See Emily Nussbaum's Cue the Sun! for a history of reality television. It's older than you think (antecdants to 1940s radio), and has often been driven by budgetary considerations and writer work actions.

NPR review: <https://www.npr.org/2024/06/25/nx-s1-5017620/book-review-cue...>

LARB review: <https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/to-be-real-on-emily-nuss...>