One of 2015’s most culturally notable programs was Lifetime’s UnREAL, a scripted drama following the machinations and manipulations behind the scenes of a fictional, Bachelor-like reality series. UnREAL pulled the curtain back from a part of culture that had always asserted itself as “real,” and was a potentially devastating critique for programming in the reality genre.

However, while UnREAL was undeniably one of 2015’s television standouts, the idea that The Bachelor and similar shows lack authenticity is nothing new. Since reality TV has long held a reputation for being unrealistic, how can the genre regain its cultural cred?

As fantasy and theatricality continue to be the norm of the reality genre, programmers must ask themselves how to continue innovating in a landscape that has become over-saturated. Viewers see more discrepancies between characters’ on-screen and off-screen lives, and it has become more difficult to credibly claim “authenticity.”

However, the recent boom in true-crime programming – illustrated by the popularity of the first season of Serial and Netflix’ holiday sensation, Making a Murderer—demonstrates new potential to engage with audiences. By motivating audiences to continue following the story, even after it’s done, programmers can help reality TV enter a premium space previously reserved exclusively for scripted shows.

As the continued success of franchises such as The Bachelor demonstrate, the promise of “realness” is not the sole cultural driver of these shows. In fact, The Bachelor’s 20th-season premiere honed in on the type of unrealistic scenarios—co-dating twins, hoverboard entrances, women named “Lace”—that have always been the show’s strength. Embracing the over-the-top and fantastic has grown into a defining characteristic of this sort of reality programming.

In this way, reality television has grown into a form of commercial folklore—narratives ostensibly based on real events, but colored with fantasy and archetypal characters. More notably, these programs are often parables for grander themes such as love, perseverance, or success. Reality programming has become less about illuminating actual human experience than projecting a near mythical version of what it could look like. By embracing this theatricality, many reality shows began to take on the rhythms and situations of scripted programming, particularly sitcoms.

While on-screen, viewers often see pat, clean endings, increased access to reality characters’ off-screen lives has provided an often jarring parallel. Controversies around programs such as 19 Kids and Counting and Alaskan Bush People undermine the fundamental mythologies of reality programming, instead pointing to the inauthenticity of the on-screen product. Some programs, such as Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise or Lifetime’s Project Runway, have tried to mediate this by increasingly depicting producer interactions, creating at least a claim of transparency in lieu of authenticity.

Despite these efforts, growing awareness of inauthenticity is dangerous for established brands. Though The Bachelor has been able to persevere by over-rotating on its most campy, theatrical elements, shows such as American Idol have suffered greatly as audiences lose faith in the show’s ability to deliver on its promise of superstardom. Unlike, The Bachelor, American Idol has tended towards earnestness over camp, and the announcement that this current season would be its last confirms its diminished cultural relevance. This shift does, however, point to a huge opportunity for programmers around a more credible engagement with real life.

At TruthCo, we’ve studied reality television since the launch of MTV’s Jersey Shore in 2009. While our CEO Linda Ong has previously discussed the calcification of the genre, in the last year, we’ve also seen huge potential for a more emergent, prestige programming offering.

In particular, popular culture’s recent true-crime boom illustrates some key lessons for reality programmers. Making a Murderer—unlike the podcast Serial or HBO’s re-enactment heavy The Jinx—is firmly in the reality-television camp, providing a strong example of how reality programming can feel true to real life.

Since the show’s launch, multiple petitions to free subject Steven Avery have hit the Internet, following in Serial’s footsteps by catalyzing the program’s audience-led afterlife. In addition to being hugely character-driven—typically a characteristic of prestige television—Making a Murderer demonstrates new models of audience engagement that speak to reality television.

Instead of using audience voting systems and other gimmicky modes of engagement, Making a Murderer and Serial both initially stoked audience outrage and intrigue and then refused to offer closure at the series’ end, somewhat frustratingly forcing viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Accordingly, even when the authenticity of the production is challenged, the “reality” of prestige reality is willed into existence by audience action in the show’s aftermath. This type of premium programming draws more from documentary film-making than typical reality fare, and thus feels culturally legitimate in a genre often dismissed as throwaway and insignificant.

Much of this shift in audience relationship has been in true crime, but that doesn’t mean it has to be limited to that genre. Encouraging viewers to do their own research or independently follow a story in between seasons brings them into the storytelling process and ensures that reality programming feels rooted in a world beyond their screen. The invitation for audiences to finish the story produces a more credible notion of authenticity and challenges the presently potent dissonance between characters’ on-screen and off-screen lives. If reality television is to reestablish its credibility, it’s time to see audiences not purely as consumers, but as collaborators.

Rajiv Menon is a cultural analyst at TruthCo., an omnicultural branding and insights company that analyzes the current cultural landscape to deliver actionable recommendations that keep entertainment brands and their offerings relevant. Connect with TruthCo. at www.truthco.net or on Twitter @TeamTruthCo.

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