It’s indicative of just how far down the trash-lined road of reality television we’ve travelled as a species when we can look back at the early days of the genre and reminisce about how wholesome it used to be.
Remember the first series of the Australian Bachelor? How Anna and Tim fell in love before our eyes and went on to have two children (and more abdominal muscles than is humanly possible) together?
What about the early days of Big Brother, when in a pre-social media era, we were content to watch people squeeze each other’s blackheads and do the bum dance?
Take me back to series one of Farmer Wants A Wife, or hell, even the first iteration of MAFS, before they cast an entire menagerie of gaslighting narcissists to marry and then fight each other for our amusement like gladiators battling lions in the pits of ancient Rome.
Those early days of reality television feel like a golden-hued adolescence. And lately, that reminiscing has turned to Nine’s home-reno juggernaut The Block, as viewers and critics alike accuse producers of “manufacturing” drama to keep ratings high.
We long for the days of a rough-around-the-edges tradie and his hard-working wife, busting their arses to finish a redesign in the hopes of paying their own mortgage.
We’re wistful for the time when we could crowd around the telly on auction night, hoping for a huge win for the suburban mum and dad whose good-natured marital bickering we’d come to love.
But, much like the property market on which the entire premise of the series rests, The Block has turned sour, with regular everyday people unable to see themselves in it at all.
While the past few seasons of the show have seen increasing drama levels between contestants that have nothing to do with fluted shower screens or too much grout, The Block‘s 20th season has brought an apocalyptic and much-hyped scandal that has people checking they’re still watching Scotty Cam on a renovation show, and not the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules.
For those unacquainted with the series’ latest headline-grabbing situation, one of the cast members, Kylie, made a dramatic exit from filming after overhearing her husband Brad ‘flirt’ with Mimi, another contestant, while she was ‘napping’ nearby. You can read more about it here.
“I remember when the show used to be about building and renovating,” griped one fan on a Reddit forum dedicated to dissecting the latest drama.
“Those were the days! I’ve gradually stopped watching,” agrees another, though their comment about an episode that aired just days ago tends to belie this statement.
“It will be about renovating if people stop talking about the drama,” chimes in another. “Channel Nine gives you what sells.”
And therein lies the rub. Because as much as we can lament the demise of the good old days of reality television, the numbers tell a different story.
Too much choice, too little viewer attention span and a reliance on support from tabloid headlines have meant that the only way for reality TV shows to cut through the noise is to lean into the drama.
And while the lovable Scott Cam (whose blokey, cheerful demeanour has made him an increasing anomaly in the filler-crammed world of reality telly he now inhabits) denies that any producer interference is responsible for the uptick in drama, the fact that he is commenting at all tells a different story.
Speaking to The Daily Mail at Nine’s 2025 Upfronts, he said none of the action from this series has been manipulated by producers.
“Our show is very organic, we leave them to their own devices,” he told the publication.
“We don’t orchestrate any of that drama. It all organically happens through lack of sleep and time pressures.”
Putting aside the fact that lack of sleep and time pressures (plus a hefty dose of network-supplied booze) is precisely how reality TV producers orchestrate drama, it’s what the host said next that should be our biggest clue.
“We try to calm it down the best we can, but sometimes it’s impossible, as you’ll find out in the next two weeks,” he promised, no doubt fulfilling his contractual obligation to slip a journo a headline-worthy teaser of things to come.
Everyone involved in The Block — or on any reality TV show whose marketing strategy relies on TikTok grabs and Daily Mail articles – knows full well that the algorithm rewards only the most extreme stories.
News
Beloved Riddells Creek kindergarten worker Eleanor Bryant was trying to save children when she was hit and killed by an out-of-control truck as it ploughed into a preschool playground
Eleanor Bryant praised for pushing children out of path of truck at Riddells Creek kindergarten Friends and family have given emotional tributes to Eleanor Bryant, a 43-year-old speech pathologist who died after saving the lives of children at the Riddells…
MasterChef Australia judge tipped to score $250k for 21 days work on new season of I’m A Celeb
A MasterChef Australia judge looks set to be joining the next season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Former judge and food critic Melissa Leong is tipped to be joining a host of celebrities in the jungle. Leong, 42, who…
Home and Away fans speculate ahead of dramatic feature-length finale: ‘Will end up dead’
If there’s one thing Summer Bay loves, it’s a shock death. Who’s life will hang in the balance in the 2024 season finale? Photo: Seven Home and Away fans are already speculating what trauma the soap has in store for us…
The Block fans cast major prediction for 2025 season: ‘Not worth it’
Some viewers have decided not to apply for next year’s season after Sunday night’s dramatic auction. The Block fans have shared their predictions for next year’s season of the reality show. Photos: Channel Nine The Block fans aren’t feeling too hopeful…
Channel Seven to ‘double down’ on ‘crude’ Sonia Kruger in 2025
Dancing With The Stars is set to return in 2025, bigger and better than ever. Sonia Kruger and Dr Chris Brown will be back in 2025 for Dancing With The Stars. Photo: Seven Rumours have been swirling around Sonia Kruger’s next…
Farmer Wants A Wife announces host for 2025 after Samantha Armytage quits
Filming for the upcoming fifteenth season is currently underway. Channel Seven has revealed who will be taking over Samantha Armytage’s role as host of Farmer Wants A Wife in 2025. Photo: Channel Seven Just a few months after Samantha Armytage announced…
End of content
No more pages to load