Reality television

Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, document actual events, and have ordinary people instead of professional actors. Although reality television has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the term "reality television" is most commonly used to describe shows since 2000. Documentaries, news and sports shows are not called reality shows.

There are many different kinds of reality television shows, from game or quiz shows to surveillance-type shows, such as Big Brother.

Critics say that the term "reality television" is not accurate. Many shows portray a changed and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes told to act certain ways, and with events on screen sometimes changed by editing.