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Welcome to Our Generation USA!
Herein, you will find
REALITY TV Series
(Including Game and Talk Shows)
Broadcast in the United States
Reality Television, including: Pictured below: The 10 Highest-Earning Reality Television Stars: Kardashians to Situation
Reality Television:
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unknown individuals rather than professional actors.
Reality television came to prominence in the early 1990s with "Real World" and the early 2000s with the global successes of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises.
Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges or by the viewership of the show.
Documentaries, television news, sports television, talk shows, and traditional game shows are generally not classified as reality television. Some genres of television programming that predate the reality television boom have been retroactively classified as reality television, including hidden camera shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and court shows featuring real-life cases.
Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality, in ways both implicit (participants being placed in artificial situations), and deceptive (misleading editing, participants being coached on behavior, storylines generated ahead of time, scenes being staged).
Some shows have been accused of rigging the favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they are intended to humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of untalented people unworthy of fame, infamous figures, or both; and that they glamorize vulgarity.
Click here for more about Reality Television.
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Talk Shows
A talk show or chat show is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.
A talk show is distinguished from other television programs by certain common attributes.
In a talk show, one person (or group of people or guests) discusses various topics put forth by a talk show host. This discussion can be in the form of an interview or a simple conversation about important social, political or religious issues and events.
The personality of the host shapes the tone of the show, which also defines the "trademark" of the show. A common feature or unwritten rule of talk shows is to be based on "fresh talk", which is talk that is spontaneous or has the appearance of spontaneity.
The history of the talk show spans back from the 1950s to current.
Talk shows can also have several different sub-genres, which all have unique material and can air at different times of the day via different avenues.
Click here for more about Talk Shows.
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Game Shows:
A game show is a type of radio, television, or stage show in which contestants, individually or as teams, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles, usually for money or prizes.
Alternatively, a gameshow can be a demonstrative program about a game [while usually retaining the spirit of an awards ceremony]. In the former, contestants may be invited from a pool of public applicants. Game shows often reward players with prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services provided by the show's sponsor.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Game Shows:
Courtroom Television:
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom show, or judicial show) is a television programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming.
Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal hearings between plaintiffs (or claimants in the United Kingdom) and defendants presided over by a judge (though, as the court show does not have the authority of a court, the judge acts as an arbitrator).
At present, these shows typically portray small claims court cases, produced in a simulation of a small claims courtroom inside of a television studio.
The genre began in radio broadcasting in the 1930s and moved to television in the late 1940s, beginning with such TV shows as Court of Current Issues, Your Witness, Famous Jury Trials, etc.
Widely used techniques in court shows have been dramatizations and arbitration-based reality shows. The genre began with dramatizations and remained the technique of choice for roughly six decades.
By the late 1990s, however, arbitration-based reality shows had overwhelmingly taken over as the technique of choice within the genre, the trend continuing into the present.
Dramatizations were either fictional cases (often inspired from factual details in actual cases) or reenactments of actual trials. The role of the judge was often taken by a retired real-life judge, a law school professor or an actor.
Arbitration-based reality shows, on the other hand, have typically involved litigants who have agreed to have their disputes aired on national television so as to be adjudicated by a television show "judge".
Due to the forum merely being a simulated courtroom constructed within a television studio as opposed to a legitimate court of law, the shows' "judges" are actually arbitrators and what is depicted is a form of binding arbitration.
The arbitrators presiding in modern court programs have had at least some legal experience, which is often listed as requirement by these programs.
These television programs tend to air once or twice for every weekday as part of daytime television. With production costs minimal (under $200,000 a week, whereas entertainment magazines cost five times that) and an evergreen, episodic format, court shows are easily and frequently rerun.
Like talk shows, the procedure of court shows varies based upon the titular host. In most cases, they are first-run syndication programs. In 2001, the genre began to beat out soap operas in daytime television ratings. While all syndicated shows are steadily losing audiences, court shows have the slowest rate of viewer erosion.
Accordingly, by the end of the 2000s, the number of court shows in syndication had, for the first time, equaled the number of talk shows. As reported in late 2012, court programming is the second highest-rated genre on daytime television. The genre's most formidable competitors in syndication have been the sitcom and game show genres.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Courtroom TV:
- YouTube Video: Top 10 Craziest Survivor Moments (WatchMojo)
- Click here for a List of Reality TV Shows in the United States
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unknown individuals rather than professional actors.
Reality television came to prominence in the early 1990s with "Real World" and the early 2000s with the global successes of the series Survivor, Idols, and Big Brother, all of which became global franchises.
Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for the events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges or by the viewership of the show.
Documentaries, television news, sports television, talk shows, and traditional game shows are generally not classified as reality television. Some genres of television programming that predate the reality television boom have been retroactively classified as reality television, including hidden camera shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and court shows featuring real-life cases.
Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality, in ways both implicit (participants being placed in artificial situations), and deceptive (misleading editing, participants being coached on behavior, storylines generated ahead of time, scenes being staged).
