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Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV
Who invented reality TV, the world’s most dangerous pop-culture genre, and why can’t we look away from it? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of “dirty documentary,” Emily Nussbaum unearths the surprising origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who created it. At once gimlet-eyed and empathetic, Cue The Sun! explores the morally charged, funny, and sometimes tragic consequences of the hunt for something real inside something fake.
Nussbaum traces four paths of reality innovation—game shows, prank shows, soap operas, and clip shows—that united in the Survivor format, sparking a tumultuous Hollywood gold-rush. Along the way, we meet tricksters and innovators—from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley; Bachelor mastermind Mike Fleiss; and Jon Murray, the visionary behind The Real World—along with dozens of crew members and ordinary people whose lives became fodder for the reality revolution. We learn about the tools of the trade—like Candid Camera’s brilliant “reveal” and the notorious Frankenbite, a deceptive editor’s best friend—and the moral outrage that reality shows provoked. But Cue The Sun! also celebrates what made the genre so powerful: a jolt of authentic emotion.
Through broad-ranging reporting, Nussbaum examines seven tumultuous decades, exploring the celebreality boom, reality TV as a strike-breaker, the queer roots of Bravo, and the dark truth behind The Apprentice. A shrewd observer who cares about television, she is the ideal voice for the first substantive cultural history of the genre that has, for better or worse, made America what it is today.
Nussbaum traces four paths of reality innovation—game shows, prank shows, soap operas, and clip shows—that united in the Survivor format, sparking a tumultuous Hollywood gold-rush. Along the way, we meet tricksters and innovators—from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley; Bachelor mastermind Mike Fleiss; and Jon Murray, the visionary behind The Real World—along with dozens of crew members and ordinary people whose lives became fodder for the reality revolution. We learn about the tools of the trade—like Candid Camera’s brilliant “reveal” and the notorious Frankenbite, a deceptive editor’s best friend—and the moral outrage that reality shows provoked. But Cue The Sun! also celebrates what made the genre so powerful: a jolt of authentic emotion.
Through broad-ranging reporting, Nussbaum examines seven tumultuous decades, exploring the celebreality boom, reality TV as a strike-breaker, the queer roots of Bravo, and the dark truth behind The Apprentice. A shrewd observer who cares about television, she is the ideal voice for the first substantive cultural history of the genre that has, for better or worse, made America what it is today.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
May 6, 2024
I am worried about Emily Nussbaum. She clearly needed to watch thousands upon thousands of hours of reality TV to write her book, Cue the SUN!, and I am seriously worried what that can do to someone's mental health.
If you love reality TV, then this review is simple. You must read this book and you will absolutely love every page. If you hate reality TV, then guess what? You and I are in agreement. I hate reality TV. Unless Gordon Ramsay is in it, then it should win an Emmy. All others are trash. All that being said, I still loved this book.
The reasons why everyone should love this book are evident from page 1. Nussbaum's writing style is easy to read, and it feels like a conversation. Also, I am not kidding about how much reality TV she must have watched. She is utterly meticulous, and she consistently brings up events that have long been forgotten. And I mean long forgotten. Nussbaum doesn't start with a show like Survivor. Instead, she traces the roots of reality TV all the way back to the 1940s and works her way to today. The chronology is seamless and a chapter on a show called An American Family is a particular standout. If you aren't keen to go back that far, then you are missing out. However, Nussbaum quickly gets to all the shows you know and love (or love to hate).
There is no way to write this book without inevitably touching on some political hot buttons. The Apprentice was a show after all and is the subject of the final chapter. As someone whose tolerance for political diatribes is zero, I think Nussbaum is fair with her subjects throughout the book. Yes, I don't think it is hard to pick out what side Nussbaum herself is on. However, multiple times I read a chapter and thought, "Hm, I think one extreme would be mad about this part of the chapter, while the other extreme would be mad about another." In the end, Nussbaum's research is so extensive and so well presented that it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you fall on. A great story is just a great story.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House.)
If you love reality TV, then this review is simple. You must read this book and you will absolutely love every page. If you hate reality TV, then guess what? You and I are in agreement. I hate reality TV. Unless Gordon Ramsay is in it, then it should win an Emmy. All others are trash. All that being said, I still loved this book.
The reasons why everyone should love this book are evident from page 1. Nussbaum's writing style is easy to read, and it feels like a conversation. Also, I am not kidding about how much reality TV she must have watched. She is utterly meticulous, and she consistently brings up events that have long been forgotten. And I mean long forgotten. Nussbaum doesn't start with a show like Survivor. Instead, she traces the roots of reality TV all the way back to the 1940s and works her way to today. The chronology is seamless and a chapter on a show called An American Family is a particular standout. If you aren't keen to go back that far, then you are missing out. However, Nussbaum quickly gets to all the shows you know and love (or love to hate).
There is no way to write this book without inevitably touching on some political hot buttons. The Apprentice was a show after all and is the subject of the final chapter. As someone whose tolerance for political diatribes is zero, I think Nussbaum is fair with her subjects throughout the book. Yes, I don't think it is hard to pick out what side Nussbaum herself is on. However, multiple times I read a chapter and thought, "Hm, I think one extreme would be mad about this part of the chapter, while the other extreme would be mad about another." In the end, Nussbaum's research is so extensive and so well presented that it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you fall on. A great story is just a great story.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House.)
July 9, 2024
Reading this book left me with a hangover that felt like I’d just binge watched every episode of reality TV ever.
As a good GR friend suggested to me - sometimes it’s best not to know how the sausage is made. That precept definitely applies to this book! Although I’m not the biggest reality TV fan and in fact realized as I was reading that I haven’t seen a ton of it - I’m more interested in it as a cultural phenomenon - this book left me unexpectedly depressed and grossed out and was not the lighter read I’d expected. It is definitely not a fan’s perspective, it is not whimsical or funny, nor is it a cultural history: it really is an attempt to historically recount how the reality TV sausage was made, and it was a Jungle out there for sure.
