It's called "reality" TV, but the truth is that a lot of what you see in screen is carefully calculated by producers. Look no further than these shows for proof.
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00:00It's called reality TV, but the truth is that a lot of what you see is carefully calculated
00:05by producers.
00:06Look no further than these shows for proof.
00:08Ink Master premiered in 2012 at the height of the show's About Tattoos craze.
00:13The premise of the show is pretty simple — a bunch of tattoo artists compete to see who's
00:17the best overall artist.
00:18While the popular show has made it through plenty of seasons and two spinoffs, it may
00:22not be exactly what it seems.
00:25For an elimination challenge, artists may be given six hours to do their work.
00:29According to Redditor CoryMatchem, a tattooed participant on the show, the time limit is
00:33actually pretty meaningless.
00:35On the show, judge Dave Navarro appears to give warnings of how much time is left, but
00:39Cory said that's all done in editing to present a false sense of urgency.
00:42That's it.
00:43Time is up.
00:44Sharpie's down.
00:45In his experience, some artists were finished hours in advance, while other artists even
00:49went overtime.
00:51Redditor TattooedMom similarly claimed in an AMA that on her season, Dave Navarro's
00:55timed warnings were all filmed at one time and edited into the show after the fact.
01:00A big part of the elimination process is choosing a handful of the worst tattoos that have to
01:04go head-to-head before the judges.
01:06In many seasons, this is, in part, accomplished with the help of the Human Canvas Jury, which
01:11is made up of the newly tattooed participants.
01:14You're here because the Human Canvas Jury determined that you had the worst tattoo of
01:18the day.
01:19CoryMatchem was on a jury twice, and he explained in his Reddit AMA it was all fake.
01:24He says they did discuss as a group what they all thought of the tattoos, but producers
01:28only included the things they had told the jury to say.
01:31Cory claims his jury actually picked an entirely different tattoo than the one that made it
01:35to air, but the show was edited to make it look otherwise.
01:38The show does a good job of showing how the judges regularly go from studio to studio
01:42checking out all the progress.
01:44But according to CoryMatchem, that's totally stage two.
01:47He claims the judges are actually barely on set at all, and that they came in for about
01:52five minutes to do the walkthrough on camera.
01:54In the end, this gets edited to look like the three judges were in the room the whole
01:57time.
01:58Redditor JDizzle, a Human Canvas on a different season, adds that some of the judges seem
02:02to make things up on the fly, not really sticking to any standards or guidelines when it comes
02:07to judging.
02:08For a show that's supposed to be focused on tattoo artistry, there's a lot of time spent
02:12on weird flash challenges that don't reflect realistic tattoo scenarios.
02:16The flash challenge can be anything from ice sculpting to burning objects with live electrical
02:21wires.
02:22Season three artist Frank McManus was required to tattoo an inmate in a prison cell with
02:26one needle and extremely poor lighting.
02:29With limited resources and equipment, he felt there was no way he could produce work to
02:32the best of his ability, nor could anyone else.
02:35As he told PennLive,
02:36"...the challenges don't have much to do with what tattooing really is."
02:40To make things worse, some challenges are physically daunting.
02:44Season one artist Heather Synn told LA Weekly that between tattooing pig corpses in a freezing
02:48meat locker and getting sunburned while working on a car, the show was more like Fear Factor
02:53than anything else.
02:55She acknowledges that she was probably too sensitive for the show, but also should have
02:58known it was never really going to be about art.
03:01One of the biggest charges against any reality show is that it's all plotted out ahead of
03:05time, and based on what past contestants have said, Ink Master is exactly that.
03:10During an NBC interview, artist Kyle Dunbar said that one of the hardest things for him
03:14to deal with on the show was watching the judges play favorites.
03:17He was praising a tattoo with noticeable flaws from an artist they liked, while simultaneously
03:22critiquing the same flaws from a different artist.
03:24Corey Matcham noted that many shots are just flat-out staged, and contestants are instructed
03:29beforehand how they need to act and react.
03:32For example, human canvases are given headphones, but the producers actually just stick them
03:36on long enough to get a shot on camera, because the headphones are made by a sponsor.
03:40Apparently, the team behind Ink Master also tried to make the show seem a little saltier
03:44than it actually was.
03:46Heather Synn told LA Weekly that a producer told the contestants that if they wanted to
03:49go to sleep, they better start talking about each other on camera, because nothing they
03:53were actually talking about was going to make it to air.
03:56The Storage Wars' myth of finding the coolest and most valuable treasures simply by opening
04:01the right locker is about as realistic as the Goonies'.
04:05Dave Hester, one of the stars of Annie's Storage Wars, not only told the world the show was
04:10fake, he laid it all down in a lawsuit he filed against the network in late 2012.
04:15According to ABC, Hester filed the lawsuit because he said Annie fired him for complaining
04:19about all the fakery.
04:20Hester alleged wrongful termination, unfair business practices, and breach of contract
04:25and made it very clear in his suit that the show is staged.
04:28The defendants would like the public to believe that the series presents a genuine and accurate
04:33portrayal of the abandoned storage locker auction process.
04:36The truth, however, is that nearly every aspect of the series is faked.
04:40There's always been speculation that Storage Wars and other reality TV programs are fake,
04:44but when a reality star actually comes forward and says so on an actual legal document, it
04:49can get kind of hard to keep suspending that disbelief.
04:52Hester's lawsuit referred to a contest and contestants, and seemed to allege that Storage
04:57Wars is a game show that's been rigged.
04:59A&E, on the other hand, said the show is protected by the First Amendment, which basically gives
05:03producers the right to run it however they like.
05:06"...the games are rigged?
05:07No!"
05:08"...the games are rigged?"
05:09"...yes!"
05:10It's kind of a strange argument that essentially, lies are protected by the First Amendment.
