Bigger Isn’t Always Better: How To Pick The Right Reality Show For You

My friend wanted to go on a weight loss reality TV show. She didn’t want to get famous, write a book, or snag a spin off: she wanted to lose weight. So instead of applying for the mother of all chub chiseling shows, the behemoth CBS show The Biggest Loser, she found a new, smaller Discovery Channel show that was casting, which at the time wasn’t as flashy and popular.

You may think that’s  a bad thing. Newp! In fact, it’s a great thing. Why? It was EASIER TO GET ON. How?? Because it received FAR fewer applications… and thus my pal’s chances were greatly increased. [Full disclosure: I did help out with her application and her submission video, too.] And guess what! She was cast on the show – and ended up losing 80 pounds!

My point is this: if you’re not as picky about which reality show you want to go on, you might be better off having your pick of the litter from shows which aren’t the most popular of their kind.

The Less Picky You Are, The More Likely You’ll Get Picked

For smaller shows like the one my friend starred on, the casting process is typically less intense. These types of shows are usually cable shows, where they don’t have the big network backed budget to fly potential contestants to L.A. for finals. If you opt for one of these, you’ll typically apply in the same way, with an application and a video, and play the waiting game to get called. But instead of a round of semi-finals and finals, you might only have to do one round of interviews to make the show – and sometimes that can be done with just a phone call, Skype or through a second audition video. Then, they’ll fly you out, or come to you – depending on the type of show.

You can still become wildly famous on these types of shows (New York from Flava of Love comes to mind. As does Snooki… ever heard of her? Jersey Shore IS a basic cable show, after all). And you can still get what you want out of them – big time. When I went on How Do I Look?, I was treated like a star for a week during filming and given thousands of bucks worth of free stuff. I got a new hairstyle, a complete makeover and tons of clothes and make-up. Don’t think you need to go for the Survivor’s, Bachelor/ette’s, and Big Brother’s of the world to milk your 15 minutes. (Unless you have a DIE HARD reason to do so, that is!)

So it’s up to you: go big or go small. Both types of reality shows can lead to fame and fortune.

But remember – even if you go big and don’t make the show, there is no need to get discouraged. There are so many other shows to go for, and there are new ones coming out every season.  You might have to be more creative in where you look for casting notices and be willing not to get as much exposure if you get cast.

But if your goal in going on a reality show is to get something tangible – like a makeover, new kitchen, well-behaved dog, etc. – skip the bigger network shows and hit up some basic cable ones.