The book begins with an attempt to frame audience participation game shows; the boom in increasingly outlandish and vulgar daytime talk shows like Maury and Sally Jessy; and the rise of “candid camera” type shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos and Cops as the earliest ancestors of reality TV. You can decide if you think this argument flies - it was interesting, but I don’t know if I was fully convinced.
Next, the book moves into a discussion of An American Family, thought to be the first true documentary-style reality TV show. I understand this needed to be included, but I’ve read a lot about this show already and it’s depressing and no longer super interesting to me. More my speed as a true member of the MTV generation, the next section deals with The Real World, although mostly only Season One, which is presented as a sort of artifact of a (relatively) more innocent and authentic time in the genre’s evolution.
From there, the book moves into a discussion of more overtly “produced” TV “reality”. Speaking of jungles, a giant section of this book - like a book within a book, representing hour upon hour of audio listening - deals with Survivor, a show I’ve neither watched nor care to. This was a toil for me to get through, as was the next and also lengthy section on Big Brother, another care not/watch not show for me. I’m not entirely certain why these two shows merited quite as much focus as they did and I think it would have been better to focus on a wider variety of shows (more on that later).
In contrast, even though I have also not watched The Bachelor or really any reality romance shows (see, why was I even reading this book, I wondered at times?), it made perfect sense to me that this show became the next focus of the book, especially given the show’s many descendants that consume people to the present day, such as Love Island (not mentioned in the book at all, although Joe Millionaire is the other similar show that gets a curiously lengthy discussion).
The section of the book dealing with The Bachelor and reality romance is where things really started to get icky, with a lot of disturbing content and revelations, including enduring “Reality Reckoning”-style problems related to sexual discrimination and harassment, substance use, mental health, and racism. This only continued with a section of the book dealing with “at work”-type reality shows, in particular mostly The Apprentice. I probably don’t need to spell out for you the gross, #Me Too-y and other upsetting types of disclosures that this section of the book spawned. However, it was very interesting from a “WTF is wrong with us as a country, and how did we get here?” perspective.
The book wraps with a way too short and also very interesting chapter on Bravo, but specifically mostly on the show Queer Eye For the Straight Guy (a surprisingly - if again relatively - uplifting segment in a real downer of a book), which, along with the only very briefly discussed Project Runway, helped lead the Bravo revamp. (Did you know it was originally a channel meant to show actual opera, ballet, and orchestra performances?!)
In general, the book seemed to end abruptly, with some curious decisions made with regard to content and focus throughout. Many shows you’d expect to see covered were basically only name-dropped or mentioned in brief, such as American Idol, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Drag Race, Chopped, America’s Next Top Model, or anything to do with Real Housewives or most other shows on Bravo or channels with often similar content like TLC. (Talk about a revamp! - the Learning channel, really?!) And many, many specific shows or even broad categories of shows are not even mentioned at all. (Also - could not help but note that despite efforts here and there to discuss diversity, the shows in the book are all super white, definitely one of the main offenses of the genre, and it would have been great to focus more on what diversification of reality shows has been able to take place thus far.)
However, given the unwieldy topic and the true Pandora’s Box that it turned out to be, lots of dismaying moral decrepitude included, I still think the author did a good job trying to impose some order and sequence on disorder and rampant proliferation. I can only imagine how overwhelming and distressing and messy this thing was to write if I felt how I did when and after reading it.
Consider any innocence I may have had lost: sometimes the sausage ingredients are confirmed just as awful as you feared.
One last suggestion might be a sort of annotated bibliography or appendix listing all the “for further study” reality shows - even the truly bad ones, which are also important - that might appear in or adjacent to each of the categories modeled by the shows focused on.
As a good GR friend suggested to me - sometimes it’s best not to know how the sausage is made. That precept definitely applies to this book! Although I’m not the biggest reality TV fan and in fact realized as I was reading that I haven’t seen a ton of it - I’m more interested in it as a cultural phenomenon - this book left me unexpectedly depressed and grossed out and was not the lighter read I’d expected. It is definitely not a fan’s perspective, it is not whimsical or funny, nor is it a cultural history: it really is an attempt to historically recount how the reality TV sausage was made, and it was a Jungle out there for sure.
The book begins with an attempt to frame audience participation game shows; the boom in increasingly outlandish and vulgar daytime talk shows like Maury and Sally Jessy; and the rise of “candid camera” type shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos and Cops as the earliest ancestors of reality TV. You can decide if you think this argument flies - it was interesting, but I don’t know if I was fully convinced.
Next, the book moves into a discussion of An American Family, thought to be the first true documentary-style reality TV show. I understand this needed to be included, but I’ve read a lot about this show already and it’s depressing and no longer super interesting to me. More my speed as a true member of the MTV generation, the next section deals with The Real World, although mostly only Season One, which is presented as a sort of artifact of a (relatively) more innocent and authentic time in the genre’s evolution.
From there, the book moves into a discussion of more overtly “produced” TV “reality”. Speaking of jungles, a giant section of this book - like a book within a book, representing hour upon hour of audio listening - deals with Survivor, a show I’ve neither watched nor care to. This was a toil for me to get through, as was the next and also lengthy section on Big Brother, another care not/watch not show for me. I’m not entirely certain why these two shows merited quite as much focus as they did and I think it would have been better to focus on a wider variety of shows (more on that later).
In contrast, even though I have also not watched The Bachelor or really any reality romance shows (see, why was I even reading this book, I wondered at times?), it made perfect sense to me that this show became the next focus of the book, especially given the show’s many descendants that consume people to the present day, such as Love Island (not mentioned in the book at all, although Joe Millionaire is the other similar show that gets a curiously lengthy discussion).
