The comeback of reality shows: what role do social networks play in capturing new generations? | Peruvian Television | Reality Shows | Home of the Famous | Best Chef | Social Networks | Stories EC | ARE

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You can search online for videos recording what happened in homes and on the streets after 14 celebrities were isolated and monitored 24/7 for 71 days to determine the first place in the competition. Not a small fact: second place goes to Peruvian Nicola Porcella, who has become one of the most beloved celebrities there today. Therefore, all the statistics are higher than imagined: rating on the open signal (broadcast the best moments of the week at home and eliminating participants), subscriptions to the streaming platform VIX (broadcast all the time, coexistence ), views on the Internet and interactions on social networks. A great event.

While it was happening in the Northern Hemisphere, rumor has it that similar programs are already planned here in Peru. “Magali’s House”, actually airs. Along with this, a reality show that took over the nights became a success in a different way: “The Great Famous Chef”. Launched by Latin Signal, it is already in its third season, in which public figures who stand out in various fields compete to prepare the best dishes. Two decades after the “Big Brother” franchises, created in 1999 by Jan de Mol in the Netherlands, have spread around the world and catapulted local versions to stardom, one wonders what’s driving the return of these kinds of spaces in 2023. At least in the region. That’s what journalists and scholars of communications, anthropology, and popular culture events have told us.

Network expansion

The first reason is undeniable: the perception that ‘reality shows’ and social networks have. Unlike at the turn of the century, today the power of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok is overwhelming. When shows air on television, there is a whole strategy on the part of their producers to bombard the internet with videos, ‘reels’, memes and everything one can imagine. But the public does the same in a completely natural way, which enhances the discussion around the audiovisual sector.

Claudia Benacini, a researcher at the University of La Salle (Mexico City), notes that ‘reality shows’ have been able to take advantage of the networks’ reach, informing people before, during and after exchanges. He tells Somos: “The networks have socialized the phenomenon. A lot of people, in fact, only follow the shows in snippets on YouTube or TikTok. It’s clear here how it inspired ‘La Casa’, creating this movement and transcending the barriers of TV.

Minutes of Fame

Journalist Patricia Salinas, meanwhile, configures a second reason related to the people who are part of the most successful shows: celebrities. “Watching celebrities in extraordinary situations is always very interesting, but, at the same time, for other human beings, everyday. In reality shows, they show themselves as vulnerable. They strive, suffer, are criticized or respected. They laugh, make mistakes, cry or succeed. They are humane. ” points out the television critic.To this he adds, wisely, characters with a strong following like ‘TikTokers’ or ‘YouTubers’ have been invited to participate in television propositions.

Alexander Huerta Mercado, an anthropologist at PUCP, says this new vitality of ‘reality shows’ expects viewers to experience reality in a different, colorful and hopeful way. “Because we see cohabitation and everyday life ‘enacted’ humorously and in full color on the screen that we have dreamed about since childhood. So we feel that our reality is painted there, and it can be a kind of beautiful and happy scene, far from the suffocating routine, the fear that the news and the streets make us feel.

It’s worth enjoying if that’s the style of entertainment you like, seeing how long the luck of the genre lasts today. For now, yes, pure ‘like’. //