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.
Catfish
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.
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."
MasterChef (USA)
You'd think a show set in a kitchen wouldn't need any extra heat behind the scenes. Wrong! Unlike the original U.K. "MasterChef", the American version is infamously full of staged and scripted scenarios. A former contestant on the show, Ben Starr, revealed that before joining, he had to agree to potentially being “fictionalized,” which would sometimes include humiliating portrayals of him and other contestants that weren't true.
Starr said that producers also faked dialogues, to the point of editing bits of conversations to make it seem like a contestant said things they never did. But if you love the premise of the show, just not with all the fakery, then "MasterChef Australia" is supposed to be much more real and focuses more on the cooking aspect of the show rather than the drama.
Basketball Wives
The cast of "Basketball Wives" are in fact wives of some famous NBA basketball players, but that's about as real as this show gets. Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife, Shaunie, stars and produces the show. Other cast members include Tasha Marbury, wife of former NBA star Stephon Marbury, and Doug Christie’s wife, Jackie Christie.
According to former cast member Matt Barnes, the show is very much scripted and staged. Barnes has even gone as far as saying that he regrets that he ever accepted to be on the show. His claims of fakery were later confirmed by another star, Tanya Young, who said producers would constantly try to ramp up drama behind the scenes hoping that it would spill over onto the show.