The section of the book dealing with The Bachelor and reality romance is where things really started to get icky, with a lot of disturbing content and revelations, including enduring “Reality Reckoning”-style problems related to sexual discrimination and harassment, substance use, mental health, and racism. This only continued with a section of the book dealing with “at work”-type reality shows, in particular mostly The Apprentice. I probably don’t need to spell out for you the gross, #Me Too-y and other upsetting types of disclosures that this section of the book spawned. However, it was very interesting from a “WTF is wrong with us as a country, and how did we get here?” perspective.
The book wraps with a way too short and also very interesting chapter on Bravo, but specifically mostly on the show Queer Eye For the Straight Guy (a surprisingly - if again relatively - uplifting segment in a real downer of a book), which, along with the only very briefly discussed Project Runway, helped lead the Bravo revamp. (Did you know it was originally a channel meant to show actual opera, ballet, and orchestra performances?!)
In general, the book seemed to end abruptly, with some curious decisions made with regard to content and focus throughout. Many shows you’d expect to see covered were basically only name-dropped or mentioned in brief, such as American Idol, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Drag Race, Chopped, America’s Next Top Model, or anything to do with Real Housewives or most other shows on Bravo or channels with often similar content like TLC. (Talk about a revamp! - the Learning channel, really?!) And many, many specific shows or even broad categories of shows are not even mentioned at all. (Also - could not help but note that despite efforts here and there to discuss diversity, the shows in the book are all super white, definitely one of the main offenses of the genre, and it would have been great to focus more on what diversification of reality shows has been able to take place thus far.)
However, given the unwieldy topic and the true Pandora’s Box that it turned out to be, lots of dismaying moral decrepitude included, I still think the author did a good job trying to impose some order and sequence on disorder and rampant proliferation. I can only imagine how overwhelming and distressing and messy this thing was to write if I felt how I did when and after reading it.
Consider any innocence I may have had lost: sometimes the sausage ingredients are confirmed just as awful as you feared.
One last suggestion might be a sort of annotated bibliography or appendix listing all the “for further study” reality shows - even the truly bad ones, which are also important - that might appear in or adjacent to each of the categories modeled by the shows focused on.
July 18, 2024
"Reality television is cinema verite filmmaking that has been cut with commercial contaminants, like a street drug, in order to slash the price and intensify the effect."
The only reality television I have ever watched more than a short clip of is Top Chef, Project Runway, Season 1 of Survivor, and the first two seasons of The Real World. I enjoyed those offerings, but have never seen anything else that tempted me, and have seen a number of clips I found repellant. I find that continuous schadenfreude gets old and dull, and also makes me feel pretty lousy about myself, sprawled on my couch judging others and participating indirectly in unhealthy behaviors. And so I was not sure I would like this, though I enjoy the author's work in the New Yorker, and when I read those pieces I nearly always find them brilliant and insightful.
Happily, this was as well researched and reasoned as Nussbaum's other work and it tells us a great deal about where we are at this cultural and political moment, how we got here, and how comprehensively fucked we are. We allowed that slow boil, about 70 years of heating with a constant rolling boil for the past quarter century, to kill our understanding of what is right and acceptable. This is devastating cultural commentary, but it is also often funny and always informative. I have already pressed this on my son. (My new "E's Book Concierge" shelf was started at his behest so if you are interested in what books I force on my 20-something a list can be found there.) I can't force this on others, but I urge y'all to get your hands on a copy.
The only reality television I have ever watched more than a short clip of is Top Chef, Project Runway, Season 1 of Survivor, and the first two seasons of The Real World. I enjoyed those offerings, but have never seen anything else that tempted me, and have seen a number of clips I found repellant. I find that continuous schadenfreude gets old and dull, and also makes me feel pretty lousy about myself, sprawled on my couch judging others and participating indirectly in unhealthy behaviors. And so I was not sure I would like this, though I enjoy the author's work in the New Yorker, and when I read those pieces I nearly always find them brilliant and insightful.
Happily, this was as well researched and reasoned as Nussbaum's other work and it tells us a great deal about where we are at this cultural and political moment, how we got here, and how comprehensively fucked we are. We allowed that slow boil, about 70 years of heating with a constant rolling boil for the past quarter century, to kill our understanding of what is right and acceptable. This is devastating cultural commentary, but it is also often funny and always informative. I have already pressed this on my son. (My new "E's Book Concierge" shelf was started at his behest so if you are interested in what books I force on my 20-something a list can be found there.) I can't force this on others, but I urge y'all to get your hands on a copy.
July 7, 2024
This is the only book about reality tv that matters. Favourite read of the year.
March 1, 2024
I have zero interest in reality TV, but love Emily Nussbaum’s writing. The moral of the story: when in doubt, embrace great writing.
This is a thoroughly affectionate but clear-eyed history of reality TV, whose roots go back to the 1940s. Nussbaum doesn’t fawn over the genre, nor does she look down her nose at it. She explains the appeal, that spike of revealing, true moments (as opposed to “reality”) that grip viewers. Along the way you get profiles of every major producer, director, contestant and bachelorette, bringing to life the thrill of making art (or at least entertainment) on the fly with no money and less respect. Nussbaum makes a connection between reality TV and outsider art and punk rock that is novel and, once considered, undeniable.
For such a thorough history, there are whole swaths of time that are covered in paragraphs, but all the key players and shows are covered in revealing detail.
What I love most about Nussbaum is her utter respect for TV, and her understanding that it has its own rules, its own rhythms. She talks about TV for what it is, not what some aesthete thinks it should be.
I don’t know that I’ll dive into the deep end of the reality TV pool, but having read this wonderful guide, if I jump in, I’ll be fully prepared to look at it with an open mind.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy.
