Top Five Hardest Working Reality Show Stars

Reality TV like Real Housewives of New Jersey or Gene Simmons Family Jewels earn tons of viewers, but stars of their respective shows can't exactly be accused of working their butts off. Simmons, lead singer of flamboyant, glam rock band KISS, lets cameras chronicle a flashy lifestyle. Real Housewives does the same. They strive for drama, since letting a film crew document a lavatory trip, or savoring a Wendy's burger at lunch isn't so thrilling. Then there's hard working reality stars like Dog: The Bounty Hunter or the creative cast of MythBusters.

Reality shows definitely up the ante to make things more dramatic, but it's mostly fine fakery, than first rate showmanship. Thankfully, a few reality stars actually do stuff. They work their fannies off to protect us, educate us and still manage to entertain us.

Cops

Arguably, it's the grand daddy of reality shows. Launched in 1989 - an amazing 21 years still on the air - the show is more gritty documentary than the fluff we're used to seeing on most reality shows. As the cameras follow the cops into domestic disputes, dirty drug dens and much more, we are thoroughly engaged, and educated at the same time.

Dog: The Bounty Hunter

Duane 'The Dog" Chapman is more dramatic, even theatrical in appearance and demeanor than many Hollywood actors, however he's the real deal. Before the reality show, he was a bounty hunter - along with his colorful family. It's a safe bet that even when the cameras stop rolling, and the show fades to black for a final go round, the Dog will still be sniffing out and chasing the bad guys.

MythBusters

As one of the most unusual, creative and fun TV shows, MythBusters takes the weird myths, urban legends and spacey speculation we've all heard - and some we haven't - and tests them. Using the best in high and low tech, the dynamic crew led by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, crash cars, sink boats, pummel ballistic gel dummies, and often rough handle themselves. Highlights of the long running show include gags from Steven Spielberg's classic movie Jaws. Learning that the scene where Brody shoots a scuba air tank to kill the shark was more myth than anything else destroyed the illusion, but it sure was a blast finding out.

Dirty Jobs

Mike Rowe is truly a dirty bird. Since 2005 on The Discovery Channel, he scours the globe to find the very dirtiest, stomach churning tasks imaginable. Rowe may get dirty, even smelly, but he also gets all the glory. The dirty little secret of the show is that the production team behind the scenes - including the cameramen and audio technicians - often get as grungy and gooey as its famous, well paid host.

Pawn Stars

Pawn boys of History Channel's Pawn Stars may look relaxed, and low key while filming, but it's not that easy. The family business run by Rick, Corey and Richard Harrison buys and sells everything, but more than anything else they're selling trust and their reputation. In such a high profile venue as TV, these guys want the audience to know you can still come to them with your items, and get a fair price. All that and they must deal daily with Chumlee - that alone makes them hard working!

http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/mythbusters/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COPS_(TV_series)

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/dirty-jobs/