05:14A&E seems to basically be admitting that it's all just a ruse, but it does make a certain
05:19weird kind of sense if you also consider that scripted dramas don't have an obligation to
05:23tell the truth.
05:24Really, the only thing that separates reality television from scripted television is perception.
05:29You might suppose that reality TV is supposed to be real, but there aren't any laws that
05:34say it has to be.
05:35Hester did not initially emerge triumphant in the suit, but it wasn't because the judge
05:40decided the show was on the up-and-up.
05:42The judge actually decided that all the fakery was fine because it was, quote, "...expressive
05:47free speech."
05:48According to Screener, the judge ultimately decided that Hester wasn't specific enough
05:52with his accusations of wrongful termination and threw out the case, but he also said Hester
05:56could refile with a more specific accusation.
05:59That's what Hester did, and in July 2014, the case was finally settled for an undisclosed
06:04amount.
06:05But the government really only addressed the accusations of wrongful termination, not the
06:08fakery accusations, so reality TV can just go on doing what it's always done.
06:13Because if fake reality television is simply expressive free speech, then there really
06:17isn't any expectation of honesty between reality TV producers and their audiences, at least
06:23legally.
06:24Here's the punchline.
06:26According to International Business Times, after the lawsuit was over, A&E welcomed Hester
06:30back to the show.
06:31Hester was a popular character, and before his return, the show's ratings were on the
06:35decline.
06:36Plus, on-screen conflict is great for reality television, and you can't really sue your
06:40employer and come back to the office without some residual tension lingering around.
06:45This is America.
06:46I can say whatever I want.
06:47Beyond that, there are some more sinister reasons why keeping Hester close is probably
06:52a good thing for the network.
06:53We've already seen what happens when he's not working for A&E.
06:56Under contract, he's probably more likely to refrain from ratting out all the fakery
07:00at his first opportunity.
07:01What better way to make sure a former employee stays loyal than to make him an employee again?
07:06The show's producers are used to the accusations.
07:09The summer before Hester filed his lawsuit, executive producer Tom Beers defended the
07:14show during a panel discussion sponsored by the National Geographic Channel.
07:18When one of the panelists said something about the rumors that the containers on Storage
07:21Wars were, quote, "...salted," Beers said,
07:24"'Nope.
07:25I can honestly tell you that the stuff found in those containers are found in storage containers.'"
07:30His statement left a lot of wiggle room.
07:32If the stuff was bought at antique stores then transported to storage containers, then
07:36technically that statement would still be accurate.
07:39Beers also went on to say that they might have 20 or 30 auctions and occasionally just
07:43combine their finds into one locker so they don't have to film all the lockers individually.
07:48That's not exactly salting, but it isn't reality, either.
07:52In that same National Geographic panel, Beers also admitted to scripting interviews with
07:56cast members.
07:57It was excused as a substitute for narration, because no one likes to listen to those deadpan
08:01off-camera narrators.
08:03Beers said,
08:04"'I have to admit, there's some writing involved.
08:06We do it in Storage Wars, we do it in America's Lost Treasures.
08:09I'm so tired of narration driving story.'
08:12Stars are given about half their lines, according to Beers, so they can tell their own stories."
08:16That seems like a minor offense compared to some of the other things Storage Wars has
08:20been accused of.
08:21And anyway, it's not like anyone was actually fooled by the stellar acting chops of the
08:25Storage Wars stars.
08:26"...be able to rummage through stuff in dresses like that?"
08:29"...we can rummage through anything with anything on."
08:32"...really?"
08:33On the other hand, is it reality if it's scripted?
08:36And more importantly, is reality more important than the quality of the entertainment?
08:41According to Business Insider, Hester lobbed a whole lot of accusations at the show, and
08:45one of those was that instead of just letting the drama unfold, the network would sometimes
08:49pay for the lockers bid on by less experienced members of the cast, so the playing field
08:53would be even.
08:54While the bigger, more established storage locker moguls were using their own money to
08:58invest in lockers, the smaller businesses were depending on A&E to keep them in the
09:02game.
09:03Admittedly, it wouldn't be much of a war if one of the armies had an overwhelming advantage.
09:07Plus, if you're going to let your weaker cast members go bankrupt on bad purchases or get
09:11constantly outbid because they lack capital, you're going to have an unsustainably high
09:15turnover in your cast.
09:17So from a pragmatic standpoint, this is probably one of A&E's lesser-accused crimes.
09:22According to Business Insider, Hester's lawsuit also weirdly called out another particular
09:26act of fakery, claiming,
09:28"...nearly every aspect of the series is faked, even down to the plastic surgery that one
09:32of the female cast members underwent in order to create more sex appeal for the show."
09:37That particular accusation led fans to speculate about who went under the knife.
09:41It does seem like kind of a low blow on Hester's part.
09:43The show might be fake, and one of the women on it might have had plastic surgery, but
09:47it seems like there's plenty of ammunition against the network without having to drag
09:51other cast members into it.
09:54Before the stars of Storage Wars can find treasure among the cardboard and Rubbermaid,
09:58there first must be an auction.
10:00Hester's complaint claimed A&E would often fake the auctions themselves.
10:03The suit stated,
10:04"...while on location filming an auction, defendants also film footage of the cast members
10:08in the public bidding when no actual auction is taking place, in order to make it appear
10:13that any of the cast members is bidding at any given auction, whether or not he or she
10:16is actually bidding on the units."
10:18There's some other, lesser fakery related to the auctions.
10:21For example, the cameras follow cast members as they leave before the end of the auction,
10:25presumably to inspect the contents of the locker they just bought.
10:29But the winning bidder usually isn't allowed to see the inside of the locker until the
10:32day after the auction.
10:34According to Radar Online, the accusations of salting aren't unfounded.