This is a thoroughly affectionate but clear-eyed history of reality TV, whose roots go back to the 1940s. Nussbaum doesn’t fawn over the genre, nor does she look down her nose at it. She explains the appeal, that spike of revealing, true moments (as opposed to “reality”) that grip viewers. Along the way you get profiles of every major producer, director, contestant and bachelorette, bringing to life the thrill of making art (or at least entertainment) on the fly with no money and less respect. Nussbaum makes a connection between reality TV and outsider art and punk rock that is novel and, once considered, undeniable.
For such a thorough history, there are whole swaths of time that are covered in paragraphs, but all the key players and shows are covered in revealing detail.
What I love most about Nussbaum is her utter respect for TV, and her understanding that it has its own rules, its own rhythms. She talks about TV for what it is, not what some aesthete thinks it should be.
I don’t know that I’ll dive into the deep end of the reality TV pool, but having read this wonderful guide, if I jump in, I’ll be fully prepared to look at it with an open mind.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy.
March 4, 2024
I LOVE LOVE LOVE reality shows, from Survivor to the tacky-tacky Below Deck. The idea of reading Pulitzer Prize–winning New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum's trestice was something I could not pass up!
Nussbaum is able to pull off an amazing feat - she provides the long history of Reality Tv, including the lore we have heard, the facts that we have not and all of the experimentation that lead to what millions watch today.
Nussbaum covers the heroes of the genre including Allen Funt and Chuck Barris, John Langley as well as more well known Mike Fleiss,Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim. She also discusses the early stories including An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor - all which are the elders of what we watch today! She is always bracingly honest but treats the genre with the seriousness it deserves - we all know plenty of people who love to watch. This is a honest and enjoyable history of my favorite genre and what is has wrought on our society (see The Apprentice). Highly Recommended!
#randomhouse #cuethesun #emilynussbaum
Nussbaum is able to pull off an amazing feat - she provides the long history of Reality Tv, including the lore we have heard, the facts that we have not and all of the experimentation that lead to what millions watch today.
Nussbaum covers the heroes of the genre including Allen Funt and Chuck Barris, John Langley as well as more well known Mike Fleiss,Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim. She also discusses the early stories including An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor - all which are the elders of what we watch today! She is always bracingly honest but treats the genre with the seriousness it deserves - we all know plenty of people who love to watch. This is a honest and enjoyable history of my favorite genre and what is has wrought on our society (see The Apprentice). Highly Recommended!
#randomhouse #cuethesun #emilynussbaum
July 5, 2024
Entertaining, well researched investigation on entertaining subject (despite itself), At times it slogged a bit, taking its time, but that is just further evidence of how deeply Nussbaum went into her subject.
July 9, 2024
In Cue the Sun!, Emily Nussbaum takes a deep dive into the history of reality television from a US-centric perspective. The modern shows she profiles most extensively include The Real World, the Bachelor, Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Project Runway, Queer Eye, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Apprentice, and a handful of satirical shows including Joe Millionaire and the Joe Schmo Show (though sadly, she didn't discuss my favorite satirical show, the WB's Superstar USA, which only ran for one season for obvious reasons). Several of these shows lasted only one season/one episode (some for very obvious reasons), but even in the instances of shows that have run for 20+ seasons, Nussbaum really only focuses on the inaugural season, for better or worse. In the course of this 464 page book/15 hour audiobook, Nussbaum also interviews and profiles producers, show creators, behind-the-scenes crew, and on-air talent - it's clear that this effort took a huge amount of time - so this book is informative though I caught at least one major fact-checking error (when discussing Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Nussbaum incorrectly mentions that Kim Kardashian was married to and divorced from Nick Lachey -- that's Jessica Simpson).
Overall I was hoping for more focus on the reality TV shows I've watched over the years (The Mole seasons 1-2 remain my holy grail -- here's a poorly-copyedited but interesting book released by the season 2 mole: Reflections of the Mole), but found that content sorely lacking. But in fairness, even in 15 hours, it's impossible to feature everything; many of the shows she chose were because they were seminal in some way during their era, though a few of the picks were more niche and aired outside of major networks, so they may have just represented Nussbaum's personal interests (Queer Eye, the Joe Schmo show, etc.). In fairness, my reality show interests are probably quite niche as well.
It'll be interesting to see what the future of reality TV, if any, is in this age of social media and influencers where anyone can post content starring themselves online and hope to garner an audience.
Further reading:
True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us by Danielle Lindemann
When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV by Brian Stelter
Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure by Amy Kaufman
Overall I was hoping for more focus on the reality TV shows I've watched over the years (The Mole seasons 1-2 remain my holy grail -- here's a poorly-copyedited but interesting book released by the season 2 mole: Reflections of the Mole), but found that content sorely lacking. But in fairness, even in 15 hours, it's impossible to feature everything; many of the shows she chose were because they were seminal in some way during their era, though a few of the picks were more niche and aired outside of major networks, so they may have just represented Nussbaum's personal interests (Queer Eye, the Joe Schmo show, etc.). In fairness, my reality show interests are probably quite niche as well.
It'll be interesting to see what the future of reality TV, if any, is in this age of social media and influencers where anyone can post content starring themselves online and hope to garner an audience.
Further reading:
True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us by Danielle Lindemann
When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV by Brian Stelter
Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure by Amy Kaufman
July 2, 2024
Honestly screw every man who has ever invalidated my love of reality television
June 30, 2024
Beyond 5 stars.
Emily Nussbaum, who likely watched 50,000 hours of Reality TV for this tour de force, examines the genre from the days of Radio until the Apprentice.
Admittedly, I haven't owned a TV in 10 years, so a lot of the recent shows I only have a brief familiarity with. However, as a Millennial, shows like Real World, Road Rules, COPS, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy were all guilty pleasures.
This is a wild walk down nostalgia avenue for millennials and Gen Xers, or anyone who loves Reality Shows. Nussbaum interviewed over 300 people for this book involved in the genre or past contestants, and the bibliography is 50 pages.
She concludes with the Apprentice raising Donald Trump's profile from down-and-out laughingstock to a beacon of capitalism.
