10 Hidden Details That Pull Back the Curtain on Popular TV Shows

Watching TV shows with a lot of drama or tension is one of our guilty pleasures. Our obsession with reality shows can be explained by our will to escape our own reality for a while and live vicariously through the lives of other successful people. Also, our love for drama can make us feel more connected to the participants. Though, most of them have real talent and a knack for entertaining, the creation of our favorite shows are not as genuine as we might think.

Bright Side invites you to check and see what’s going on behind the scenes and see how the most popular shows are actually being made. Exciting!

1. Show hosts don’t drive the cars themselves.

When famous musicians get randomly approached on the street and agree to sing in a relaxed atmosphere, fans might go wild. For example, Carpool Karaoke is a simple, yet genius idea — they pick up a celebrity and drive somewhere while singing and having a good time. It turns out that Corden doesn’t drive the car himself! Instead, his car is getting pulled by a truck that’s in front of the car. Though, some fans might feel betrayed, this is done for the safety of the passengers and the other people on the road.

2. They create fake arguments to build tension.

It’s not the improvement in cooking skills or knowledge that makes cooking shows so thrilling to watch, but the non-stop drama. Some might think that apart from being a brilliant chef, Gordon Ramsay has a very explosive and fierce character. Well, he does, but just for the show. All this frustration, his screams, and his yelling are done to bring the element of tension to the show and to make the episode more interesting for the viewers. In reality, he is a friendly and rather calm person who is just passionate about food.

3. They can autotune blind auditions on singing competition shows.

Some songs can sound different in real life, from what we hear in the TV version, according to this Reddit user: “There is a lot of scripting there. Before entering, you have 3 auditions and a recording session with the producer. So they see your face and they hear your voice (not a blind audition). On TV they use the version you sang at the blind audition, but they autotune it. The interview before the blind audition is also recorded weeks before.”

4. Game shows are not completely random.

Another Reddit user shares: “They stopped me on the street and asked if I wanted to be on a show about the city. They then set up a phone interview to test subject knowledge, and I was told to arrive at a location to film with a friend. When I got there, they said that a band was playing on a patio nearby, which was affecting their sound levels. They hailed us a cab and said it would take us to the new location. Boom!!! The lights and cameras were on as soon as we got in there.”

5. Producers of talent show competitions can prepare audience’s reactions beforehand.

“Before any acts begin, they get the crowd all hyped up and get sample shots of people clapping, booing, cheering, and making an ‘X’ with their arms. These shots are then edited in later to make it appear as if the crowd was having a great and engaging time. In reality the majority of the crowd stays relatively quiet during the performances.” — says another user, who has visited one of these shows.

6. Food on cooking shows is not always edible.

Cooking shows aim to make the final dish look truly mouthwatering for their audience. This is because sometimes the real food doesn’t look very appetizing after being prepared, because it’s under or overcooked. Here is how they save the day: “A food stylist shows up 2 hours before taping, having been up the night before making the ‘beauty dishes’ — these are the dishes the camera will take shots of to show what the final product looks like.”

7. If you win on a game show, you don’t receive the money right away.

Game shows are well-known for giving a lot of money to their participants right away. Though, one of the participants of these shows claims: “I won $100 cash on Let’s Make a Deal. They give you cash then cut to commercial and take the cash back. Then, after the show, I had to fill out a huge packet of legal stuff. A little over a month later, I got a check in the mail.”

8. Hosts on home improvements show only appear for filming sessions.

What we see during these shows are the hard-working hosts that actively participate in renovations. “My former roommate’s sister volunteered on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. The hosts of the show spent the majority of the time in their air-conditioned trailers, while the 50 or so volunteers were out in the elements actually working. They only came out to film a couple of shots of them holding a paint brush while talking, to make it seem as if they were working.” — says a Reddit user.

9. In singing competitions, contestants need to have a sob story.

These shows are usually packed with sincere life stories from the contestants. It’s hard to deny that they do awaken a lot of emotions in us. Though, sometimes it’s done on purpose. “Producers made us make confessions, they reminded us that this is a television show first, and a talent competition second. If we wanted to be on TV, we’d have to tell a compelling story.” — shares a user who auditioned.

10. Some popular magic tricks are easy to explain.

It would be hard to imagine a talent show without some mind-blowing magic tricks! Dom Chambers, a charismatic contestant of America’s Got Talent, managed to amaze everyone by bringing endless beverages from a small paper bag and even pouring them from his shoe. During the performance he takes his shoe off and pulls a coaster out of it. In the next couple of seconds, he’s already pouring liquid out of the same shoe.

Though it might look like he’s creating all of this liquid from the thin air, the secret of his trick hides behind his magician’s table. One moment, Dom gets behind the table, where he grabs a bag with a gimmick shoe. It already contains a glass with a beverage, that he pours out later on.

What shows do you enjoy watching? Have you ever participated in one? Let’s discuss it all in the comment section!