10:39There's a paper trail that shows stuff was planted inside storage lockers.
10:42A source with behind-the-scenes knowledge reportedly approached the outlet, claiming,
10:46There are invoices, checks, and other documentation where the production company actually compensated
10:50cast members for supplying items that were planted in the lockers and then discovered
10:54on camera.
10:55The source explained that cast members would charge A&E a rental fee if they would put
10:59their own valuable stuff in the storage lockers to later be found.
11:02Because this was essentially a business transaction, there are receipts and invoices and checks
11:07that provide evidence of fakery.
11:09Another anonymous source speaking to NPR's On the Media in 2012 said he was acquainted
11:13with someone whose job was to purchase the antiques that the producers would then plant
11:17in the storage lockers.
11:18Sometimes, producers would even have things appraised weeks before the cast members actually
11:22discovered it on camera.
11:25The anonymous reality television employee who spoke to On the Media also had some damning
11:29things to say about the appraisers themselves.
11:31He said the show would bring items found in lockers to appraisers which were not always,
11:36or even often, actual appraisers, and knowing that ruins the excitement of the show.
11:41So, the auctions aren't always auctions, the items found in the storage lockers aren't
11:45always found in the storage lockers, and the appraisers who decide the value of the items
11:49aren't actually appraisers, and therefore probably don't know what they're talking about.
11:54Also, the stars say lines fed to them by the producers, and the whole thing is tainted
11:58by network cash.
12:01Anyone who has ever owned a storage unit can tell you what a normal storage unit actually
12:04looks like.
12:05It's full of spiders, everything is covered in dust, the boxes have all been haphazardly
12:10piled because it's really just junk that you don't want to deal with right now, and
12:13the monthly storage fee seems worth it compared to losing a weekend decluttering when you
12:18could be half-asleep on your couch watching Storage Wars.
12:21If you pay attention to the show, you know that neatly arranged storage units tend to
12:25have elevated chances of containing valuable items.
12:27And if it's true that the storage units are salted, it seems logical that they're also
12:31staged to fit the narrative.
12:34Antiques Roadshow has actual antiques and collectibles cred, and guess what?
12:38They totally think Storage Wars is fake.
12:40Antiques Roadshow executive producer Marsha Bemko said in an interview, quote,
12:44"...it's an entertainment show."
12:46She added that she thinks shows in the genre help generate interest in antiques, which
12:50is ultimately good for her show, too.
12:52She also pointed out that the appraisers on Antiques Roadshow are more likely to provide
12:56a fair assessment of the items that are featured on the show since they don't have a financial
13:00stake in the buying or selling of those items.
13:03One of the show's appraisers added,
13:04"...I think it's also important to remember that those shows are totally staged.
13:09Is it really reasonable to think that someone on Storage Locker Wars is going to find a
13:13$100,000 item that somebody left in a storage locker?
13:16The show isn't called Storage Locker Wars, but point taken."
13:21Naked and Afraid is known as one of Discovery Channel's most brutal reality shows, but you
13:25might not be surprised to learn that the reality show can be more fiction than fact.
13:30Naked and Afraid contestant Blair Braverman wrote an extensive, in-depth story about her
13:34time on the show for Outside, which included some behind-the-scenes secrets.
13:37While she and her husband were contestants, he was sent to Honduras and she endured the
13:41hostile heat of South Africa.
13:43She claimed to know beforehand where she was going and was able to study up on the dangerous
13:46animals and poisonous plants local to the region.
13:48But when it came time to film her first foray into the wilderness, as well as meeting her
13:52partner for the next three weeks, Braverman said neither happened precisely as they were
13:56depicted on the show.
13:57Her directions came from a member of the production team named Rachel, and Braverman claimed that
14:01what was expected of her was made very clear, stating,
14:04"...I had to follow the script.
14:05Two people remove their clothes, walk to a landmark, meet each other, and offer whatever
14:09joke or earnest greeting they rehearsed.
14:11They find burlap bags, which disguise their microphone transmitters, and a map."
14:14Braverman also claimed that she was required to strip down twice to make sure the cameras
14:18got all the angles they needed.
14:20In an interview with the Fayetteville Observer, Naked and Afraid contestant Hakeem Isler shared
14:24his interesting take on the show.
14:26He said that it wasn't as off-the-wall and unnecessary as it might seem, citing friends
14:30and family who had gone through natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Sandy as real-world
14:34examples when survival skills actually come in handy.
14:36His partner, Phaedra Brothers, also spoke about working with him.
14:39She told Channel Guide that when it came time for her to choose her survival tool, she opted
14:43for a fire starter while hoping her partner would select a blade.
14:46Isler did, and it was one that he had made himself, with Brothers recollecting to Channel
14:50Guide,
14:51"...The fact that my partner had invented the knife himself was impressive, because
14:53he had taken the time to research what was needed to survive.
14:56So when I first saw the tool, I was very excited about it."
14:59While Brothers thought Isler's knife was brilliant, she claimed that cameras didn't show it breaking
15:03just four days into their 21-day ordeal.
15:05But after it was modified, Brothers said that it worked much better moving forward.
15:09One question that might be at the forefront of many viewers' minds is just how do women
15:12contestants deal with their periods during the 21 days they're out in the wild?
15:16When people spoke with former contestants Stacey Lee Osorio and Alyssa Balestero, Osorio
15:20claimed,
15:21"...The show does allow us to have tampons.
15:23It's not only a sanitary hazard, but it's a safety hazard because you don't want to
15:26attract predators."
15:28"...I read somewhere that their periods attract bears.
15:31The bears can smell the menstruation!"
15:34Balestero went on to say that the issue of periods wasn't a large concern, and that cycles
15:38were often disrupted when contestants were dumped out in the middle of the wilderness.
