’s social media. People tend to overshare even when they don’t know it. That’s why her readings can be so accurate!
America's Got Talent
The auditions are never the first go-round in America’s Got Talent. There are a lot of preliminary auditions before the televised ones. It’s what you have to do for good TV!
Serious Vetting
The producers want to see everyone… The good and the bad. They want to good for the actual show and the bad to make good television. It’s Hollywood!
Duck Dynasty
Duck Dynasty is a bizarre show in itself. The producers of the show even call the men “characters” since that’s literally what they are. The show is pretty scripted, all the way down to the arguments and fights.
Normal Dudes
Before they were cast on the show, the guys were actually pretty clean-cut. Sure, they enjoyed some outdoors time, but not like they do in the show! The guys also barely even curse. The bleeps are put in over random words to make it sleep like they’re more aggressive than they are.
Pawn Stars
If you couldn’t guess, Pawn Stars is pretty fake. If it wasn’t it would be a pretty chaotic pawnshop and toxic work environment! The only thing that’s real is that Rick Harrison owns it.
All Staged
The customers apply for the show with bizarre items. Then, there’s a vetting process that the show’s producers go through to figure out who would be good enough for TV. The products are never new, everyone has already seen them before the show started taping.
Love It or List It
Hilary and David are entertaining to watch on TV, and that’s pretty much all they do. They don’t actually have anything to do with the renovation or selling the house. They’re basically just hosts pretending to be a designer and real estate agent.
For the Drama!
Also, the big structural problems that always present themselves at the worst time are usually always known beforehand. Or, they’re just totally fake. Oh, and the people that end up listing their home usually just stay in the renovated one.
Jersey Shore
Honestly, most of the antics that the Jersey Shore people got into were real. They really are some crazy people, but not everyone they messed with was real. Some of them were paid actors. Basically, anyone on the show who didn’t have a blurred out face was someone paid to be on the show.
Snooki's Name
The grenades that the guys brought home? Paid actresses. Always. Also, Snooki was never a nickname. She made it up on her application, and it stuck!
The Great British Bake Off
I know, this is a tough one to swallow. The Great British Bake Off is one of the most wholesome shows on television, but even that has some fakeness to it! During the reveals of the bakes, the judge’s reactions are filmed twice: One good one and one bad one. Then, it’s up to the editors to frame it the way that they want.
No Surprises Here
Also, the surprise bake isn’t much of a surprise to the contestants. Honestly, that makes sense. How can they pull off a winning bake without any sort of preparation?
House Hunters
House Hunters are known to blur the lines of truth and fiction. The contestants come onto the show with a house that they already bought. The other two homes that are in fake competition are just filler homes. So, the entire premise of the show is pretty much fake. Fun!
Fake Budgets
Those outrageous budgets are just that: Outrageous. They’re fake and made up by the producers for more drama. That usually gets people talking since they have people like a freelance arts-and-crafts major and a mall cop buying a million-dollar home. It’s fake!
Love Island
Love Island is so popular because of all of the drama. The writers really know what they’re doing since it’s all staged. Even the love scenes are staged, they just hide under the covers and wiggle around. Well, if it’s a staged relationship, of course.
Big Paychecks
Each person on the show gets paid a whopping £75,000 just for their participation. They also have a chef on-site and maids constantly keeping the place clean.
The Voice
They want you to be able to sing, but they also want you to have some personal baggage. On the application, they ask for your most “difficult experience.” Hopefully, it’s one that you’re comfortable sharing because they’re going to extort it!
Sob Stories
Have you ever wondered how they find people with these moving stories? Well, that’s how! Unfortunately, this is a bit of a bummer for folks that want to be on the show but don’t have the tragic backstory. If you can sing without a story, that’s not a fit!
Fixer Upper
There’s nothing crazy about Fixer Upper, don’t worry. It’s actually pretty standard stuff! For one thing, the participants aren’t allowed to keep the furniture that Joanna stages. They can buy it, though!
Getting The Right Emotion
They also do a lot of reshoots of rooms and reactions so they can get it just right. Sometimes the reactions are weird and underwhelmed… That’s probably because it’s not the first time that they’re seeing the room.
