At one point, there was no limit to what networks would do to create the next great reality show that would bring them viewership. MTV and VH1 were notorious for this, creating shows like Room Raiders, Flavor of Love, and Next. Some ideas were so insane that if they were pitched in the 2020s, they’d never see the light of day.

In January of 2005 Fox premiered Who’s Your Daddy? a series that would take an adopted person and present them with several men that could be their biological father. Amongst a sea of paid actors was the person’s real relative. The contestant’s job was to suss him out and win $100,000.

If they failed to, the imposter would win the cash prize instead.

Intense Backlash got this Fox show canned

It’s a sensitive topic that really shouldn’t be reduced to reality television, but that was the early aughts for ya. The show immediately drew backlash from various groups, including Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (National Center on Adoption and Permanency).

“The very idea of taking such a deeply personal, complex situation and turning it into a money-grubbing game show is perverse, destructive and insensitive to others,” Pertman penned in a scathing letter to Fox.

The immediate backlash led Fox to canceling it after just one episode. However, the tasteless exploitation of an individual trying to find her birth parents was already done.

While Fox never issued a formal apology, the show’s executive producers—Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey—offered an explanation in a 2005 interview. “I can understand the reservations,” said Healey. “But the people came to it with great excitement and a willingness to play the game. It’s a fun and healthy way to get to know this person that they’ve never met.”

They both emphasized that they didn’t surprise anyone with the concept, and they worked with a company that specializes in helping adopted children find their biological parents.

It wasn’t Fox’s first foray into the tasteless side of television, either. They aired The Swan, where contestants were “beautified” with cosmetic surgery, and The Littlest Groom, a play on The Bachelor featuring a little person. While looking back on it is tough, it’s important to see how much reality television has evolved.

The post 21 Years Ago, This Reality Show Was So Controversial It Was Canceled After One Episode appeared first on VICE.

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MTV’s The Hills is one of the most unforgettable reality shows of the early aughts. A bunch of people in their mid-20s trying to figure it all out (and eventually having that mid-20s crash out), the cinematic soap opera-style editing; it’s peak millennial culture.

Initially centering around Laguna Beach standout Lauren Conrad and her Hollywood friends and frenemies, it followed the group around the city of angels. The Hills exploded in popularity, averaging over 2 million viewers per episode. During the height of Conrad’s ongoing feud with Heidi Montag, the show peaked at over 4 million viewers.

However, as the seasons went on, fans began to question what was real and what wasn’t. By the series finale, The Hills cast and crew decided to play into the long-standing rumors about the show. The rest wasn’t unwritten after all…

Reliving ‘The Hills’ Meta Ending 15 Years Later

Conrad departed The Hills in Season 5, making Kristin Cavallari the new standout. At the time, she was “dating” Brody Jenner, but the finale brought everything fans thought they knew into question. The group is ready to move on to their next stage of life. Lo and Scott move in together, Audrina has decided to buy a gorgeous beachfront property, Jenner is doing the usual nepo baby bachelor things.

As for Cavallari… she’s moving to Europe? As she heads to the airport after saying goodbye to her on-again-off-again fling, Jenner, the camera pans to show they’re on a studio set. The backdrop of the Hollywood sign is just a screen.

”The ending was genius,” Cavallari admitted in a recent episode of her podcast, Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari. “This ending to me is one of the cooler endings to any show.”

Cavallari acknowledges why it was very controversial at the time, particularly for fans who bought into the show.

“It was mixed feelings on that ending, and I get that. For those hard fans who really also thought everything was real, I can get why that kind of rocked your world,” she said. “I think for me, not only did I think it was so creative, but I also think it was nice for me as someone who really felt like I was acting in a lot of ways or doing improv. I think for me it was nice to be like, ‘thank you,’ because this sort of tips our hat at the fact that not everything was real.”

The post How The ‘Hills’ Finale Pulled Back the Curtain on Reality TV’s Fakest Era appeared first on VICE.

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Reality television feels so orchestrated now—everyone is purposefully trying to create a viral moment what will sky rocket their careers. It’s completely inauthentic. In the early 2000s, that was far from the case. The unscripted programs didn’t feel like the cast were reading from a script or having a producer tell them what to do. American Idol was arguably the biggest reality competition show in 2006, creating superstars like Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood.

However, one audition sticks out for all the wrong reasons that it’s unbelievable how American Idol let it happen.

The American Idol stalker

Producers would often pick the worst singers to perform in front of the judges. This led to them being publicly embarrassed on national television; but this audition was different. Paula Goodspeed was a superfan of judge Paula Abdul. However, it went far beyond liking her music or being a tribute act. Immediately when she stepped into the room, Abdul looked terrified (we later learn Goodspeed had allegedly been stalking Abdul for over a decade). Abdul was forced to sit through her rendition of “Proud Mary,” to which she received three “no’s” and was eliminated.

But her infatuation with the star didn’t stop there. Despite threats of police involvement, she continues. In November of 2008, Goodspeed tragically took her life in front of Abdul’s home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. The fact that her insecurities were picked apart on a big stage and exploited to the public should’ve never happened. Furthermore, American Idol producers should’ve done more to protect their celebrity judges.

Abdul recalled the situation in an interview with Barbara Walters in 2008. “She came to the audition. I said, ‘This girl is a stalker of mine. Please do not let her in.’ Everyone knew. I was shaking. Abdul also claims producers insisted Goodspeed go through with the audition because it would “be fun for them to cause me stress.” She also claimed that wasn’t the only audition Goodspeed showed up to.

At the time, she was still under contract with American Idol, but she officially parted ways with the show in 2009.

The post The Dark ‘American Idol’ Audition Paula Abdul Said Should Never Have Happened appeared first on VICE.

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