15:41USC Fertility claims that there are a number of reasons that a regular monthly period might
15:45be skipped.
15:46Chief among those reasons include extreme exercise, situations that result in the release
15:50of stress hormones, and starvation-level diets, which can all just put a temporary stop to
15:55periods.
15:56When Fader and brothers sat down to speak with Channel Guide about her experience on
15:59Naked and Afraid, she came with allegations against the series.
16:02The episode featuring her and her partner Hakeem Isler saw her getting incredibly sick,
16:06which the series attributed to brothers drinking bad water.
16:08But brothers claimed that what was shown wasn't even close to what actually happened.
16:12According to her, the luggage she'd filled with food for the trip to the Himalayan mountains
16:15was lost, and one of the crew members made her a meal of chicken curry.
16:18Within hours, she informed the crew that she was suffering from food poisoning, vomiting,
16:22diarrhea, and dehydration.
16:23However, she was told to carry on with the schedule as planned.
16:26Brothers said that it wasn't a matter of poor editing or a misunderstanding, but blatant
16:30misrepresentation.
16:31She also claimed that when she protested, Discovery made it clear that they were sticking
16:34to their version of events, saying in her interview,
16:36They said that if I said anything other than the storyline they picked, they would delete
16:40my comments.
16:41They decide the storyline, but in that particular incident, I think they thought it would be
16:44a better, more dramatic story, but it wasn't the truth.
16:47When two of the producers of Naked and Afraid spoke with Reality Blur, they stressed the
16:51effort that's made in telling a truthful story, but they also confirmed that there
16:54are times when the crew steps in and influences events.
16:57Some of it can be completely understandable.
16:59Executive producer Steve Rankin confirmed that contestants have emergency radio equipment,
17:03walkie-talkies, and whistles.
17:04While Rankin says that one of their most important rules is to interfere as little as possible,
17:08there are times when they have to get involved — and not just when there's a medical emergency.
17:12We have a fire starter.
17:13We carry it in our field kit all the time.
17:16You can have this, you can have fire in ten minutes.
17:18When the time comes for contestants to head to the extraction point, Rankin claims, if
17:22contestants go off-track during that walk, they might just have a little nudge from the
17:26producers.
17:27Supervising producer Matilda Bittner claims that that doesn't happen often, but when it
17:30does, she'll sometimes step in for a pep talk, saying to Reality Blurred,
17:33"...if you lose your mental strength or your motivation, it's over.
17:36When they're having these lows, when they're like, I don't want to do this anymore, remind
17:40them why they're there, what they signed up for, and that they have it in them."
17:43In an extensive blog post, Naked and Afraid contestant Honora Bowen detailed her time
17:47on the show, claiming that she was told to start the anti-malaria medication Malarone
17:51before getting on a plane to Brazil.
17:53She detailed her severe side effects, which included increased sensitivity to light, mood
17:57swings, nightmares, nausea, and dizziness.
17:59She went on to say that her partner, Matt, wasn't taking Malarone, so he wasn't dealing
18:02with similar debilitating side effects.
18:04Bowen claimed that he was allowed to keep taking his prescription for Adderall, but
18:08that wasn't the case for her.
18:09Bowen went as far as to take a polygraph test, during which she said she was forbidden from
18:13taking her prescription kidney medication.
18:14Bowen added that she was told she could stop taking Malarone, as long as she was reported
18:18saying that she was stopping the medication of her own free will.
18:21She allegedly declined, writing on her blog,
18:23"...I do see an obvious gross oversight that my partner was never told to take Malarone
18:27while I was."
18:28Bowen claims that the side effects she suffered led to some of the conflicts between her and
18:32her partner.
18:34According to what Honora Bowen has written on her blog, Naked and Afraid was more scripted
18:36than audiences might think.
18:38She wrote that she had shown up with several knives and a water filter, but the production
18:41team got the final say over what she was going to bring.
18:44When Bowen was asked if she would be open to taking something that would serve as a
18:46fire starter, she wrote,
18:48"...I agreed and said that my father had recommended a magnifying glass.
18:51The producers loved this concept, so they sent a production assistant to town to find
18:55a magnifying glass."
18:56But Bowen claimed that she was regularly instructed to refer to it as her late father's magnifying
19:00glass, instead of one someone had bought at a store.
19:03"...I'm gonna get this back to her, so I just wanna grab it so she has something that she
19:08has a seminal attachment to."
19:09It was an incredibly hard lie to tell, with Bowen writing,
19:12"...I was appeasing the producers by showing them what a good actor I was.
19:15This was a very emotionally unnerving act that actually affected me very deeply, as
19:19my father's death was so recent and I was still deeply mourning."
19:23Location is everything, but are Naked and Afraid contestants really in remote locations
19:27hundreds of miles from civilization?
19:29Not according to Honora Bowen, who claimed that they were actually so close to civilization
19:32that she was kept awake every night by the sound of a DJ holding a nearby block party.
19:36But this hasn't always been the case.
19:38In an area of Alabama that was used for a 2016 episode of Naked and Afraid, a woman
19:42named Lisa Theris became lost for nearly a month in 2017.
19:47Alabama.com spoke to Naked and Afraid producer Jim Morton, whose family owned the land where
19:51the episode was recorded.
19:52The area in which Theris disappeared was about 10 miles from Morton's land, and he doubted
19:56that she couldn't have found her way back, claiming,
19:58"...Even out there in the middle of stuff, you can hear power saws, you can hear all
20:01kinds of things.
20:02You're running defenses out there in the middle of the woods, and I mean, Alabama power is
20:05all over the place."
20:07When speaking to the show's contestants, Morton added,
20:09"...They don't want to wander off, but if they wanted to, they wouldn't have to go far
20:12to find something that would lead them out."