Catfish
Don’t worry, Nev and Max aren’t setting things up! The show is just a bit more staged than most realize. A lot of the time, the Catfisher ends up contacting the producers. Mostly it’s out of guilt or wanting help. They have to apply, sign release forms, and give them permission to use their face. Sometimes, it doesn’t go as planned and the Catfisher ends up ghosting.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
The show is known for making up this kind of stuff. In all of the past seasons, they’ve conjured up a ton of different controversies in order to make the show interesting. Recently, their lives have actually been dramatic which has also been caught on camera.
Cake Boss
Cake Boss likes to pretend that Carlo calls all of the shots no matter what the customer says, but that’s not really true! Carlo, his team, and the clients talk about everything that’s going into the cake and approve it before filming.
Property Brothers
The brothers were actually actors before the show aired! They do have reality and carpentry background, but a lot of the time, they just act as the handsome hosts.
Ice Road Truckers
Ice road trucking is not as dangerous as they try to make it seem. It is pretty risky, but it’s obviously super dramatized in the show. Also, in the very first season, they showed a truck fall through the ice. That was actually just a mini model of a truck that they dropped into a bucket of water.
Ru Paul's Drag Race
It’s a known fact that the editors like to get creative on this show. They like to take soundbites out of context and are usually coaxed into saying things just for it to be framed a certain way. Some contestants have even said that they seemed closed off in the interviews because they wanted to avoid getting edited poorly.
HGTV Dream Home Giveaway
The dream home is real and they really are giving it away for free, but that doesn’t mean the new owner isn’t paying the property tax! So, a lot of the time, they can’t afford the house and are forced to sell it.
Survivor
The only thing that Survivor falsifies is the food. The contestants are fed food to make sure that they stay healthy and not dead. But that’s it! Everything else is super real.
The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser is not the best way to lose weight. They force contestants to lose weight way too quickly so that it fits the filming time frame. Also, the scale isn’t real!
Storage Wars
When David Hester left the show, he tried saying that people planted the big-ticket items. A&E never responded to the allegations, which made a lot of people think that what he was saying was true.
Deadliest Catch
The fishing industry is not as booming as they try to make it seem on this show. The people on here actually make more money just filming the show than their actual jobs. Unless their actual jobs are now just filming the show… Whoa.
Bridezillas
A lot of these bridezillas knew what they were getting into when they applied for this show, but hey had no idea how the producers were going to push them. Many reported being pushed and harassed by editors which ended up making them snap.
Extreme Home Makeover
This is a weird thing to fake, but they do it on this show! The “volunteers” that help to makeover the show are actually paid actors. After all of the filming, a real contracting crew comes in to finish the job. It’s all for looks!
Ghost Hunters
These guys were caught red-handed for faking things on set and in editing. They’d add static sounds and voices in post just to make it creepier. That’s not to say that ghosts aren’t real or anything, but this show for sure isn’t.
American Idol
The best singers have usually been scouted mouths before the actual audition. A lot of the time, if someone is asked to audition, they don’t know if they’re supposed to be good or bad.
Hell's Kitchen
Gordon Ramsey actually isn’t that bad of a dude! The chefs are told to play up the drama for the camera, and the customers are brought in via agents.
The Hills
The Hills is one of the most popular fake reality shows. Most people knew that it was totally fake but didn’t really care. Now that it’s back in action, we can really tell how fake it was.
Breaking Amish
Many of the Amish folk hadn’t been Amish for years and had to lie about their backstory to fit the narrative. Others already knew each other, so their relationships had to be faked. There really isn’t much truth to this show, unfortunately.
The Real Housewives
Even though these ladies do love the drama, a lot of it is scripted. Friends and enemies are created by the producers. Theresa Guicide did actually throw the dinner table, though.
American Pickers
Just like all shows that are focused around finding jackpots, this is fake, too. Everything was figured out before filming, and they were basically just fed scenarios and had to improv it. Also, “Hobo Jack” was never his real nickname. It was also made up!
Mystery Diners
This show ran for four years and was fake in every single way. The restaurants were fake, the employees were fake, the customers were fake… It was super weird. I’m not even sure how it was on for so long…
The X-Factor
Sorry, The X-Factor is no different from the other talent shows! They scout out people who are TV ready more than their talent. Gotta make that money!
Beach Front Bargain Hunt
The hosts pretty much walk these people through these fake homes for the show. It’s just like House Hunters. They already have a home that they bought!