Some shows have been accused of rigging the favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they are intended to humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of untalented people unworthy of fame, infamous figures, or both; and that they glamorize vulgarity.
Click here for more about Reality Television.
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Talk Shows
- YouTube Video: The Talk - Gayle King Emotional Over Racial Injustices and George Floyd's Final Word 'mama'
- Click here for a List of Talk Shows in the United States
A talk show or chat show is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.
A talk show is distinguished from other television programs by certain common attributes.
In a talk show, one person (or group of people or guests) discusses various topics put forth by a talk show host. This discussion can be in the form of an interview or a simple conversation about important social, political or religious issues and events.
The personality of the host shapes the tone of the show, which also defines the "trademark" of the show. A common feature or unwritten rule of talk shows is to be based on "fresh talk", which is talk that is spontaneous or has the appearance of spontaneity.
The history of the talk show spans back from the 1950s to current.
Talk shows can also have several different sub-genres, which all have unique material and can air at different times of the day via different avenues.
Click here for more about Talk Shows.
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Game Shows:
- YouTube Video: Michael Sidoris on Wheel of Fortune - March 6, 2013
- Click Here for a List of American Game Shows
A game show is a type of radio, television, or stage show in which contestants, individually or as teams, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles, usually for money or prizes.
Alternatively, a gameshow can be a demonstrative program about a game [while usually retaining the spirit of an awards ceremony]. In the former, contestants may be invited from a pool of public applicants. Game shows often reward players with prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services provided by the show's sponsor.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Game Shows:
- History
- International issues
- Prizes
- Bonus round
- See also:
- Game Show Network (American cable network dedicated to the format)
- Buzzr (American broadcast network dedicated to the format)
- Challenge (British network dedicated to the format)
- UKGameshows.com, British website devoted to reviews and descriptions of gameshows
- List of game show hosts
- List of American game shows
- List of international game shows
- List of television programs
- Panel game
- Quiz Show
- Reality show
- Daytime television in the United States
- Game Shows at Curlie
- Game Shows
Courtroom Television:
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom show, or judicial show) is a television programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming.
Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal hearings between plaintiffs (or claimants in the United Kingdom) and defendants presided over by a judge (though, as the court show does not have the authority of a court, the judge acts as an arbitrator).
At present, these shows typically portray small claims court cases, produced in a simulation of a small claims courtroom inside of a television studio.
The genre began in radio broadcasting in the 1930s and moved to television in the late 1940s, beginning with such TV shows as Court of Current Issues, Your Witness, Famous Jury Trials, etc.
Widely used techniques in court shows have been dramatizations and arbitration-based reality shows. The genre began with dramatizations and remained the technique of choice for roughly six decades.
By the late 1990s, however, arbitration-based reality shows had overwhelmingly taken over as the technique of choice within the genre, the trend continuing into the present.
Dramatizations were either fictional cases (often inspired from factual details in actual cases) or reenactments of actual trials. The role of the judge was often taken by a retired real-life judge, a law school professor or an actor.
Arbitration-based reality shows, on the other hand, have typically involved litigants who have agreed to have their disputes aired on national television so as to be adjudicated by a television show "judge".
Due to the forum merely being a simulated courtroom constructed within a television studio as opposed to a legitimate court of law, the shows' "judges" are actually arbitrators and what is depicted is a form of binding arbitration.
The arbitrators presiding in modern court programs have had at least some legal experience, which is often listed as requirement by these programs.
These television programs tend to air once or twice for every weekday as part of daytime television. With production costs minimal (under $200,000 a week, whereas entertainment magazines cost five times that) and an evergreen, episodic format, court shows are easily and frequently rerun.
Like talk shows, the procedure of court shows varies based upon the titular host. In most cases, they are first-run syndication programs. In 2001, the genre began to beat out soap operas in daytime television ratings. While all syndicated shows are steadily losing audiences, court shows have the slowest rate of viewer erosion.
Accordingly, by the end of the 2000s, the number of court shows in syndication had, for the first time, equaled the number of talk shows. As reported in late 2012, court programming is the second highest-rated genre on daytime television. The genre's most formidable competitors in syndication have been the sitcom and game show genres.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Courtroom TV:
- Court show genre beginnings
- Original TV court show genre (1948–95)
- Modern TV court show genre (1996–present)
- Court-related networks
- See also:
American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by FremantleMedia North America.
It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002, and ended on April 7, 2016. It started off as an addition to the Idols format based on the British series Pop Idol, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television.
The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by the viewers in America through telephones, Internet, and SMS text voting.
Winners chosen by viewers in its fifteen seasons were:
American Idol employed a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive and manager Simon Cowell.
The judging panel for the final seasons consisted of country singer Keith Urban, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, and jazz singer Harry Connick, Jr.
The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, with Seacrest as the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series.
