Apparently, reality TV couple Spencer and Heidi Pratt – who got their start on MTV’s The Hills and are now a part of this summer’s I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here – have run afoul of one of NBC’s reality programming head honchos with their latest attention-getting antics.

“They are everything that’s wrong with America,” executive vice president of alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios, Paul Telegdy, said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “They are insincere, lazy, entitled and they claim the devil has possessed them.”

Apparently the couple not only demanded the royal treatment, but threatened to quit more than once and basically acted like a couple of spoiled brats.

I’d like to ask Mr. Telegdy: what did he expect? Reality shows take everyday people and turn them into minor celebrities overnight. It’s not like they had to work for years honing their craft while they waited tables and went on endless auditions, hoping and praying for their big break. (Of course, if one or both of your parents is Hollywood royalty, you skip that part and move right on to the big time.) The only “work” involved in reality stardom is standing in line to audition, hoping to get picked; although sometimes people with unusual life circumstances are approached by producers who hope to exploit their lives for ratings that translate into dollar signs (think Nadya Suleman, lovingly referred to by society as the “Octomom”). (more…)

Hold on to your remotes – yet another reality show is coming down the pike. Fox has announced that it’s casting for More to Love, a dating competition show for “average looking” people. Which makes me wonder, of course, why bother having a diet competition show (The Biggest Loser) when there are shows being developed specifically to highlight the dating habits of fat BMI-challenged people. But there could be a tie-in - Contestant A doesn’t make the grade on The Biggest Loser, so she embraces her size and goes on to find love and happiness on More to Love – or not. Wouldn’t that be a ratings bonanza!

Actually, this rant isn’t so much about the fact that overweight people are the new target for reality dating shows, but that reality shows in general are less about reality than exploiting people desperate for stardom and/or money. Would you want to watch a show about the true reality of everyday lives? Watching someone mop the floors, go to the grocery store, pick up the kids from school, realize  at dinnertime that there’s no spaghetti sauce in the cupboard and having to run out to the store for the third time that day? Watching paint dry might be more exciting. (more…)