20:14When Kim Shelton found herself in Costa Rica, there was no way she could have predicted
20:17she would get incredibly sick from eating a turtle.
20:20According to what she and her partner Shane Lewis told the Daily Mail, the issue wasn't
20:23so much with the food poisoning, but how their various medical emergencies were portrayed
20:26on the show.
20:27When Shelton was given actual food and IV drips, these weren't shown on the show.
20:31All that was featured was that she was sick and seemingly recovered.
20:34At the same time, the series depicted Lewis as exhausted and struggling, though no real
20:37reason was given.
20:38"...Are you injured?"
20:39"...I'm not injured, I'm just hurt."
20:42Lewis later revealed that he had been upset by how he was portrayed, even when he broke
20:46three toes on the fourth day of the challenge it wasn't even mentioned.
20:48He told the Daily Mail,
20:49"...When I agreed to do the show, I said to the producers that if you're going to do a
20:52real, raw show, I will do it.
20:54They said they wanted to show the reality and how difficult it was, but they gave it
20:57the Hollywood treatment."
20:59While it might seem like the naked half of Naked and Afraid would be the most intimidating
21:02parts, the prospect of going 21 days only eating what you and your partner can forage,
21:07catch, and kill can be terrifying.
21:08Still, some contestants have alleged it wasn't exactly as desperate as it appeared.
21:12Honora Bowen claimed that producers told her where to find coconuts in a nearby lagoon,
21:16which became an invaluable food source.
21:18She later wrote on her blog,
21:19"...I had to wonder how the producers knew, but it became obvious to me later as I repeatedly
21:23saw members of the crew with wet shorts."
21:25In an interview with Empty Lighthouse Magazine, Bowen said that at one point, she left camp
21:29and made her way to a medic's tent.
21:31There, she found some supplies, including emergency electrolytes, and hid them from
21:35producers back at her camp.
21:36She justified this as still being in the spirit of the show, saying,
21:39"...it is still survival, you know.
21:40What are the rules of it?"
21:42When speaking with Reality Blurred, Steve Rankin and Matilda Bittner claimed that one
21:45of the most important things they needed to do as producers was to give the occasional
21:49pep talk.
21:50Rankin explained in his interview,
21:51"...when they've had enough and they can't do it anymore and you see them break, it's
21:54tragic, it's heartbreaking.
21:55Every single one of them regrets it."
21:57But when Honora Bowen considered tapping out, she claims,
21:59My episode's producer informed me that if I consciously tapped out, the story would
22:02be completely altered and would be, and I quote, "...that toad's story."
22:06He warned me about this.
22:08Bowen wrote on her blog that as the days went on and she started to lose control over her
22:11bodily functions, she knew something was gravely wrong.
22:13"...no matter how much water I drink, we're gonna maintain constant levels of dehydration."
22:19So she faked falling unconscious, explaining,
22:21"...I pretended to be basically catatonic.
22:23I let my body go limp, because honestly, it was pretty close to that point anyways.
22:27I was pretty close to going into a coma for real."
22:29Bowen claims that when the medics were summoned and she was carried out on a stretcher, she
22:33was conscious the entire time, but played unconscious for the camera.
22:36Ultimately, Bowen had lost around 18 pounds in 16 days and suffered long-term consequences
22:41from her time on the show.
22:44Deadliest Catch is an honest look into one of the world's most dangerous professions,
22:48but how real is it, really?
22:50Turns out, there may be quite a bit of TV magic at work.
22:54Rumors about the authenticity of Deadliest Catch have been circulating for a long time.
22:58In fact, a close look at the season four premiere revealed that some events had been deliberately
23:03remixed to create a nail-biting incident that actually never happened.
23:07"...that's not good."
23:09The opener showed the Wizards struggling in a massive storm.
23:13Huge waves coupled with a leak below decks suggested that the ship was in immediate danger
23:17of sinking.
23:18But the massive waves were filmed in October, a month after the Wizards' crew scrambled
23:22to fix the leak.
23:24It was such a big deal that Discovery's president, John Ford, made an official statement about
23:28the scene, explaining,
23:29"...the Wizard was struck by a big wave, and that wave caused the leak you see in the show.
23:34The thing we didn't have on camera was the actual wave that struck the Wizard.
23:38That was shot at a separate time on the same journey.
23:41We did that for the story continuity."
23:44Ford went on to explain that the Deadliest Catch production team routinely does pickup
23:48shots to help with the storytelling, saying,
23:50Nothing is made up, and nothing needs to be made up.
23:54So what exactly are pickup shots?
23:57They're usually reshoots done after the main filming, and can be necessary for a variety
24:01of reasons.
24:03Sometimes they're used to fill in gaps in the story, and sometimes they're needed for
24:07technical reasons.
24:08For example, if a shot is out of focus, it might be reshot, and sometimes footage gets
24:13lost or corrupted.
24:15This means that audiences aren't necessarily seeing exactly what happened, but according
24:19to Discovery, that doesn't mean they're lying about anything.
24:22And pickup shots can be a big deal.
24:25In 2010, Discovery settled a lawsuit with the Hillstrand Brothers.
24:29The network claimed they'd violated their contract by refusing to participate in a planned
24:33two-hour special and failing to return to film a series of pickups.
24:37How often these filler shots are used remains unclear.
24:41In 2022, the Seattle Times spoke with Captain Jack Bunnell about the truth of what makes
24:46it on the screen.
24:47He had some pretty serious accusations to make, including that there are some deadliest
24:51catch captains who deliberately do things to make life on a crab boat more interesting
24:55for the cameras.
24:56Bunnell claimed longtime captain Jake Anderson would deliberately guide his boat into waves
25:01to make the biggest impact.
25:03This was dangerous, and Bunnell actually got hurt on board Anderson's ship.