While there is much truth to the last chapter, I'm not sure I would have ended it that way. Admittedly, I never watched the Apprentice, but by that time Reality TV had been completely normalized - and as a way for many people, both featured celebrities and contestants to build their own brand. The best way to do so is by acting out. We see this on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. I would have personally concluded the epilogue with "reality" being democratized as anybody can become a celebrity or influencer using social media.
Several things can be gleaned from this book:
1. Whether admitting to it or not, most Americans are voyeurs, even though many of these "reality" shows are manipulated in production.
2. I have little sympathy for contestants or lowly-paid television workers who developed issues during or after their shows. They knew what they signed up for.
3. These Reality Shows are so prevalent because they are cheap to make, don't require Unionized Writers, and corporations are more than willing to pay enormous amounts for product placement and TV ads.
Just a phenomenal read and makes me glad I don't own a TV.
Emily Nussbaum, who likely watched 50,000 hours of Reality TV for this tour de force, examines the genre from the days of Radio until the Apprentice.
Admittedly, I haven't owned a TV in 10 years, so a lot of the recent shows I only have a brief familiarity with. However, as a Millennial, shows like Real World, Road Rules, COPS, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy were all guilty pleasures.
This is a wild walk down nostalgia avenue for millennials and Gen Xers, or anyone who loves Reality Shows. Nussbaum interviewed over 300 people for this book involved in the genre or past contestants, and the bibliography is 50 pages.
She concludes with the Apprentice raising Donald Trump's profile from down-and-out laughingstock to a beacon of capitalism.
While there is much truth to the last chapter, I'm not sure I would have ended it that way. Admittedly, I never watched the Apprentice, but by that time Reality TV had been completely normalized - and as a way for many people, both featured celebrities and contestants to build their own brand. The best way to do so is by acting out. We see this on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. I would have personally concluded the epilogue with "reality" being democratized as anybody can become a celebrity or influencer using social media.
Several things can be gleaned from this book:
1. Whether admitting to it or not, most Americans are voyeurs, even though many of these "reality" shows are manipulated in production.
2. I have little sympathy for contestants or lowly-paid television workers who developed issues during or after their shows. They knew what they signed up for.
3. These Reality Shows are so prevalent because they are cheap to make, don't require Unionized Writers, and corporations are more than willing to pay enormous amounts for product placement and TV ads.
Just a phenomenal read and makes me glad I don't own a TV.
July 5, 2024
A chronological new history of reality TV and all its exploitation by New Yorker writer Nussbaum, covering everything from Candid Camera to The Newlywed Game to Cops to Survivor to the Bravo shows - and a whole bunch in between.
Very enjoyable and well written. The first half is stronger than the second, partly because it's about big change and innovation in media. But it's also stronger because Nussbaum has more perspective about the shows that are 30+ years old than the newer shows, of which there are so many that they all run start to run together. From The Real World (ish) on, all the varying production details start to feel more vapid and repetitive. That's partly the point, of course, as reality TV has become so mainstream that nothing is new, every egotistical producer is a a copy of another, and nothing seems that scandalous anymore.
We are numb to this genre and its provocation and phoniness now, and this is is a solid chronicle of how we got this way.
Very enjoyable and well written. The first half is stronger than the second, partly because it's about big change and innovation in media. But it's also stronger because Nussbaum has more perspective about the shows that are 30+ years old than the newer shows, of which there are so many that they all run start to run together. From The Real World (ish) on, all the varying production details start to feel more vapid and repetitive. That's partly the point, of course, as reality TV has become so mainstream that nothing is new, every egotistical producer is a a copy of another, and nothing seems that scandalous anymore.
We are numb to this genre and its provocation and phoniness now, and this is is a solid chronicle of how we got this way.
July 14, 2024
3.5, rounding up
Shelved as 'never-finishing'
July 1, 2024DNF. How was this so boring? I’m a huge reality TV fan and generally enjoy most books written on the topic. And I enjoyed Nussbaum’s book about scripted TV. This was too dry; she didn’t seem to have the passion for reality tv that she did other TV.
March 30, 2024
Some chapters felt too short, while others felt too long - ultimately informative and entertaining.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.
July 16, 2024
I don't know what inspired me to pick this up, as I'm very much not a fan of reality tv. But I'm so glad I did because it was an incredibly interesting, engaging, and informative read.
Cue the Sun! is a masterful and comprehensive exploration of the reality TV genre. Nussbaum delves into the origins and evolution of reality television, tracing its roots from early experiments to its explosive rise with shows like Survivor.
Nussbaum’s narrative is rich with insights drawn from interviews with over 300 industry insiders, including network executives, show creators, and cast members. This oral history approach brings a vibrant and dynamic perspective to the genre, capturing the highs, lows, and pivotal moments in reality TV's development. Her ability to weave these individual stories into a cohesive and compelling account is nothing short of remarkable -- even for someone who has never seen a single episode of any of the shows she's discussing, she made it come to life.
The book is a balanced portrayal of reality TV. Nussbaum deftly avoids the pitfalls of censure and trivialization, instead offering a nuanced view that highlights the genre’s complexity and cultural significance. She explores the motivations of participants, the ethical dilemmas faced by producers, and the impact of these shows on both the cast and the audience. Her chapters on pioneering shows like An American Family and Survivor are particularly engaging, providing deep dives into how these programs reshaped television and popular culture.
This is worth reading for anyone -- whether you're a fan of reality TV or just interested in the broader implications of this influential genre. Nussbaum’s passionate and meticulously researched account ensures that this book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the profound impact of reality television.
Cue the Sun! is a masterful and comprehensive exploration of the reality TV genre. Nussbaum delves into the origins and evolution of reality television, tracing its roots from early experiments to its explosive rise with shows like Survivor.
