Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
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In Cue the Sun!, Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum presents a rollicking saga of reality television, offering an ambitious cultural history of America’s most influential and divisive artistic phenomenon. Written with the verve of a storyteller, the skepticism of a journalist, the astuteness of a critic, and the loving eye of a fan, this deeply reported account explores the rise of “dirty documentary” from its contentious radio roots to the ascent of Donald Trump.
Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, told through the lively voices of its creators. She introduces reality TV's trickster pioneers, such as the icy Allen Funt and shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley; cynical Bachelor ringmaster Mike Fleiss; and visionaries Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim of The Real World. The narrative is enriched with insights from dozens of stars from An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor.
In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded with Survivor at the turn of the millennium. She reveals the tools of the trade, like the deceptive Frankenbite, and the genre’s darker tales of exploitation. Yet, Cue the Sun! also celebrates the peculiar power of reality TV—a jolt of raw emotion that scripted shows can't replicate.
Nussbaum delves into intriguing stories: what happened to the first reality stars, the Louds, and why they won’t speak to their filmmakers; the serial killer who appeared on The Dating Game; the queer roots of Bravo; and the dark truths behind The Apprentice. A shrewd observer who adores television, Nussbaum offers the first substantive history of the genre that, for better or worse, has shaped America today. ❤️📚❤️
Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, told through the lively voices of its creators. She introduces reality TV's trickster pioneers, such as the icy Allen Funt and shambolic Chuck Barris; Cops auteur John Langley; cynical Bachelor ringmaster Mike Fleiss; and visionaries Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim of The Real World. The narrative is enriched with insights from dozens of stars from An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor.
In sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded with Survivor at the turn of the millennium. She reveals the tools of the trade, like the deceptive Frankenbite, and the genre’s darker tales of exploitation. Yet, Cue the Sun! also celebrates the peculiar power of reality TV—a jolt of raw emotion that scripted shows can't replicate.
Nussbaum delves into intriguing stories: what happened to the first reality stars, the Louds, and why they won’t speak to their filmmakers; the serial killer who appeared on The Dating Game; the queer roots of Bravo; and the dark truths behind The Apprentice. A shrewd observer who adores television, Nussbaum offers the first substantive history of the genre that, for better or worse, has shaped America today. ❤️📚❤️
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