25:07Bunnell also claimed that Anderson pushed the crew beyond their limits and ordered them
25:11to set up crab pots on the deck in a way that's not necessarily the safest.
25:15Bunnell said,
25:16"...you've got to make it exciting somehow.
25:18What we do, hauling pots 24 hours a day, is boring."
25:23Anderson denied doing any such thing, and it's important to stress just how serious
25:27accusations that a captain would deliberately put their crew at risk are.
25:31According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not only is the fishing industry
25:36inherently dangerous, but Alaskan crab fishing has among the highest instances of injuries
25:41and fatalities.
25:42"...I lost a trusted friend, and an outstanding employee, and a brother in life."
25:50Weather, darkness, brutal winds, and unpredictable seas all make for potentially deadly conditions,
25:56and suggesting that a captain makes them more dangerous by showing off at the cameras is
26:00a grave accusation.
26:02Weather is unpredictable in the most temperative places, but in the Bering Sea, things can
26:07get dicey at the drop of a hat.
26:09And while weather forecasters do their best, they're not perfect.
26:12For Deadliest Catch, capturing the weather that boats, captains, and crews are dealing
26:16with is tough.
26:18When Andy Hillstrand sat down to talk to DocWalk, they asked him if the cameras were able to
26:22really convey the feeling of bad weather.
26:25Hillstrand replied,
26:26"...a little bit.
26:27It's always worse than whatever they can capture.
26:29But they get close, though."
26:30"...on a day like today, every third wave might be that wave, and we don't want to see
26:36that wave."
26:37There's a flip side to that, and it was highlighted in a 2022 post that made the rounds on Facebook.
26:43The photo showed Deadliest Catch mainstay Sig Hansen walking out of Dutch Harbor Airport
26:48with clear blue skies overhead, while crews stand by with a fire hose to make it look
26:52like he's walking out into a torrential downpour.
26:55The photo didn't just make the rounds on social media.
26:58It circulated among other crab boat captains and crews.
27:01While some pointed to the photo as evidence that they were better off not being on the
27:05show and being asked to perform for the cameras, Discovery issued a statement saying that the
27:10moment was an exception, not the norm.
27:13The fishing boats of Deadliest Catch aren't shown sitting next to each other, so it's
27:17easy to assume they're all around the same size.
27:20They're not, and that means that there are some big things that get left out of the show.
27:24For starters, let's take the Wizard, which is one of the larger boats, at about 151 feet
27:29long.
27:30Now, compare that to the Lisa Marie.
27:32The 78-foot Lisa Marie is the smallest boat in the crab fleet, barely enough space for
27:37the five-man crew to maneuver around the ponds.
27:41Others hover in between, like the Time Bandit, which is 98 feet long.
27:45Size impacts quotas.
27:46In a nutshell, the bigger the boat, the bigger the quota.
27:50But apparently, the smaller boats were finding it more economical to sell their quotas to
27:54the bigger ones, and that was a big deal for one simple reason.
27:57The bigger the boat, the safer the crew.
28:00So why are there still crews out in the smaller boats?
28:03Watch the show, and it seems as though captains have no choice but to head out, but in reality,
28:08they could just sell their quota.
28:10The Seattle Times suggests they opt to fish because it's more lucrative to take the risks
28:14that go along with appearing on the show instead of taking the payout and letting bigger, safer
28:19boats do the heavy lifting.
28:21Just how much they pay is kept tightly under wraps.
28:24Elliot Neese was on Deadliest Catch from 2011 to 2015, and while he left the show in order
28:30to focus on his addiction issues, he was still officially the owner of the saga into
28:34at least 2019.
28:36Neese was vague about his future with the show at the time he left, but said that even
28:40if he wasn't heavily featured, the saga would be.
28:43Although he has also hinted at the fact that there was possibly more going on behind the
28:47scenes than what was shown on camera.
28:49I can't on TV, I gotta lie.
28:53Neese told Newswire,
28:54"...I have my boat out and a crew will be on it.
28:57I won't be on it and neither will my dad."
28:59He basically was on there to hang out with me.
29:01The TV captain will be on the show, Jake Anderson.
29:05The real captain won't be seen on the show.
29:08Real captain?
29:09Discovery still lists Jake Anderson as the captain of the saga as of 2023.
29:13He did, however, make additional comments about how events on Deadliest Catch might
29:17not line up with reality, saying that his personality didn't play for the camera the
29:21way some might hope.
29:23In a 2014 interview with Boating magazine, he said,
29:26I don't appease the camera, and maybe that doesn't always come off right.
29:30But remember, reality TV isn't real.
29:33It's entertainment.
29:34That's it."
29:35Reality television generally falls into the unscripted category, but according to a few
29:40captains featured on Deadliest Catch, it may not be as entirely unscripted and unplanned
29:45as it seems.
29:47Details are understandably scarce, but in 2023, boat captain Linda Greenlaw suggested
29:52that Deadliest Catch was different from her previous television experience in a big way.
29:56She told Spectrum News,
29:58"[Filming of Deadliest Catch was more scripted than S.W.O.R.D.'s Life on the Line.
30:02Hey, 19 seasons in, the show has to be more than catching crabs or not.
30:07The popularity of the show speaks for itself."
30:10Northwestern captain Sig Hansen has also hinted that filming follows a behind-the-scenes outline.
30:16In a conversation with New Zealand's The Fishing website, Hansen was asked if the barren sea
30:20weather was always as bad as it looked, or if it was edited to look that way.
30:25He replied,
30:26"'Everything that they film is accurate.
30:28But you will see a lot more of the foul weather as opposed to the calm days.
30:31I suppose that's what sells, but the bad weather is a reality.'"
