19 and Counting!

Looking through the TLC lineup of reality shows currently airing I was slightly surprised to realize that I had not heard of most of the shows bring advertised. Although I would not consider myself a watcher of reality television (unless I am really really bored at home and cannot find better programming to watch or something better to do with my life), I thought I was at least in tune with what sort of shows were being aired, knowing too well that Honey Boo Boo had been canceled. With this realization I decided to try and quickly watch the previews of most of the shows so I could get a better grasp of what was popular in this genre. Eventually, after being instantly bored with most of the shows, I landed on 19 Children and Counting.

Now before getting into what the show was about I think it is important to note that maybe my reactions to the other shows simply reflect my own personal biases about people or what I think is important enough to have its own show. I definitely agree with Andy Dehnart’s take of reality television being “a mirror, showing how real people react and interact in extraordinary situations [and that] forces us to consider how we’d respond.” However, this explanation for reality shows still does not justify in my head how people are getting rich off exploitative shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras or shows where the main draw is people acting like fools or simply being rude (Jersey Shore being the first show to pop into my head).

Moving on to 19 Children and Counting, the basic premise for this show is as follows. A mother, a father, 19 children, some grandchildren, some marriages, probably a little bit of drama, and all around good wholesome “American Living!” This show gives people “the ultimate peek into the neighbor’s kitchen window,” and this of course would be completely pointless unless people wanted to look in. I must admit though that I was surprised that it seemed like a very tame, family centered show, a bit unusual to most reality shows I know of. But this also made it easy to spot the potential appeal of this show, as it portrays the ideal American household. It give people a peak at something out of the ordinary while still staying true to American ideals. However in the end, even if it was a show covering the life of a bus driver who only went to work then home to play Minecraft, if people watched it, it would be made because in the end reality television is made because it makes money.