We all wonder what is real and what is fake in reality shows, and I’ve taken one step further to actively research it.
Throughout this article you’ll discover my findings, so join me as we uncover the dark secrets of the most popular reality shows out there.
If you don’t want to break the illusion or the fourth wall forever, stay away from this post!
Pawn Stars: A Big Show with Big Secrets!
Let’s start strong with one of the most popular reality TV shows around today – Pawn Stars!
The show has Rick, Chumlee, Big Hoss and the late “Old Man” running their Pawn Shop and you know their motto: We never know what walks through that door”.
In reality, things are a little complicated, as they are never on the store and they make the bulk of their money not haggling and pawning as the show suggests, but selling Merchandising (with references to the show).
In fact, if you visit the store yourself you’ll see most of it is full of show merch and you can’t see the stars there… why?
Well, the truth is the show is all filmed on a set – a complete replica of the original store where they film the scenes.
The objects you see are either already sold or already skipped – no real haggling occurs in front of the camera, as either the price is already agreed upon or the owner already knows they won’t buy the object – the haggling… is literally just for show.
Long Island Medium: What They Don’t Tell You!
Long Island Medium accompanies the journeys of Theresa Caputo throughout her everyday life and through her readings, both scheduled and those that seem to just happen in the heat of the moment.
On the other hand, Theresa has some secrets as well.
First of all, interrogation experts already stated they find her to be applying cold reading tactics at all times. Not only that, Mark Edwards – a private eye – found out she scouts Facebook, Ticketmaster, Twitter, and all info on the people she either features on the show or attends her conferences.
Since we’re talking about conferences, she has staff members spread throughout the audience when she’s having a public show, and critics point out this is a cheap tactic to get info through them via Bluetooth headset – the staff being alert for conversations among the crowd.
Truth be told, the people she reads all seem to be happier when she’s done… so do we really care if she’s just faking it?
American Pickers: A Van? Not a Chance!
Another show people love to watch that isn’t quite what you think it is.
In the show, Danielle Colby, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are “pickers” and while the male cast scouts the countryside in search of antiques, their female counterpart is at HQ giving them info on places to visit.
But… Mike and Frank only use the van to film, and they rarely use it to actually go picking. The items are sometimes planted and the prices are agreed upon beforehand.
When you consider Pawn Stars, you start to see a trend with these shows… maybe it’s the only way to make it enticing for the audience, as the documentary of how it really happens could be a bit boring.
Storage Wars: “YUUUP!” it’s Salted!
Storage Wars cast members have spoken about the show and how the producers try to sweeten things up. The most vocal of the cast members was Dave Hester, the author of the catchphrase “YUUUP!”
He came forward and told people the producers would salt the containers, meaning they would place high value or interesting items there previously for the stars to find.
This has some merit as somewhere along the show, a locker that was closed for 10 years had a 4 months old product in it.
Finally, consider the fact the evaluators of the program aren’t qualified for the job and you have yourself a less real reality show than you could expect.
So, did you know about these things?
Are you surprised? Or did you already know things worked like this all along?
Let us know below down on the comments section, and share your thoughts on this topic along with any other piece of info you’d think would spruce up the debate.