Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV

Who invented reality television, the worlds most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why cant we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of dirty documentaryfrom its contentious roots in radio to the ascent of Donald TrumpEmily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built 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.

In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded withSurvivorat the turn of the millennium. She introduces the genres trickster pioneers, from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris;Copsauteur John Langley; cynicalBachelorringmaster Mike Fleiss; and Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim, the visionaries behindThe Real Worldalong with dozens of stars fromAn American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor,andThe Bachelor. We learn about the tools of the tradelike the Frankenbite, a deceptive editors best friendand ugly tales of exploitation. ButCue the Sun!also celebrates realitys peculiar power: a jolt of emotion that could never have come from a script.

What happened to the first reality stars, the Loudsand why wont they speak to the couple who filmed them? Which serial killer won onThe Dating Game? Nussbaum explores reality TV as a strike-breaker, the queer roots of Bravo, the dark truth behindThe Apprentice,and more.A shrewd observer who adores television, Nussbaum is the ideal voice for the first substantive history of the genre that, for better or worse, made America what it is today.

Hardcover, June 25th 2024