Tips to Create Your Own Reality Show from a Professional Screenwriter

Reality shows. We either watch them, hear about them, or try our best to avoid them completely. Whatever tactic you take, and it can be a frustratingly hard one to maintain, reality shows are everywhere, and definitely here to stay. Whether your first taste of reality TV was in 1992 with MTV's The Real World (American precursor to Europe's Big Brother) or The Osbournes (2002), featuring the clownish British rocker, and his weirdly appealing, foul mouthed family, reality shows are now woven deeply into pop culture. Current hits like Dog: The Bounty Hunter on A&E, Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E! or History's Pawn Stars, offer up real drama, real conflict and real entertainment - or so they claim.

As a writer who penned episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, my professional storytelling lies more in fictionalized drama, yet I'm fascinated by reality TV. Back in 1992, MTV's The Real World mildly interested me. I never committed to it fully, feeling there could never be any true 'reality' involved, by nature of its contrived set-up.

The Real World teased, "This is the true story of seven strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real. The Real World." A world where strange folks thrown together in a posh apartment is genuine? Aside from maybe college roommates, I don't see this as real. They aren't studying at school, they're not like struggling students. They're little more than paid actors, reporting to a set everyday, by rolling over in bed, and padding over to a 'common room'.

Still, the adventures of Puck and Pedro, and others over the years gave us intriguing moments. It still runs, and at 22 seasons, is MTV's longest running show. The human equation does work, and ultimately the vibe was copied in Survivor to Big Brother - though I consider those programs annoying game shows.

My Turning Point

Aside from The Real World's slight amusement, my appreciation for reality TV came with stuff like Dog: The Bounty Hunter or Les Stroud in Survivorman. These real guys engage in real adventures. Not only is 'Dog' working a tough job, his family are participants. Les Stroud holds our interest because he knows how to spend days alone in a remote area, and with only basics. Despite criticism of both as being sometimes 'helped' or staged, there's a genuine dynamic which connects with me. American Chopper and Pawn Stars also entertain with fun casts and inform by delving into diverse areas of history.

Good Shows

With dozens of existing reality shows, and more coming all the time - what will your show be like? The sky's the limit as they say, but what's essential is crafting a show on something worth filming for years. This is central to any TV show. Television shows aren't feature films, documentaries, nor a mini-series. Each season should grow, expand and offer novelty for an audience. It's the difference between Dog: The Bounty Hunter capturing one high profile - even famous fugitive - and each episode touching upon other aspects of the brave man's life. If Duane Chapman wasn't as colorful, and his family and crew wasn't as equally entertaining, there may have never been a show, or it certainly wouldn't have lasted so long. Les Stroud is a survival expert, but he's also an engaging man. As a lone host out in the wilderness, his demeanor and gentle humor encourage us to follow him episode after episode of Survivorman.

Your Show

I can't advise you on what your show should be about, but through examples I've given, you can try to filter out an idea that will be interesting, full of action and hold enough interest to film installments over several seasons. No matter what your idea is, you'll need to boil it down into small chunks for an interested party (studios, networks, production companies) to buy. Let's create a reality show now, and play with how to market it to sell to Hollywood. Let's call our show "Psychic Parrot Patrol". Your friend has an exotic Amazonian parrot. Not only can this bird talk, but everything it says comes true!

Psychic Parrot Patrol can tell you if you're going to get that job promotion, fall in love with the right partner or even if your tomato garden is going to be bountiful. Talk about a a bird with the word! Psychic Parrot Patrol will be the next big TV hit! However, you must formulate a fitting show for this boundless bird.

One Sheet

Boil down your idea into a document called a one sheet. There's no real recipe of exactly how you write this up, however going by the name means keeping it short, preferably only one page. Here's how it might look:

Title: Psychic Parrot Patrol

Concept: My friend's bird is a psychic. She puts John Edwards to shame, and beats Sylvia Brown and James Van Pragh. She talks so comically, but when she does, we listen because everything she says comes true. Need a new job? Pollyanna will tell you when it will happen! Looking for love? Pollyanna is on the case in romance! Each week, Pollyanna meets new people, and earns new fans everywhere, because she's the only bird with the word that comes true! Parrot Patrol Prophecy!

Road Ahead

There's more to creating a show, and selling it, than a one sheet of course. Filming a video demo of the series, formulating your episode guide carefully, and still more. Following this road map will get you started though, and a first step is often the hardest to take. Good luck with your reality TV show efforts. When you're discouraged, look at some of the awful stuff out there that made it onto television. Yours can't be half as bad as some of those shows!

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