The success of American Idol has been described as "unparalleled in broadcasting history". The series was also said by a rival TV executive to be "the most impactful show in the history of television".
It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."
For an unprecedented eight consecutive years, from the 2003–04 television season through the 2010–11 season, either its performance or result show had been ranked number one in U.S. television ratings. The series concluded with Fox after 15 seasons.
It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002, and ended on April 7, 2016. It started off as an addition to the Idols format based on the British series Pop Idol, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television.
The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by the viewers in America through telephones, Internet, and SMS text voting.
Winners chosen by viewers in its fifteen seasons were:
- Kelly Clarkson,
- Ruben Studdard,
- Fantasia Barrino,
- Carrie Underwood,
- Taylor Hicks,
- Jordin Sparks,
- David Cook,
- Kris Allen,
- Lee DeWyze,
- Scotty McCreery,
- Phillip Phillips,
- Candice Glover,
- Caleb Johnson,
- Nick Fradiani,
- and Trent Harmon.
American Idol employed a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive and manager Simon Cowell.
The judging panel for the final seasons consisted of country singer Keith Urban, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, and jazz singer Harry Connick, Jr.
The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, with Seacrest as the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series.
The success of American Idol has been described as "unparalleled in broadcasting history". The series was also said by a rival TV executive to be "the most impactful show in the history of television".
It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."
For an unprecedented eight consecutive years, from the 2003–04 television season through the 2010–11 season, either its performance or result show had been ranked number one in U.S. television ratings. The series concluded with Fox after 15 seasons.
The Oprah Winfrey Show (ABC/Syndicated: 1986-2011)
- YouTube Video Michael Jackson Interview with Oprah
- YouTube Video: Top 10 Memorable Oprah Winfrey Moments
- YouTubeVideo: Oprah Funny Moments
Click here for accessing Oprah Winfrey as a Popular Icon.
The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American syndicated tabloid talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986 to May 25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.
Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated talk show in American television history.
The show has been highly influential, and many of its topics have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey has used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events.
The show does not attempt to profit off the products it endorses; it has had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor has the show made any money from endorsing books for its book club.
Oprah is one of the longest-running daytime television tabloid talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.
In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information regarding the Oprah Winfrey Show:
The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American syndicated tabloid talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986 to May 25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.
Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated talk show in American television history.
The show has been highly influential, and many of its topics have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey has used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events.
The show does not attempt to profit off the products it endorses; it has had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor has the show made any money from endorsing books for its book club.
Oprah is one of the longest-running daytime television tabloid talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.
In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for additional information regarding the Oprah Winfrey Show:
- History
- Interviews
- Regular segments and campaigns
- Memorable moments
- The Farewell Season
- United States viewership
- International syndication
- See also: Oprah After the Show
Jeopardy! (Original network: NBC 1964–75, 1978–79; then Syndicated: 1974–75, 1984–present)
YouTube Video of JEOPARDY! 25th Anniversery Spotlight- Ken Jennings becomes 74-Day Champion
Pictured: Ken Jennings: Greatest 'Jeopardy!' champ
YouTube Video of JEOPARDY! 25th Anniversery Spotlight- Ken Jennings becomes 74-Day Champion
Pictured: Ken Jennings: Greatest 'Jeopardy!' champ
Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of questions.
The original daytime version debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, and aired until January 3, 1975. A weekly nighttime syndicated edition aired from September 1974 to September 1975, and a revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, ran on NBC from October 1978 to March 1979.
A daily syndicated version premiered on September 10, 1984, and is still airing, making it by far the program's most successful incarnation.
Both NBC versions and the weekly syndicated version were hosted by Art Fleming. Don Pardo served as announcer until 1975, and John Harlan announced for the 1978–79 show.
Since its inception, the daily syndicated version has featured Alex Trebek as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer.
With 7,000 episodes aired, the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a record 31 Daytime Emmy Awards and is the only post-1960 game show to be honored with the Peabody Award.
In 2013, the program was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest shows in American television history.
Jeopardy! has also gained a worldwide following with regional adaptations in many other countries. The daily syndicated series' 32nd season premiered on September 14, 2015.
The original daytime version debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, and aired until January 3, 1975. A weekly nighttime syndicated edition aired from September 1974 to September 1975, and a revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, ran on NBC from October 1978 to March 1979.
A daily syndicated version premiered on September 10, 1984, and is still airing, making it by far the program's most successful incarnation.
Both NBC versions and the weekly syndicated version were hosted by Art Fleming. Don Pardo served as announcer until 1975, and John Harlan announced for the 1978–79 show.
Since its inception, the daily syndicated version has featured Alex Trebek as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer.
With 7,000 episodes aired, the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a record 31 Daytime Emmy Awards and is the only post-1960 game show to be honored with the Peabody Award.
In 2013, the program was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest shows in American television history.
Jeopardy! has also gained a worldwide following with regional adaptations in many other countries. The daily syndicated series' 32nd season premiered on September 14, 2015.