Unreal

Original version

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

UNREAL-STAGE-5-001.jpg

Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV

Podcasts

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

9. The Influencer Sausage Factory: Love Island, Part 1

The dumbest genre in entertainment, or the one that tells us the most about ourselves?

Journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale explore how reality TV shapes our lives and the ethical questions raised by the format, featuring iconic shows and stars.

The dumbest genre in entertainment, or the one that tells us the most about ourselves? Since its conception, reality TV has divided its viewers. 

Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV is a 10-part audio documentary written and presented by journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale. They've been fans of reality TV since they first watched Big Brother as pre-teens and they've spent a fair amount of time defending reality TV when people are snobby about it, or dismiss its importance in our wider culture. But they've also been troubled by what they've seen in the genre: the exploitation; the lack of aftercare; the impacts of sudden fame. 

Using interviews with the creators, producers and stars of some of the most iconic reality shows of the last two decades, and leading cultural critics of today, Unreal explores how reality TV has shaped entertainment, fashion, beauty, celebrity and even politics - and some of the ethical issues raised by the format. 

Producer: Hannah Hufford 
Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes 
Executive Editor: James Cook 
Content Producer: Hannah Robins 
Technical Producer: Giles Aspen

Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV: 8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset

1. The Social Experiment: Big Brother Is Watching You

8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset

BBC Radio 4 - Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV, 8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset

Property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude.

Property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude: exploring the moneyed world of the Californian 0.01%.

Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes slip into the moneyed world of the Californian 0.01% with the help of a Real Housewife and a Selling Sunset realtor, to examine property porn, toxic wealth, and why audiences want schadenfreude. Featuring interviews with Real Housewife's Taylor Armstrong, Selling Sunset's Mary Fitzgerald, plus the show creators and more. 

Producer: Hannah Hufford
Executive Producer: Pandora Sykes
Executive Editor: James Cook 
Content Producer: Hannah Robins
Technical Producer: Giles Aspen

Archive credits:
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Evolution Media
Dallas, Lorimar Productions
Desperate Housewives, Cherry Productions
Selling Sunset, Done and Done Productions
ABC News, ABC

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV

8. Lifestyles of The Mega-Rich: The Real Housewives & Selling Sunset

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra