# Was The Osbournes the first celebrity reality show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157 "2010-12-14T20:15:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/1 "2010-12-14T20:15:10Z")
I know The Real World is usually credited as the first reality show series (following people around documentary style in their daily lives) and that show aired in 1992. But what was the first reality show that followed a celebrity around? Was it The Osbournes from 2002? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/2 "2010-12-14T20:25:25Z")
> **[Reality television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television)** > > Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as The Real World, then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessiona This suggest in the 40s and 50s Alan Funts Candid Camers started it all. In later times Survivor spearheaded it’ Perhaps Anna Nicole Smith was the first celebrity type. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/3 "2010-12-14T20:26:53Z")
No, _The Osbournes_ premiered in March 2002. _The Anna Nicole Show_ premiered in August 2002. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/4 "2010-12-14T20:30:23Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I know The Real World is usually credited as the first reality show series (following people around documentary style in their daily lives) and that show aired in 1992. No it isn’t. Not even close. [An American Family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Family) premiered in 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/5 "2010-12-14T21:26:56Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > No it isn’t. Not even close. > > [An American Family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Family) premiered in 1973. The Louds weren’t famous before the show, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/6 "2010-12-14T21:28:43Z")
How about _Ozzie and Harriett_? d&r ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/7 "2010-12-14T21:47:23Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > The Louds weren’t famous before the show, though. Neither were **The Real World** ’s cast. Since it was about a bunch of good-looking young people living rent-free in a pricey NYC apartment, I’m not sure how it qualifies as “reality” on any level. As for celebrity reality, yeah, I think it’s the Osbournes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-osbournes-the-first-celebrity-reality-show/564157/8 "2010-12-14T22:03:31Z")
The first one of non-celebrity follow-a-dysfunctional family shows I saw was the Australian [Sylvania Waters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvania_Waters_%28TV_series%29).