That had always been the dark, resonant paradox of the reality genre: The less ethical a show was, the more authentic the footage it captured. The more trusting (or drunk or exhausted) the participants were, the more likely it was that they’d ultimately crack, releasing a flood of feeling that couldn’t be faked. This was most obvious on prank shows back to Candid Camera, but if you looked at things from a certain angle, all reality shows looked like prank shows.
