Reality Hell

The E! Network reality show Reality Hell aims to see just how far reality TV stars are willing to go to be in the spotlight. This show is part reality and part hidden camera show; the trick is that the contestant isn’t in on the joke.

Contestants are in for a surprise on this show.

In the vein of reality shows like Joe Millionaire, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé and My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss, Reality Hell is built around the premise of tricking the contestants into thinking they are on a different kind of reality show than they really are. On each episode, the target thinks that they are appearing in a particular reality show, while in reality, their fellow contestants are all actors. The point of the show is to see how far they will go to stand out or win the show they think they are competing on.

The audience is in on the scheme from the start, but the target has no idea until the end of the show that they have been had. Through the course of the show, the target is pushed further and further and the behavior of their fellow cast mates becomes increasingly over the top in an attempt to see how much the target will put up with or do for a shot at winning the show.

Each episode of Reality Hell features one hoax show and one target. Each hoax show is loosely based on a particular reality show or genre of reality shows. The hoaxes include:

A wannabe model thinks she is competing on a reality competition called The Complete Package, which is styled after America's Next Top Model.

In this takeoff on Wife Swap and Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy, a woman takes over as a mother for a day of a Hollywood family.

The Hunk is a dating competition show similar to The Bachelor or VH1 Celebreality dating shows. The target is led to be suspect that the hunk she is trying to get may be gay.

On the The Private Chef episode, the target joins a cooking competition to become the private chef for a millionaire family.

Like MTV show Parental Control, Parents’ Choice is a fake reality show in which the target believes she is competing to have a single man’s parents pick a date for their son.

The target on this episode refers to himself as a "cougar hunter" and believes he is competing on a dating show for the chance to date a recently widowed older woman.

This Trading Spaces-inspired show features a designer as the target who believes they are competing to get to redesign a home.

Making the Band provides the inspiration for this show in which the target tries to land a spot in a new girl group.

The contestants on Reality Hell mostly took the prank in stride, though the show did receive some negative press attention. Some charged that the show was exploiting contestants by purposely misleading them to provide entertainment at their expense. Viewer reaction to the show has also been mixed in online reviews.

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