Top 10 Reality TV Secrets They Don't Want You To Know

They call it Reality TV, but there's a lot that goes on off-camera that these shows don't want you to know about. For this list, we’ll be looking at some not-so-common knowledge about how some of your favorite reality shows operate behind the scenes. Our countdown includes actors playing the part of real owners on "Pawn Stars" (2009-), the use of Auto-Tune on "The Voice" (2011-), some homes not even being for sale on "House Hunters" (1999-), and more! What disappointed you the most about a reality show? Give us the lowdown in the comments.

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[WatchMojo]

What disappointed you the most about a reality show? Give us the lowdown in the comments.

[CaptainMarvelsSon]

One of my favorite stories from my niece who worked behind the scenes (along with dozens of others doing most of the work off camera) on a "home makeover" show was when they duct taped curtains to the walls and set up half-finished furniture against walls to hide holes that had no yet been repaired to make it presentable for final filming. . . and then just left. Production was set for X days. That many days passed. The team packed up and left for the next location. Once the show is over, it was the homeowners' responsibility to finish the job.

[foxhound]

My friend in the early days of American Idol she went in to audition. She is a pretty darn good singer. But before she saw the judges she saw pre judges and they are the ones that would approve if she got to auditon to simon and the rest. She told me the first round of judges were more interested in her back story than her singing. She has a pretty normal life and they ask "what else you got?" like they are trying to find something that has drama, a crazy event going on in there life or if they person was crazy.

[stingrey]

i had a friend who auditioned for american idol. she can legitimately sing. she may not be pop star good. but she is good. she was heartbroken when she saw clowns, both literal and figurative move to the on air audition. meanwhile those with talent were rejected.

[redvince]

“That’s why you use auto tune and I don’t”
Damn. I’m gonna remember that more than anything else in this video 😳

[Rosannasfriend]

Oh that’s been an open secret for a long time now. Some of the celebrities who start judging the shows have been honest about it, but the media never lets it catch on once they said it in interviews. The producers know who they want to prop up and they tell the judges who to give most of their compliments to based on this preference. So if you’re wondering why country singers always win a particular contest… Now you know why!

[msnewsenior]

You for got two: 1. Pimp my Ride - the customizations either destroyed the car or were never intended to work
2. Chopped - The recipes are given to contestants ahead of time

[Zack_]

Everyone knows Gordon isn't really mean. He's just blunt.

[rooktheradical]

"You can have reality, and you can have tv, but you can't have both."
- Paul Stanley (while appearing on reality show Family Jewels).

[tommydevito]

One thing to add about Gordon Ramsey not being mean, he’s on other cooking shows besides Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef is the one I think of off the top of my head, and on these other shows he’s so nice and caring for everyone on those shows. I even remember watching new episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and Master Chef that would air back to back and seeing how drastically different his personality was. Not only that but a lot of his comments on Hell’s Kitchen are scripted and what we’re seeing is the third or fourth take

[ww_was_faked]

Imagine saying that ghost hunting is a legitimate profession

[antonioiglesiasiii]

The effort they went through in American Idol to prevent Haley Reinhart from top two was painfully obvious in order to keep the Scotty/Lauren in love narrative for the finale

[chriswilliams]

I think the biggest truth about these "reality tv shows" is that nothing is 'real'.

[youwontlikethistake]

Shows like “The Bachelor” do not feature actual people in many cases, but individuals taking on a character that is “better for TV.” The reason that so many couples don’t work out (outside of them being imbeciles for going on that show in the first place) is because they reach then end and realize they’ve got no clue who they’re currently with.

[rosehikari]

I'm surprised people believe what's happening on those shows, reality TV has never been real...

[foxhound]

Got another one and not mentioned here. Cash Cab. My sister was on it. My sister and her friends lived in New York and did a lot of Trivia nights at bars. At one of those nights her and her roommate was approached by someone asking if they like to be on a game show. So they told them a taxi will pick them up. So on the day, they got picked up and of coarse the lights were on informing them they are on cash cab. They edited in the beginning because my sister and her friend thought they got lucky that they were going to do 2 game shows that day. They were informing the driver that its great and all but we got another location to be at kind of talk. They eventually finally got it that this was the real show. They did win (even the bonus question, my sister is smart). I would say watch it on my channel but discovery took it down years ago for copy right. One last thing about it. A few months later her and another friend were approached by a different person telling them the first time it happened and my sister said "is it for cash cab" and the recruiter admitted to it. but i guess they couldn't do it twice even if they did lied. So basically cash cab doesn't just get random people off the street. Most likely most are checked out at Trivia night bars in New York.

[ChrisOnStage]

I've always said how incredibly easy (and fun) it would be to fake a Paranormal Ghost Hunting TV show! You NEVER have to prove anything!! Get a bunch of actors, weird looking equipment, shoot video all over the place, and have off-camera crew make sounds & noises and move things! How easy is that??

[davinp]

Reality shows like America's Got Talent and American Idol have a long list of rules contestants must follow. If they break a rule, they can be disqualified meaning they are kicked off the show

[psyphi]

"reality tv" hasn't been real in decades.

[Blood-PawWerewolf]

I noticed on one of ghost hunter shows, that they claim to have technology that can show a human-like structure (arms, legs, torso skeleton). It’s definitely just a repurposed Xbox 360 Kinect showing the body/motion tracking by someone else (probably someone from the crew moving in the darkness, off camera)