MTV’s longest running television show, “The Real World,” starts its opening credits with: “This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped…” But “true story” is actually a group of beautiful people with contrasting personalities living under one roof, then mix in drama, hook-ups and backstabbing—and there’s the basic recipe for reality television as we know it.

“Anybody who is on these shows knows the genre and that the camera is on, so they are acting in many ways,” said Ted Mandell Associate Professional Specialist in the
Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at Notre Dame University. “They know what their role is—that’s why they were chosen to be on the show.”

In 1948 the first reality-based television series “Candid Camera” aired. The show created pranks and taped real people getting caught off-guard to see how they would react. In January 1973, PBS broadcasted “An American Family,” a 12-hour documentary series, which captured the daily lives of the William and Pat Loud family and their five children. Several other reality shows aired after the 50s that were considered revolutionary.

“What’s changed a lot is when reality started out, people were afraid of the camera,” said Carlos Ortiz, executive producer of “Flip That House” which airs on TLC. “Now people know that it may be another way to get their 15 minutes of fame.”

Reality television has spread into several different sub-genres, including one that has its roots in documentary format. “Intervention,” shown on A&E, provides an inside look into the world of addiction. TLC’s “Flip that House” documents the process of ordinary people purchasing, renovating and then trying to sell a “flipped” house for a profit.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some reality programs like “Flavor of Love,” “Survivor” and “Tila Tequila” have redefined what’s acceptable to show on television. Dating and game shows soured to an unimaginable level with raunchier footage and the “reality” of the program being questioned. Despite criticism, new concepts are finding homes across all major networks.

These types of shows are for pure glamour and sensationalism, Ortiz said. It’s more about what a character said or acted upon rather than the reality of the situation. Dating shows in particular, Ortiz said are a “good example of producers who have a short time to push buttons.”

Laura Fischer, a junior at Loyola University in Maryland, had first-hand experience with producers intervening into shots while she was turned into a salsa dancer for the reality-based television show “Made” on MTV.

“[The Producers] are in control and you don’t really realize that,” Fischer said. “They make you look, say and act the way they want you to, so watching the final product was a little strange because [the storyline] wasn’t what I thought it was.”

According to Mandell, the attraction to competition-based reality shows, especially “Survivor,” whether manipulated or not, is the winner at the end. Whether a couple has claimed to have found true love, voted as a pop singing sensation or out-smarted all the other contestants, viewers tune in each week because something is at stake and they want to see the final outcome.

“Game shows aren’t really reality television. “Survivor” turned the idea of reality television into a game show, plus you have a documentary kind of feel,” he said.

Ithaca College graduate, Peter Berg, admitted to being hooked to “Survivor” the moment he saw the first episode. His strong liking to competitive-based reality television led him to create his own version of “The Amazing Race.”

Berg was the executive producer for “The Race,” an extra-curricular activity that he claimed took over his life. After two seasons, the show ended gathering a fan base over the internet, received widespread media coverage and will be featured on an upcoming episode of Fox’s “Reality Remix.” Berg said that the experience was incredible, but stressful at times.

“Once you start the teams off at the starting line you have no control,” Berg said. [The contestants] are going to finish things as fast as they possibly can or things might take longer than I expected, but that is why reality is so exciting because things you wouldn’t expect to happen, happen.”

Since the wave of new reality shows, viewers either tune in to see what outrageous thing their favorite character will do this week or choose to scroll right by it.

“I think it’s important to note that when people slam reality television, there are plenty of shows on the air that are scripted that plenty of people hate, Ortiz said. “But the truth is that Hollywood is not producing enough talent to give you 20 “Losts” a week or 13 “Sopranos” a week, therefore the market was asking for better and more exciting.”

From a production standpoint, Mandell said there is no reason not to produce new reality shows until the end of time. The shorter production time, cheaper costs and endless amount of available talent allows for opportunity that doesn’t involve much risk much.

“As long as humans will be around, you are going to have dating, food and home shows because it’s something we all do: we live somewhere, we eat and we date,” Ortiz said. “I imagine those shows will never go away it will just evolve into something.”