It might be hard to believe, but it's been three decades of tears, tantrums, and scandals in Australian reality TV — from Sylvania Waters to The Bachelor.
What makes for an iconic moment in reality TV? Following a six-year hiatus, the Real Housewives of Sydney and its overhauled cast is gunning for nothing less, after the reboot's first season struggled to capture the zeitgeist.
Australia's first foray into the genre of reality TV, Sylvania Waters, seems quaint by today's standards. Similar shows sold as an inside look at affluent communities across Australia — Netflix's Byron Baes, Channel 10's short-lived The Shire, and Channel Seven's just-announced Made in Bondi — have copped criticism, even before airing, with locals often correctly worried they'll be depicted as vapid and uncultured.Labelled by press as the "Neighbours from Hell", the Baker-Donahers weren't ready for the spotlight, or for the nascent tricks of reality TV editing.
With an average of 1.4 million viewers tuning in across the first season's 85 days and 98 episodes, the show saw housemates whittled down each week with contested public-voted evictions, and the winner taking home $250,000. Big Brother's success was followed by an avalanche of international reality competitions making their way Down Under in the 00s, including The Biggest Loser, Dancing with The Stars, Australian Idol, Australia's Next Top Model, The Mole, So You Think You Can Dance, Beauty and the Geek and many, many more. Our obsession was well and truly underway.The UK may have invented MasterChef, but Australia perfected it.
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