Although reality entertainment got its original foothold on TV audiences back in the 1950s, perhaps the very first modern form of realty TV was the 12-part PBS series, An American Family, which was filmed in 1971 and was aired in 1973. The show featured an average family dealing with the pain and craziness that comes with divorce.

The show was not unlike a documentary in its straighforward filming style of recording the events involving Bill and Pat Loud’s divorce just as they happened.  The real life events caught on film were at times surprising and shocking.  It kept the TV viewers coming back episode after episode to discover what would happen next as they watched the events that circulated around this family as they went through the messy ordeal of divorce.

Divorce Court is likely as close to a modern version of a reality program centered around the issue of divorce.  Not a documentary by any means but, audiences still tune in to hear couples squabble about the affairs of their private lives.

However, unlike the documentary format of the PBS series in the late 1970s, there were many forebears of modern reality television such as Chuck Barris hosting The Dating Game. There was also The Newlywed Game and the memorable Gong Show.  All of these reality game shows featured participants eager to sacrifice some of their privacy and even a little of their dignity in a televised competition in exchange for a chance to win some type of fun reward.

There is even a modern version of the Newlywed Game that is being hosted by Carnie Wilson on the GSN. It promises to be fun