The old adage “what goes up must come down,” is taking its toll on reality television.
Ever since Survivor swept onto the scene back in May 2000, the networks have been rolling out a series of reality- based TV shows, ranging from ratings winners like Temptation Island all the way down to the quickly canceled Chains of Love.
This season, the genre has suffered from rapidly declining ratings, as audiences have apparently gotten burned out (an after-effect of Sept. 11, according to some analysts). In this new age of terrorism and war, people want escapism — rather than a dose of reality — from their television programming.
The latest and most high-profile victims of the reality slump have included Survivor (once an unbeatable ratings warrior, the show has been getting trampled by Friends), The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal (which ABC shelved last month, mid-run, though execs say it will return early next year) and The Amazing Race (Jerry Bruckheimer’s critical darling that has been largely panned by audiences).
Another reality television show feeling the heat is Fox's Murder in Small Town X, which aired last summer. After a strong debut, Murder fell rapidly in the ratings, causing Fox to rethink a planned sequel. And while many reality shows appear to have been affected by the terrorist attacks, Murder was hit the hardest: Angel Juarbe, the grand-prize winner, was among the New York firefighters who lost their lives in the World Trade Center collapse.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck saw their show, The Runner (which would feature a mad chase around the world, via planes and other modes of transportation) canned. With the introduction of new security measures, it would be difficult for producers to stage many of the events needed for the show.
Not to fear, though, the reality genre is far from dead. Despite poor showings for some of reality TV’s biggest hits (the first installation of The Mole averaged around 15 million viewers per week, while part two pulled in a mere five million), the networks are still prepping more shows.
CBS has greenlit The Amazing Race 2, which will air next summer during the less competitive months (reality TV buffs will be tickled to learn that Big Brother 2 alums Krista and Boogie were slated to appear as a team in Race 2, but backed out when their romance fizzled).
Meanwhile, the network is said to be considering launching Big Brother 3, on the heels of Big Brother 2’s surprise success last summer.
Furthermore, NBC is preparing a second season of its runaway gross-out hit, Fear Factor, as well as a soon-to-air celebrity version (which will feature stars such as David Hasselhoff and Kelly Preston).
And, when all else fails, don’t count out Survivor: last week’s “switcheroo” episode (in which the teams were restructured) garnered over 20 million viewers.
