If you watch “Catfish”, you’re fed the idea that the victims are the ones that contact the producers, suspecting that they might be getting catfished, and it’s the hosts who are the truth-seeking saviors. But in reality, it’s the catfisher, not the victim, who reaches out to the producers.
The catfisher is then investigated, signs some release forms, and must agree to the fact that their story would be modified to fit the necessary storyline. So, whenever the catfisher acts surprised when he or she is discovered, well… they’re just doing what they agreed to do and simply playing their role.
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
The times the Kardashians staged drama for their hit show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians", are literally too many to keep up with. Even the house! Yes, Kris Jenner’s Meditteranean-style family home isn’t really where these Hollywood empresses reside. The house was actually empty at the time of filming and was just simply used as a stand-in home until the property was sold in 2018.
Many of the arguments that pop up between the sisters are scripted and even some of their Twitter rants are staged for ratings. Even love! People behind the scenes have reported that at least two of the marriage proposals on the show were staged. It’s literally all an act!
The Apprentice
Long before he became president, "The Apprentice" put businessman and real estate tycoon, Donald Trump, back into the public eye. The show was a hit, but years later many behind-the-scenes tales have spread, making it clear that strategic editing played a role in the show’s successful run. Often, Trump’s stated reasons for “firing” contestants made no sense to the production team, so the editors would then have to come in and carefully splice footage together to make his sporadic dismissals make sense.
The boardroom, the suitcase, and the taxi ride... all fake too. In reality, the dismissed contestants simply went to another part of the tower and wait around with others who’d been fired previously.
Celebrity Big Brother
In the summer of 2016 millions of viewers watched the live feed of the "Celebrity Big Brother" and were stunned to witness a staged set-up that had accidentally revealed itself on-air. Big Brother was heard wishing all housemates goodnight as the lights went out, and after the housemates, all replied shouting 'goodnight', it appeared as if they had all gone to sleep. However, just seconds later, the lights came back on and everyone got out of bed again, with ex-EastEnders star Ricky Norwood heard saying: "Great take, guys, great take."
If that wasn't enough, Big Brother continued to explain to the housemates that they had some busy days ahead and advised them to get a good night's sleep. Viewers were furious, as this is pure evidence that producers set up certain scenarios. Responding to the outrage, Channel 5 made the following statement: "Footage shown on the live feed involved Big Brother alerting housemates of a long final day ahead. The show is entirely authentic and the housemates are not scripted."
Chopped
Food Network's loved show, "Chopped", puts top chefs up against one another in a timed culinary battle. While the timed cooking challenges aspect is real, other things are, unfortunately, not as they seem. According to sources, producers would purposely short-staple kitchen ingredients, like butter, to create tension and drama between the chefs, although they reportedly stopped doing this. And the moment in the show when the contestants discover the “secret” ingredients and then they all run to the pantries to get ingredients for their dish? Well in actuality, the chefs have plenty of time prior to filming to look through the pantry and begin to think of different dishes they can make.
And when it comes to the “best dish winning” in each round, it's also not 100% real. While the chefs do in fact taste and judge the food immediately after preparation, they don’t necessarily eliminate the worst dish. It's been reported that if a particular chef’s story is particularly compelling, they’ll leave them on the show hoping to garner some sympathy from viewers.