America's Next Top Model
Even though the model world is highly dramatic on its own, they still needed to manufacture drama. One contestant even said that she wasn’t allowed to leave the show when they wanted to, and that was legally allowed.
The Real World
It’s pretty ironic that a show called The Real World is super not real. The producers did their best to pick the best people for the roles. Then, they totally orchestrated their roles in the show and the drama.
The Amazing Race
The show is totally in charge of travel expenses, and a lot of people think that it paints an unrealistic expectation of travel. They also orchestrate a lot of problems in terms of travel.
South Beach Tow
There’s a reality show for everything, including tow truckers. The rivalries were made up, the cars were planted, and the relationships were fake. That’s television!
Made
The teens are real and their talents are just as real, but the rest of the show is pretty staged and set up. Honestly, real life just isn’t as interesting!
Naked and Afraid
Obviously, no one can live in the dangerous wilderness completely on their own. The crew will give participants medicine, tampons, and supplements to keep them alive at least.
Basketball Wives
Yes, these women are (or were) basketball wives, and that’s about the only truth in this show. It basically follows the classic formula of reality TV in an attempt to make things more interesting.
Cupcake Wars
Just like The Great British Baking Show, contestants usually know the bizarre mystery ingredient that they have to use. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t be that fun to watch them genuinely struggle on what to make.
Vanderpump Rules
This show really struggles with the term “reality.” It’s one of the more notorious shows for how fake it really is. They even reshoot fight scenes if it wasn’t done correctly. That’s kind of insane!
Undercover Boss
Most of this show is real except for the bosses themselves. They usually don’t change and things don’t get easier. This show is kind of an excuse to get some airtime and money for greedy bosses…
The Apprentice
Instead of editors and producers creating fake drama, The Apprentice had its host do it. A lot of the time, Trump would fire contestants for no reason and leave it up to the editors to figure it out. Also, yes, most of the drama was fake.
Master Chef
Following in Ru Paul’s Drag Race’s footsteps, Master Chef is also guilty of using edited soundbites to their advantage. One contestant even claims that they use random soundbites to literally create sentences that they actually didn’t say!
Matchmaker
If you don’t remember, Matchmaker is a show that aired in the late 90s based in Toronto. These weren’t actually blind dates like the show said. Usually, the dates met in person once before and were able to ask questions to each other.
Southern Charm
This show was a weird hit and wasn’t really expected to do as well as it did. The editors like to force stories together to create more drama. A lot of the time, many of the storylines aren’t actually connected.
The Bachelorette
The producers love making a series villain, and that’s what they always try to do. It’s easy to make people hate someone! This show is obviously faked and doesn’t create lasting relationships.
Pawn Queens
Yes, the ugly step-sibling to Pawn Stars. This was just a bad show. The ladies had never ran a pawn shop before and literally had to audition for the show like they were actresses. There was no value to this show and it was quickly canceled.
Cash in the Attic
You can probably guess this one… The “cash” in the attic is all planted. Any items of value were never actually just sitting up in the home.
Surprise Chef
Surprise Chef is definitely a weird idea of a show… So, naturally, it had to be fake. No one was just randomly walking around a grocery store and finds a celebrity chef to cook with. Also, the chef isn’t even the one that prepares the dinner!
Bad Dog!
This show was an attempt to showcase why dogs do bad things. They tried crafting backstories about why the dogs were acting poorly, but really, there was no rhyme or reason. After the show was canceled, they admitted it was fake.
Tattoo Fixers
The ‘big reveal’ moment is always staged. The producers know the reaction that they want and will do whatever they can to capture it. They’ll film it over and over again to get it!
Mountain Men
The men do not live off the grid and off of the land. They’ve got a lot of money, especially from filming this TV show. They’re basically just characters for a fake show!
Designed to Sell
To fit within filming times, they were forced to do some shoddy construction jobs. A lot of the contestants weren’t happy with the final results, and they had to live in the home for a year before it could even sell.
Hunting Hitler
Yeah… Is there even much else to be said about this? This show basically tried to hunt down Hitler under false pretenses… No wonder this one didn’t really work out. Naturally, all of the evidence is planted because Hitler is literally dead.
Divorce Court
Most of these couples weren’t divorcing or married. They were just on the show for the ride! And the paycheck, of course.
What Not To Wear
We all love Clint and Stacey. The only thing that was really faked was the reveal. They had to be filmed a bunch of times to get the right reactions from family and friends!