"Big Brother" numbers among those long-running (unreal) reality shows that keep rolling along on their own momentum long after the thrills have gone. Originally adapted from a popular Dutch series, "Big Brother" puts thirteen carefully chosen strangers in a house heavily wired with cameras and microphones, capturing every word, gesture, and nuance. The producers challenge their "guests" to complete a series of physical and mental "stunts," periodically polling their feelings about who among them should go home. The one guest who stays longest goes home with half-a-million American dollars. Although "Big Brother's" novelty has faded, even the most stony-hearted and cynical critics must accord the superannuated series its props: When an online streaming service attempted a similarly contrived "residential situation," capitalizing on the industry's newest, most sophisticated audio and video technology, it faded to black in less than a month. At the other end of the scale, when MTV adapted "Big Brother's" premise for use along the New Jersey coastline, it became a cultural phenomenon, and "Snooki" became a household word. Clearly, it's not the premise but the chemistry that determines the show's fate. Therefore, credit "Big Brother" with good chemistry and agree to roll along with the momentum.

"Fixer Upper" was an American home renovation TV show that aired on HGTV from 2013 to 2018. The show was hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines, a married couple who renovated and redesigned homes for clients in Waco, Texas. The couple also ran a home decor and renovation business called Magnolia, which was featured on the show.

Imported in USA from Great Britain, "Undercover Boss TV show" works on a simple, delectably ironic premise: For a week, the CEO of a major American company goes into stealth mode, impersonating a brand new employee at his own company. The bigger the company, the more the premise works, because most rank-and-file workers could not distinguish between photos of their CEOs and headshots of Carl Rove. CEOs typically spend an entire week going from one entry-level position to another. They go in equipped with plausible back-stories and perfectly plausible explanations for the presence of a film crew; the best of them act just as surprised to see the cameras as all of their co-workers. If the work-a-day grind fails to serve-up "organic" drama, the producers stage challenging situations to develop both the action and the bond between boss and worker. At the end of the undercover week, employees learn "the new guy's" true identity, and the boss rewards employees who have done well or refers struggling workers for more training.

By the time the Bravo series "Real Housewives of New Jersey" drew to a close during the spring of 2010, it had generated enough buzz, controversy, and water-cooler discussion to make devoted viewers forget the producers' original intention: They had intended this installment of "The Real Housewives" franchise to satirize the characters and lifestyle represented in cable hit "The Sopranos." As "The Real Housewives of Orange County" were supposed to mimic ABC's "Desperate Housewives," so the Jersey Girls were groomed to look, sound, and spend like real-life equivalents of Carmella Soprano. The New York Times summed-up, "[They are] loud, nasal, nouveau-riche wives who raise spoiled children and spend their husbands' money in vast marble and onyx starter palaces in Franklin Lakes, N.J. They boast about everything, including how soon they qualified for the black American Express card. As Danielle Staub puts it, "˜I actually got mine before Madonna did'." They even had the pedigree to support the role: Albert Manzo, husband of mater familia Caroline Manzo, is the son of Albert "Tiny" Manzo, whose body"”all 350 pounds of it"”was discovered in the trunk of his Lincoln Continental; in 1983, police described the body as "perforated" with machine gun bullets.

"The Carbonaro Effect" is a TV show where Michael Carbonaro, a magician, pulls off incredible magic tricks on unsuspecting people. The show is unique because the magic happens in everyday situations and locations, making it seem like a hidden camera show. However, unlike most prank shows, Carbonaro's pranks are not mean-spirited and are designed to entertain rather than embarrass or scare people.

Professional decorator Jeff Lewis and his assistants are in the house "flipping" business. That is they buy them up cheaply and sell for a profit. Along the way there are always complications involved with refurbishing houses that have been neglected or even abandoned, thanks especially to the real estate crash in recent years. The stressful environment of flipping houses makes Lewis decide to concentrate more on home design and his consulting business as a means of income. We, the viewing audience, follow him and his helpers along as they work out the details and improve on each home they take on as a project now based in the Los Angeles, California area. Among the homes Jeff Lewis takes on as home improvement projects are some worth well over a million dollars so this is no small time business. Jenni Pulos, Ryan Brown, Chris Elwood, and Chris Keslar are part of his crew and prove to be dedicated workers who Lewis finds he can't do without. The program makes for some interesting and inspiring viewing that makes many of us want to head for the Home Depot and begin our own restoration in our own homes.