Nussbaum’s narrative is rich with insights drawn from interviews with over 300 industry insiders, including network executives, show creators, and cast members. This oral history approach brings a vibrant and dynamic perspective to the genre, capturing the highs, lows, and pivotal moments in reality TV's development. Her ability to weave these individual stories into a cohesive and compelling account is nothing short of remarkable -- even for someone who has never seen a single episode of any of the shows she's discussing, she made it come to life.
The book is a balanced portrayal of reality TV. Nussbaum deftly avoids the pitfalls of censure and trivialization, instead offering a nuanced view that highlights the genre’s complexity and cultural significance. She explores the motivations of participants, the ethical dilemmas faced by producers, and the impact of these shows on both the cast and the audience. Her chapters on pioneering shows like An American Family and Survivor are particularly engaging, providing deep dives into how these programs reshaped television and popular culture.
This is worth reading for anyone -- whether you're a fan of reality TV or just interested in the broader implications of this influential genre. Nussbaum’s passionate and meticulously researched account ensures that this book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the profound impact of reality television.
June 25, 2024
In “Cue the Sun,” a title derived from a line in Peter Weir’s darkly prescient 1998 film “The Truman Show,” Emily Nussbaum, who received a Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for her work as The New Yorker’s TV critic television critic, takes a deep dive into the genesis and maturation of reality television. Nussbaum posits that reality programming and the moral outrage that it engenders began more than seven decades ago in the age of radio when disc jockeys began taking phone calls from listeners. The talk radio fad would jump to television in the late 1940s, with shows such as “Queen for a Day,” launching the game show, and “Candid Camera,” the prank show. Chuck Barris followed with “The Dating Game,” “The Newlywed Game,” and “The Gong Show.”
Nussbaum recycles some well-known trivia, such as Barris’s claim that he worked as an assassin for the CIA, but she also unearths a plethora of new gossip from the hosts, the producers, the employees, and the cast members themselves. She also places the reality shows in the context of the biggest news stories of the time. “An American Family,” the first real-life soap opera, filmed during the chaos wrought by Vietnam, the Manson murders drugs, sex and radical politics, chronicled the foibles of an affluent California family of seven with an openly gay son. Nussbaum describes how Nora Ephron panned the show in “New York” magazine, expressing particular revulsion for the matriarch Pat Loud for “letting it-all-hang out candor” about her husband’s affairs and their impending divorce. Ironically, Ephron would later marry Carl Bernstein who cheated on her while she was pregnant, and Ephron would write “Heartburn,” a score-settling best seller. “‘Heartburn’ would be attacked by critics for the same crime she’d dunned Pat for — sprinting her public divorce into a personal brand.”
No respectable book about reality television would be complete without an analysis of “Survivor,” “The Apprentice,” and “The Bachelor.” With respect to the latter, Nussbaum reveals how contestants imbibed on alcohol because it was readily available and “there was nothing else for them to do: no books, no magazines, no TV.” Female contestants who were unstable and pretty were “gold.” Producers would befriend the contestants, and deploy the private information that they had gleaned (eating disorders) to create emotional scenes and, if they were unsuccessful in generating drama, skillful editing would make a contestant look deranged.
Because Nussbaum drew on hundred of interviews with sources, her book has the gravitas of serious scholarship although she is investigating a guilty pleasure. It is a juicy (and unsettling) read for fans of reality television and popular culture. Thank you Random House and Net Galley for this enlightening read.
Nussbaum recycles some well-known trivia, such as Barris’s claim that he worked as an assassin for the CIA, but she also unearths a plethora of new gossip from the hosts, the producers, the employees, and the cast members themselves. She also places the reality shows in the context of the biggest news stories of the time. “An American Family,” the first real-life soap opera, filmed during the chaos wrought by Vietnam, the Manson murders drugs, sex and radical politics, chronicled the foibles of an affluent California family of seven with an openly gay son. Nussbaum describes how Nora Ephron panned the show in “New York” magazine, expressing particular revulsion for the matriarch Pat Loud for “letting it-all-hang out candor” about her husband’s affairs and their impending divorce. Ironically, Ephron would later marry Carl Bernstein who cheated on her while she was pregnant, and Ephron would write “Heartburn,” a score-settling best seller. “‘Heartburn’ would be attacked by critics for the same crime she’d dunned Pat for — sprinting her public divorce into a personal brand.”
No respectable book about reality television would be complete without an analysis of “Survivor,” “The Apprentice,” and “The Bachelor.” With respect to the latter, Nussbaum reveals how contestants imbibed on alcohol because it was readily available and “there was nothing else for them to do: no books, no magazines, no TV.” Female contestants who were unstable and pretty were “gold.” Producers would befriend the contestants, and deploy the private information that they had gleaned (eating disorders) to create emotional scenes and, if they were unsuccessful in generating drama, skillful editing would make a contestant look deranged.
Because Nussbaum drew on hundred of interviews with sources, her book has the gravitas of serious scholarship although she is investigating a guilty pleasure. It is a juicy (and unsettling) read for fans of reality television and popular culture. Thank you Random House and Net Galley for this enlightening read.
July 10, 2024
If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with all things reality tv. I have a BIG disdain for people who look down on viewers of the genre, the folks who ask how I can “watch that stuff”. But, this book really understands the true purpose of why I find reality tv so fascinating: it’s all so incredibly human.
I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but it was perfectly balanced with facts/history and anecdotes. I learnt so much, especially about the dark side of the genre, and how major events affected shows so heavily (9/11 for example).
Big 5 ⭐️ for me for folks who like nerding out.
I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but it was perfectly balanced with facts/history and anecdotes. I learnt so much, especially about the dark side of the genre, and how major events affected shows so heavily (9/11 for example).
Big 5 ⭐️ for me for folks who like nerding out.