30:36In 2020, the Deadliest Catch editors sat down with the Art of the Cut podcast to provide
30:41an in-depth look at what went on when filming wrapped and footage was sent to the post-production
30:45team.
30:46The finished product might look like it was pretty straightforward, but that's far from
30:50the truth, especially when it comes to sound.
30:53Video is only part of the show.
30:55Just try watching without the sound on and you'll see how important it is.
30:59But a lot of what makes it into the final show isn't real.
31:03Editor Joe Mikan explained,
31:04"'A lot of times the recorded sound is unusable due to conditions where mics fail because
31:09it gets so cold and icy out there.
31:11And in that case, we will use sound effects.'"
31:14He said that using sounds other than what was actually recorded on the boat actually
31:18creates a more accurate experience.
31:21Editor Rob Butler agreed that their library of sound effects was a powerful tool, saying,
31:25"'The atmosphere is one of the major draws to the show.
31:29It's all the creaks.
31:30It's the moans of the boat, the metal, the machinery, the waves.'"
31:35Deadliest Catch shows captains keeping track of counts and deckhands sorting through the
31:40crab that are pulled up from the depths.
31:42But what doesn't get mentioned is that some of the captains have gotten tagged with fines
31:45and penalties.
31:47In 2008, Captain Richard Quashnick was cited for having a small percentage of undersized
31:52crab, and that's not unusual.
31:54Elliot Neese was tagged by authorities twice.
31:57In 2011, a small percentage of his catch was found to be undersized.
32:01And in 2014, he entered a guilty plea to having undersized and or female crab.
32:07Also in 2014, former Captain Peter Liske was sanctioned for undersized crab.
32:13In 2016, TMZ published court documents revealing Brenna A. Captain Sean Dwyer had been fined
32:20for crab pots that weren't up to par.
32:22While those are pretty straightforward mistakes, other lawsuits have involved discovery.
32:27In 2019, Seattle P.I. reported that a jury had awarded Time Bandit deckhand David Zielinski
32:33$1.35 million following a 2013 incident in which a firework exploded in his hand.
32:40The suit claimed that not only had Andy Hillstrand given orders to shoot fireworks at the nearby
32:45Cape Caution, but that, quote, a shockingly large quantity of potentially very dangerous
32:50fireworks for use by the crew were loaded on the boat in a massive safety violation.
32:55And as for the footage?
32:57It was claimed that Discovery filmed the incident, but the footage conveniently disappeared.
33:03In 2016, Captain Keith Colburn sat down for a conversation with All Your Screens about
33:08climate change and why he was one of the few fishermen to be vocal about it.
33:12Colburn confirmed that he had been a part of climate change paddles where no one else
33:16in the industry wanted to say it, but he said,
33:19"'A few years ago, you would see maybe one large storm a year.
33:23Now you're seeing seven or nine a year.
33:25And it's because the water is warmer and it's making the weather more unpredictable.'"
33:29Mother Nature's impact through warming trends and cooling trends dictates survival rates
33:35of juvenile crab, fish, everything."
33:38For a long time, though, Deadliest Catch glossed over the impact of climate change.
33:42Finally, in 2017, Forbes described it as a guest star on the show.
33:47In a conversation with the Associated Press, executive producer R. Decker Watson Jr. shared
33:52why it had taken so long, saying,
33:54"'It's a big risk for us to discuss climate change because so many people can think it's
33:59a political issue when really it isn't,' particularly in the context of the fishing fleet."
34:04Meanwhile, research from the Journal of Biogeography confirmed that king crab are leaving long-familiar
34:10fishing grounds for cooler water, forcing fishing boats to follow them.
34:14Still, Watson suggested they weren't going to get into the why of the change, admitting,
34:18"'At the end of the day, the job of Deadliest Catch isn't to teach people.
34:23It's to keep people at the edge of their seats.'"
34:27You'd be hard-pressed to find the reality in most modern reality television shows, but
34:32one of the worst offenders may be the Discovery Channel hit Moonshiners, partly because its
34:37goings-ons are less dirty money and more squeaky clean.
34:42Making moonshine remains illegal in the United States, so how can the stars of Moonshiners
34:47break the law on national TV and stay out of jail?
34:50Well, according to local law enforcement, it's because Moonshiners is about as real
34:54as Teen Wolf.
35:02An exasperated Alcoholic Beverage Control spokeswoman informed the Associated Press
35:07that the show only features dramatizations of moonshining, adding,
35:11"'If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement
35:18would have taken action.'
35:19Doubtless, the Bureau will eventually take another look at the show just as soon as they
35:24stop those pesky Duke boys from terrorizing Hazard County."
35:28"...fighting the system like a true modern-day Robin Hood."
35:34Moonshiners is produced by reality TV behemoth Magilla Entertainment, which also makes shows
35:41like America's Worst Tattoos, Submissive Wives' Guide to Marriage, and Militia Rising.
35:46Their finest work is unquestionably King of Thrones, a show that can only be described
35:51as Pimp My Ride for toilets.
35:54"...you've got rear bidet, front bidet, butt dryer, you also have full music on here, deodorized
36:01feature."
36:02Unfortunately, Magilla's shows have been repeatedly accused of misleading viewers.
36:07For example, an episode of Lakefront Bargain Hut depicts an interior decorator named Robin
36:13Corbet choosing between three different houses.
36:16In reality, Corbet bought the winning home almost two years before the show taped.
36:21The show Southie Rules was widely panned for being obviously scripted, while the less
36:26said about Long Island Medium, the better.
36:28"...wow, you can see into the present."
36:32In other words, Magilla may not be the gold standard for keeping the reality in reality
36:36TV, or even the cubic zirconium standard.
36:39"...it's a made-up tale."
