How is a scripted "Reality" show produced?

Real people following real scripts.

And there you have; ‘reality’.

:D

The producer and director start with an idea about what they want to show the audience. They will discuss it in general terms with the actors they choose to be on the show. The main place where the “scripting” takes place is in choosing which of the hours and hours of filming they have will end up being shown.

If there are certain elements the director thinks are missing, he will mention it to the actors. I doubt most of the shows have actual word for word scripts that the actors are expected to follow, but they definitely know what the director wants.

The people on the show are usually chosen from the general population, based on how well they follow directions and how photogenic they are. The are required to join the actors guild because of the union regulations.

Survivor and Big Brother and Real Life have perfected the art of faking segments. The history of this goes all the way back to Alan Funt’s Candid Camera, which was one of the first “reality” shows to re-enact scenes and portray them as real. The game shows of the 1950s did this of course, too.

It depends on the Network and “type” of reality show. Different Networks have diff rules on how much “scripting” / “dramatization” that producers can do. As a matter of fact, it’s written into the insurance that a Network takes out on a program. “Documentary” versus “Competition Reality” versus “Scripted Reality,” etc.

On a show like “Little People, Big World” producers are more likely to film a LOT of footage for an episode and cut down the story from there than to create fake scenes. They’ll shoot weeks even for one storyline. They may help that storyline along by asking leading questions, lining up new interviewees, etc. But these people are not paid actors.

On a series such as “Family Jewels” you have real people (as real as celebrity families can get, just remember that no one is likely to be a paid actor who auditioned for the part) in semi-real situations. Some of these situations – say, a school dance or doctors office – are true. Characters will be going through this at that time but it’s scheduled / scripted: “Ok, let’s go dress shopping! what if dad doesn’t like the dress? What if the date doesn’t show?”

So it’s pretty across the board, I could go on with more examples but you get the idea.