July 18, 2024
Turns out that reality TV is much, much older than I thought it was (and before there was reality TV, there was reality radio!). An astonishing amount of research went into this microhistory, and it’s scholarly while still being compelling and readable. Nussbaum gives us a (more or less) linear timeline of reality TV, touching on topics of ethics and authenticity throughout. I was a little weary of the subject by the end, but that's mostly just an indication of how thoroughly the author covered it.
(I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.)
(I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.)
May 9, 2024
I care nothing--and let me stress *nothing*--about reality TV and have watched almost none of it, but the advance copy I got of this was an outrageously entertaining read. Some chapters, like the one about the Loud family and the pioneering show American Family, are insightful and moving. Others, like the one on Chuck Barris, are just wild stories about amazingly eccentric characters. I found this a useful way to inform myself about all the TV that many of my friends and acquaintances watch without having to watch it myself. The advantage to this is that Nussbaum is a smart, terrific writer who really makes an effort to look below the surface and has done seemingly zillions of interviews with the creators, most of whom are a lot more interesting than the people on the actual shows. There is honestly never a dull moment in this book, even if it hasn't convinced me to watch any more reality TV.
March 1, 2024
Emily Nussbaum takes a deep dive into the world of reality tv.From Queen for a day to Candid Camera people were drawn in and couldn’t turn away.The Louds was an addictive shocking intimate look at an American family falling apart on weekly tv.The author writes so well introducing us to people and behind the scene occurrences.so much the public knew nothing about.This was an interesting eye opening read that I really enjoyed.#netgalley #randomhouse
May 18, 2024
A very important analysis of reality television--a much bigger and more impactful phenomenon than commonly understood.
June 27, 2024
Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
If you, like myself, grew up in the 90s and early aughts, reality tv has been playing in the background on that chunky box of a television our entire lives. It’s the tv genre everyone loves to hate and hates to love.
In Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum, we are walked through the history of reality television, from the Newlywed Game all the way to The Real Housewives of whatever city is currently on.
Throughout the book, Nussbaum dives into some of our most iconic reality shows chronologically to demonstrate not only how the genre came to be, but how each show shaped the future of television. (All while being the black sheep of the TV world.)
For myself, someone who has loved reality tv their whole life while also complaining about it (keeping up the kardashians irks me) this book is everything. Not only is Cue the Sun! packed with information, it’s told like a tell all full of industry gossip. Not only did I gobble this up, I found myself down memory lane watching old favorites like The Real World and Big Brother. Say what you will about reality tv, but it’s definitely a cultural time capsule that is readily available to everyone everywhere. It deserves its time in the sun, and luckily for us, Emily Nussbaum shined a light on it for us!
Emily Nussbaum
If you, like myself, grew up in the 90s and early aughts, reality tv has been playing in the background on that chunky box of a television our entire lives. It’s the tv genre everyone loves to hate and hates to love.
In Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum, we are walked through the history of reality television, from the Newlywed Game all the way to The Real Housewives of whatever city is currently on.
Throughout the book, Nussbaum dives into some of our most iconic reality shows chronologically to demonstrate not only how the genre came to be, but how each show shaped the future of television. (All while being the black sheep of the TV world.)
For myself, someone who has loved reality tv their whole life while also complaining about it (keeping up the kardashians irks me) this book is everything. Not only is Cue the Sun! packed with information, it’s told like a tell all full of industry gossip. Not only did I gobble this up, I found myself down memory lane watching old favorites like The Real World and Big Brother. Say what you will about reality tv, but it’s definitely a cultural time capsule that is readily available to everyone everywhere. It deserves its time in the sun, and luckily for us, Emily Nussbaum shined a light on it for us!
Emily Nussbaum
July 12, 2024
I am probably not the audience for this book… I have never watched survivor, big brother, the bachelor, American idol, COPS, etc. I also don’t watch those home flipper shows. In college I might have caught a few episodes of “the real world” or daytime talk shows because my roommate always had them on but I can’t remember watching any on my own (I did, however, watch soaps so I’m not here to judge anyone lol) I was also swept up in the early seasons of project runway and top chef.
The only “reality shows” I watch now are great British bake and ALONE. Admittedly, while recovering from a surgery, I did succumb to watching a few seasons of Love is Blind in the hospital, primarily so I had things to text my friends about. I hate myself for it and after the last season and the lawsuits now, I don’t know I can ever watch it again no matter how much I feel left out of a group text.
Background over…. REVIEW: I really enjoyed this book.
Overall it surprised me and in did alter my thoughts on reality tv.
For example, this book made me realize I watched far more reality than I thought. Example: I watched Americans funniest home videos as a child. That’s reality tv. I never would have thought about it or game shows in that way. Who of us didn’t watch jeopardy in the 80/90s? I also hadn’t considered things like Gordon Ramsay as reality but it is (not that I watch it).
I also didn’t realize reality tv went back as far as it did! I thought MTV created it in 1990s with real world but it’s been around much longer.
BOTTOM LINE: I think someone who watches reality shows will get a lot more out of this book than I did and will enjoy it more. That said I still found it interesting. I prefer a real documentary but I also won’t stop watching Alone anytime soon.
My feelings on whether reality tv is taking advantage of people still remains mixed.
The only “reality shows” I watch now are great British bake and ALONE. Admittedly, while recovering from a surgery, I did succumb to watching a few seasons of Love is Blind in the hospital, primarily so I had things to text my friends about. I hate myself for it and after the last season and the lawsuits now, I don’t know I can ever watch it again no matter how much I feel left out of a group text.
Background over…. REVIEW: I really enjoyed this book.
Overall it surprised me and in did alter my thoughts on reality tv.
For example, this book made me realize I watched far more reality than I thought. Example: I watched Americans funniest home videos as a child. That’s reality tv. I never would have thought about it or game shows in that way. Who of us didn’t watch jeopardy in the 80/90s? I also hadn’t considered things like Gordon Ramsay as reality but it is (not that I watch it).