36:41The first season of Moonshiners featured special agent Jesse Tate of the Virginia Alcohol Beverage
36:47Control Bureau, although attentive viewers noted that he never interacted with the Moonshiners
36:52or gave any indication he was aware of that aspect of the show.
36:55Sure enough, the furious bureau later claimed the producers had lied about the kind of program
37:00they were making.
37:01In a statement, the bureau insisted,
37:03"...Virginia ABC agreed to participate in an informative piece that documents the history
37:08of moonshine and moonshine investigations in Virginia.
37:12Virginia ABC did not participate nor was aware of the false depiction of moonshine manufacturing,
37:18distribution, and or transportation in the filming, and would not have participated in
37:22the documentary had it known of this portrayal."
37:25Jesse Tate, for obvious reasons, did not reappear in season two.
37:29"...I don't think your manager would appreciate it if…"
37:31"...I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am."
37:33"...I beg your pardon?"
37:35"...Your ruse.
37:36Your cunning attempt to trick me."
37:38When it comes to depicting real crimes, reality show producers have to walk a fine line.
37:43Under U.S. law, witnesses to a crime aren't actually obligated to stop it from happening.
37:48"...Are you sure it's legal?"
37:51"...Of course it's legal."
37:53For example, on A&E's reality show Intervention, a camera crew followed a visibly intoxicated
37:59woman as she climbed into her car and tried to drive away.
38:02Even if she had hit someone, A&E wouldn't have been responsible, since its crew were
38:07merely observers and did not prompt the woman to drive drunk.
38:11"...Well, well, well, well, well.
38:14If it isn't the big-time, hot-shot lawyer man."
38:19However, if a show deliberately puts people at risk, then it could be liable to legal action.
38:24One man settled out of court after he was hit in the face with a shoe during a fight
38:28on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
38:30His lawyer claimed that the fight was staged, and that the producers should have taken precautions
38:35to ensure bystanders weren't maimed by flying stilettos.
38:39Big Brother also had to settle a lawsuit after accepting a housemate with a history of assault
38:44who proceeded to threaten another contestant at knifepoint.
38:47Because the stars of Moonshiners are paid to appear on the show, the producers would
38:51almost certainly be liable if anyone was injured from drinking illegal alcohol produced for
38:56the show.
38:57Since sheer insurance costs haven't shut down production, it seems likely that no actual
39:01moonshine is being sold on the Discovery Channel's dime.
39:05Although it's illegal to distill spirits in the U.S. without state and federal permits,
39:10it's not like those permits are impossible to get.
39:12With the publicity from the show, it would be super easy for the show's stars to secure
39:17backing and go legit.
39:19This is exactly what cast member Tim Smith did, partnering with the Prost Beverage Company
39:23to market Climax brand moonshine in stores nationwide.
39:28You can have the pretty bottle, and you can have my pretty face on it, but it's all about
39:32what's inside."
39:33In other words, even if the show does feature real moonshining, it's not because the cast
39:39members are desperate criminals with no other options.
39:42They're just deliberately choosing not to get the correct permits for the sake of the
39:46show.
39:47Hopefully, more reality shows embrace this model, since Extreme Makeover Home Edition
39:51would definitely be more interesting if all the work was done at night, with no planning
39:55permission.
39:57Yeah, I've made all kinds of liquor in my time.
40:00I've made the fighting kind, the loving kind, the crying kind."
40:05The show does feature unquestionably real footage of moonshine being produced by legendary
40:10bootlegger Popcorn Sutton.
40:12However, this footage wasn't filmed for the show.
40:15In fact, Sutton sadly took his own life in 2009, two years before Moonshiners first aired.
40:22Before he died, he was the subject of the acclaimed documentary This Is the Last Damn
40:26Run of Liquor I'll Ever Make.
40:27The producers merely bought the rights to the movie and used the footage in the first
40:31season of their show.
40:32At the time of his death, Sutton was awaiting trial for, among other crimes, illegally distilling
40:38spirits, a charge notably avoided by the stars of the show, who we viewers are expected to
40:43believe are doing the exact same thing.
40:46When asked how they get away with breaking the law on national TV, the stars of Moonshiners
40:52usually have a simple answer.
40:54Nobody can prove they're actually doing that.
40:56Tim Smith told Bourbon Blog that it's not enough to see someone making something that
41:01looks like moonshine.
41:02Instead, physical samples of the product you're producing have to be taken and analyzed.
41:07Meanwhile, Josh Owens told Motorcycle USA that,
41:10"...I'm not in jail because it's not evidence for one, that I'm on TV making moonshine,
41:15and for two, I could be doing anything.
41:16It could be just water."
41:18Either way, Owens argues that the cops, quote, "...got a lot bigger fish to fry than somebody
41:23just making a little bit of something to sip on," which does kind of undercut the show's
41:28daring outlaws premise.
41:30When McGilla Entertainment started working on the show in 2010, executives thought that
41:34focusing on illicit moonshiners would be legally risky, probably because, well, it is.
41:40Instead, they planned to feature licensed moonshiners going legit.
41:45Unfortunately, that turned out to be incredibly boring.
41:48As producer Matt Ostrom told author Jamie Joyce,
41:50A legal distillery is not the most compelling thing.
41:53It's not like people on boats hunting alligators or fighting giant seas.
41:58It's literally water boils.
42:00As a result, McGilla went back to the outlaw concept.
42:03Although the producers insist that the finished show does depict illegal moonshining, their
42:08legal worries presumably didn't just vanish, suggesting that the criminal activity might
42:13not be all that it appears.
42:15Ultimately, the doubt may be half the fun.
42:17Maybe it's real, and probably it's not.
42:19Either way, it's definitely entertaining.
42:21How we gonna explain that to the police?
42:23We out here with cotton candy.
42:25You got moonshine, and you got cotton candy.
42:27Did you go rob the street fair?