I heard an interview with one of the writers of UnReal recently. She had previously worked on The Bachelor and claims UnReal is is fairly consistent with what goes on behind the scenes of reality shows in general, and dating shows specifically.
One thing that cracks me up about so many of these shows is the posing on just about every promo. The “stars” are standing in a V formation with arms crossed and stern looks on their faces. Some don’t use the V, but they all seem to cross arms and scowl.
I almost lost it when the local “On Your Side” reporters did the same pose. Hilarious!!
I got caught up in the “Celebrity Apprentice” for a couple years. It was dreck, I knew it was dreck, but I’d stumble onto the show between other things and get sucked in. I eventually got fed up with the Donald. And that was before the birther shit, never mind this presidential run. Of course if they continue the show with a new host, it might be fun to go back to the dreck.
My mom watches “Undercover Boss”, so I watched a few episodes when I was visiting her. Yes, it seems to have a very strong formula. First, the boss finds out he can’t actually do the job. Then he has a conversation with several employees. One has family issues that mean they are in debt or can’t get ahead or whatever. One is sharp and on the go and exactly what the model employee/manager should be. One is phoning it in or otherwise getting by or not right for the job. So one person gets fired, and all the others get money and promotions.
One of them the girl was working for a bar/restaurant, she wasn’t a good fit because she was uncomfortable with the outfits (crop top button ups, daisy dukes) and just generally wasn’t happy there. But she needed the job. The boss informed her she wasn’t a good fit and didn’t have a future, so he was letting her go. He even offered to give her a good reference. She was pissed because she didn’t really do anything wrong except state she wasn’t looking for a long term job there.
Mystery Diners has gotten to the point where they don’t even try to fool us. In one episode they illegally fingerprinted employees and searched an employees locker based on a fingerprint in a safe. In another one the HR rep from a previous company gave out all sorts of personal information about an employee along with “She was a horrible server.” I still watch it because the acting is so bad it’s funny.
I am obese, always have been, and have always found that most ways people find of supposedly being funny about fat people are just mean, usually dumb. But you gave me a chuckle.