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CNN Live At Daybreak

Hollywood Has Taken Nation's Voyeuristic Tendencies to Extreme

Aired January 21, 2003 - 05:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Television news may be considered the grandfather of all reality programming, but Hollywood has taken the nation's voyeuristic tendencies to the extreme.
CNN's Jen Rodgers has more on the reality of today's television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may look stupid, B list celebrities in a three legged race or women squealing over a man they haven't met...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: But viewers can't seem to look away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as people are watching, that's all that matters.

RODGERS: People are watching. This month, a half dozen new reality shows have hit the small screen, all at least modest ratings success stories and a few outright home runs. The debut of "The Bachelorette," featuring a former Miami Heat cheerleader looking for love, pulled in so many eyeballs, it won its time slot and even beat ratings incumbent "The West Wing."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's television Darwinism and the good stuff will survive and the bad stuff will fall away.

RODGERS: Hollywood has fallen hard for reality fare. Even with all the roses and jewelry and fancy homes, they're still cheaper to produce than your typical scripted show -- no writing staff, no big name talent. But also, in most cases, no reruns, and in the long run, that makes them less valuable. Another chink in the reality armor, while the shows do deliver the young audiences that advertisers crave, the racy story lines aren't for everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anecdotally I've heard from our sales department that some advertisers would rather be in scripted programming than unscripted programming.

RODGERS: Reality, written off more times than the first bachelor made out on TV, can no longer be called just a trend. "High School Reunion," "The Surreal Life," "Celebrity Mole," "American Idol," "Joe Millionaire" and plenty more to come this spring have made reality a fixture on every major network's schedule.

MIKE FLEISS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE BACHELORETTE": I don't think viewers are going to get sick of reality. I think they might get sick of, you know, one show, just like they do with, you know, scripted shows. But I think reality is here to stay, for sure.

RODGERS: The next frontier for reality, the big screen. MTV's "Jackass" already made the jump. Others would surely like to follow suit.

Jen Rodgers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Extreme>


Aired January 21, 2003 - 05:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Television news may be considered the grandfather of all reality programming, but Hollywood has taken the nation's voyeuristic tendencies to the extreme.
CNN's Jen Rodgers has more on the reality of today's television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may look stupid, B list celebrities in a three legged race or women squealing over a man they haven't met...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: But viewers can't seem to look away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as people are watching, that's all that matters.

RODGERS: People are watching. This month, a half dozen new reality shows have hit the small screen, all at least modest ratings success stories and a few outright home runs. The debut of "The Bachelorette," featuring a former Miami Heat cheerleader looking for love, pulled in so many eyeballs, it won its time slot and even beat ratings incumbent "The West Wing."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's television Darwinism and the good stuff will survive and the bad stuff will fall away.

RODGERS: Hollywood has fallen hard for reality fare. Even with all the roses and jewelry and fancy homes, they're still cheaper to produce than your typical scripted show -- no writing staff, no big name talent. But also, in most cases, no reruns, and in the long run, that makes them less valuable. Another chink in the reality armor, while the shows do deliver the young audiences that advertisers crave, the racy story lines aren't for everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anecdotally I've heard from our sales department that some advertisers would rather be in scripted programming than unscripted programming.

RODGERS: Reality, written off more times than the first bachelor made out on TV, can no longer be called just a trend. "High School Reunion," "The Surreal Life," "Celebrity Mole," "American Idol," "Joe Millionaire" and plenty more to come this spring have made reality a fixture on every major network's schedule.

MIKE FLEISS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE BACHELORETTE": I don't think viewers are going to get sick of reality. I think they might get sick of, you know, one show, just like they do with, you know, scripted shows. But I think reality is here to stay, for sure.

RODGERS: The next frontier for reality, the big screen. MTV's "Jackass" already made the jump. Others would surely like to follow suit.

Jen Rodgers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Extreme>