Harsh Reality: Tales of the Z-List from a Reality Show Booking Agent

Reality television: a loaded phrase if ever there was one. To some, it connotes trash: Snooki, Honey Boo-Boo, the Kardashians. People who are pathetic, immoral and disgusting. To others, it says irresistible entertainment: passion, hilarity, love and obsession.

Whatever your feelings about it, there’s no doubt that somewhere, somehow, you have come in contact with some form of reality TV. The very first reality television program premiered on MTV in 1992–The Real World. That one show spawned an entire industry, and created a new kind of celebrity– what author Andy Binder calls The Z-list Celebrity . In Andy’s world, reality television and the Z-list celebrity is neither trash nor passion, but a way of life.

Reality shows, despite their claims of unplanned spontaneity, are carefully crafted vehicles populated by various familiar types. There’s the cocky attention-getting male who has appeared on eight reality shows and calls himself Mr. Beautiful. The sweet country girl with a boyfriend of five years back home. The Guido-loving girl, who tries to bring home a different guy every night. The Mormon from Utah who has never seen a naked girl in person. And the list goes on. These characters represent the full spectrum of American society, and they all play their parts with conviction and relish.
But what happens when the cameras stop rolling? What are the real lives of these reality stars like? Does it mirror in any way what we see on their TV shows? Harsh Reality will take a look at the hidden world of reality TV fame, a world Andy Binder witnessed first-hand while running Tobinder Talent Booking.