I also didn’t realize reality tv went back as far as it did! I thought MTV created it in 1990s with real world but it’s been around much longer.
BOTTOM LINE: I think someone who watches reality shows will get a lot more out of this book than I did and will enjoy it more. That said I still found it interesting. I prefer a real documentary but I also won’t stop watching Alone anytime soon.
My feelings on whether reality tv is taking advantage of people still remains mixed.
June 27, 2024
Discussions over the "reality" of Reality TV are reminiscent of the old debates over the legitimacy of professional wrestling: "For those who believe, no explanation is needed. For those who don't, no explanation will do." Like many of the other reviewers posted here, I have little interest in Reality TV, but a history of its growth has value in discussions of the evolution of television through the years. What really carries the day is the author, who does brilliant work here. This book is just jaw-dropping as it shows a history that stretches back to Candid Camera and The Gong Show, and Emily Nussbaum delivers all the sordid details in a droll way that makes it as funny a book that you are likely to read this year. Many highlights abound, but I will particularly remember Gene Gene The Dancing Machine, Fred from Calgary, and the whole story behind "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?" An essential work.
June 30, 2024
3.5 stars. Emily Nussbaum does not subscribe to the critical consensus that the ascent of American Reality TV is a sign of the cultural apocalypse. She believes that the genre has its merits and that the people who create, produce, and write the shows have unique skills that are insufficiently appreciated. Her overview of some the most notable examples, from Candid Camera to The Apprentice, is well-written and informative, but I wish it featured more of a through-line of how the genre's evolution over 65+ years has reflected changes in American culture. To be fair, Nussbaum does offer some of that analysis, but I expected a higher level of commentary from a New Yorker regular and Pulitzer Prize winner.
Warning: the book's last chapter is all about DT45. I'm writing this in late June 2024 and it seems highly probable that the November election will put him back in the White House, God help us all. As a result, the final 25 pages are probably more alarming than Nussbaum intended.
Warning: the book's last chapter is all about DT45. I'm writing this in late June 2024 and it seems highly probable that the November election will put him back in the White House, God help us all. As a result, the final 25 pages are probably more alarming than Nussbaum intended.
July 9, 2024
4 stars
When it comes to reality tv, I've watched one season of a lot of shows. Sometimes it's the first season, sometimes it's the most recent, and a few times it's been "the best season." The excitement of who's going to be caught lying in The Circle, or who's going to get a proposal in The Bachelor, or who's going to correctly identify the Mole in, well, the Mole loses novelty value once I've seen it play out after a season.
All of this to say - I would not call myself a reality tv fan, and yet I really enjoyed this deep dive into the invention (and reinvention) of the genre. "Reality" has been around since radio, often with history repeating itself. Just about every reading session had me telling my husband or texting a friend an interesting fact.
Highly recommend for pop culture lovers, reality fans, or anyone who just enjoys television.
When it comes to reality tv, I've watched one season of a lot of shows. Sometimes it's the first season, sometimes it's the most recent, and a few times it's been "the best season." The excitement of who's going to be caught lying in The Circle, or who's going to get a proposal in The Bachelor, or who's going to correctly identify the Mole in, well, the Mole loses novelty value once I've seen it play out after a season.
All of this to say - I would not call myself a reality tv fan, and yet I really enjoyed this deep dive into the invention (and reinvention) of the genre. "Reality" has been around since radio, often with history repeating itself. Just about every reading session had me telling my husband or texting a friend an interesting fact.
Highly recommend for pop culture lovers, reality fans, or anyone who just enjoys television.
July 17, 2024
This book will give you so much more than you’ll ever want to know about reality tv. With the exception of Queer Eye (that show will always be wholesome), the author reveals how grotesque the making of reality tv shows has been since the beginning. As a person who watches reality tv as a guilty pleasure (hello Bachelor Nation ✋🏼) this book made me seriously reconsider my guilty pleasures. While I am not sure this was the author’s intent, if I could sum up this book it would be: viewing reality tv = voyeurism + sadism.
March 30, 2024
Really enjoyed this book. Nussbaum is an excellent writer and she really knows her stuff. This is a fascinating look at the social and entertainment history of reality TV and the way it has changed our world—spoiler alert-not for the better. If you have any interest in reality tv, this book is a must read.
July 2, 2024
Rating: 4.5
Reality TV is a way of life and has been since before many of us can remember. Taking a look at the origins of reality TV to the end of the Apprentice on NBC, Emily Nussbaum offers a glimpse into how this genre has changed the landscape of television. From its origins in radio shows its interesting that we've also started to shift to podcasts for some reality show elements. Whether you love it or hate it, Emily shows reality television is here to stay.
I wish there would have been at look at the boom of reality shows on streaming networks as I think that has changed the landscape of television too. I do understand why she stopped the story where she did. I found my reading experience to be eventful and full of information I didn't know about. It even has led me down a rabbit hole of Survivor, which I haven't watched since its first couple season over 20 years ago. I can see how much research and the number of years Emily spent working on this book.
It's the perfect book for everyone because love it or hate it, you'll definitely learn something about the most popular (current) genre of television.
Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
Reality TV is a way of life and has been since before many of us can remember. Taking a look at the origins of reality TV to the end of the Apprentice on NBC, Emily Nussbaum offers a glimpse into how this genre has changed the landscape of television. From its origins in radio shows its interesting that we've also started to shift to podcasts for some reality show elements. Whether you love it or hate it, Emily shows reality television is here to stay.
I wish there would have been at look at the boom of reality shows on streaming networks as I think that has changed the landscape of television too. I do understand why she stopped the story where she did. I found my reading experience to be eventful and full of information I didn't know about. It even has led me down a rabbit hole of Survivor, which I haven't watched since its first couple season over 20 years ago. I can see how much research and the number of years Emily spent working on this book.
It's the perfect book for everyone because love it or hate it, you'll definitely learn something about the most popular (current) genre of television.
Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
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