History Main / TrumanShowPlot

* ''Literature/{{Vicarious}}'': The most popular VR show in [[FloodedFutureWorld High Earth]] is ''Ignis: Live'', focused on the lives of the inhabitants of a [[GenerationShips generation ship]] called the ''Ignis''. The inhabitants themselves thing that Earth is gone, and they're the last humans on their way to Tau Ceti. In fact, the ship is circling Earth and has been for the past 50 years. The original inhabitants were 10,000 volunteers from among the "delisted" (those cast out from High Earth for various transgressions), whose memories were altered using brain infusers. Everything is entirely unscripted. One of the two main characters is Asher Reinhart, the Chief Director of Content for ''Ignis: Live''. The other is Mission-14130, an inhabitant of the ''Ignis'', whom Asher made a star by focusing the show largely on her.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'', it's eventually revealed that the robot wasp cameras [[spoiler:are filming everyone so Kang and Kodos can turn Springfield into an intergalactic reality show.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'' reveals that [[spoiler:the entire '''planet Earth''' is one of these, set up by Kang and Kodos.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'' takes it a step further when [[spoiler:God reveals that the Simpsons world is a mini-game of the videogame 'Earth', which he never stops playing.]]
** One of [[ComicBook/TheSimpsons the comics]] pays a more direct tribute to ''The Truman Show'' when a pair of executives realize that Homer Simpson's everyday behavior is comedy gold. It unravels when he learns the truth, only to begin self-consciously playing along and 'trying' to act stupid, which he is much worse at. They lament that they spent all that money installing thousands of camera's all throughout the town, when they could have captured Homer's whole life with about six.

->''"1.7 billion were there for his birth. 220 countries tuned in for his first step. The world stood still for that stolen kiss. And as he grew, so did the technology. An entire human life recorded on an intricate network of hidden cameras and broadcasted live and unedited 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to an audience around the globe. Coming to you now from Seahaven Island, enclosed in the largest studio ever constructed and, along with the Great Wall of China, one of the only two man-made structures visible from space, now in its thirtieth great year ... it's '''[[TitleDrop The Truman Show!]]'''"''

* ''Anime/Megazone23'' has this as its main plot, albeit more in common with ''Film/TheMatrix''
* ''Manga/AoiHouse'' turns out to be one of these.

* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' hints at this, while not implicitly saying anything.
* Played for laughs and drama in ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove''.

* ''Film/{{Gamer}}'' features a variation. Ken Castle, reveals in an interview why his latest creation "Slayers" is popular because millions of people like watching several dozen dead row inmates, controlled via brain implants, pitted against each other in massive guns battle (basically a [[FirstPersonShooter FPS]] multiplayer match using real humans), and anyone who can survive thirty matches gets an unconditional pardon. "Slayers" also features [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs']], criminals serving time for minor offenses fitted with brain implants that force them to perform an activity in a loop, if they don't get killed in the crossfire, they're free to go.
** Castle also talks about his earlier success, "Society," in which a performer would be fitted with brain implants and controlled by a player to act out whatever demented fantasy they're thinking of (basically ''VideoGame/TheSims'' but with actual humans).

* ''Film/TheYearOfTheSexOlympics'': After "The Sex Olympics" get disappointing ratings, a family is taken to a remote Scottish island and then murdered in "The Live Life Show!".
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Special Service", John Selig learns that the last five years of his life have been filmed and shown on television. While shaving one morning, he accidentally changes the alignment of his bathroom mirror and discovers that there is a camera behind it. Almost immediately, a friendly repairman named Archie appears to fix the problem and tries to assure John that there is nothing out of the ordinary. After several minutes, however, he admits to John that his life is the subject of a hit TV show on cable and there are cameras in every room of his house, his workplace and elsewhere. When he is brought to meet the JSTV executive Arthur Spence, he is shocked to discover that his wife Leslie is an actress who was hired to play his love interest. As John has discovered that he is being filmed, the TV show is cancelled. However, Archie suggests that JSTV may only have pretended to remove all of the cameras and the show is continuing without John's knowledge.

->''"1.7 billion were there for his birth. 220 countries tuned in for his first step. The world stood still for that stolen kiss. And as he grew, so did the technology. An entire human life recorded on an intricate network of hidden cameras and broadcasted live and unedited 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to an audience around the globe. Coming to you now from Seahaven Island, enclosed in the largest studio ever constructed and, along with the Great Wall of China, one of the only two man-made structures visible from space, now in its thirtieth great year ... it's The Truman Show!"''

* ''American Arcadia'': The games protagonist Trevor is an everyman who lives in a seemingly perfect futuristic utopian town of Arcadia where most other residents are TheBeautifulElite. Not only does it turn out to be one of these but unpopular characters like Trevor are [[ReleasedToElsewhere "retired"]] to maintain the shows ratings.

* A B-plot in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' involes the Smiths learning that Al Tuttle's life is being broadcast to Korea, through cameras snuck in under the pretense of a home renovation, because his pathetic life is immensely popular there. Naturally Hayley, Steve, Roger and Klaus start insinuating themselves into Tuttle's life in an attempt to get on TV, which almost ruins the show. It's saved when they abandon him and his crying breakdown immediately wins the viewers back.

* Such was the case for a Japanese comedian named Tomoaki Hamatsu in 1998. He accepted a challenge by a comedy show to lose all of his belongings and attempt to make 1 million yen from prizes earned through write-in sweepstakes while being cut away from human contact. Unknowlingly, his daily life during this time was livestreamed by the comedy show 24/7 online. Think that he was scot free after obtaining the one million yen and earning a trip to South Korea? [[YankTheDogsChain Nope.]] Again stripped of his winnings and told to earn enough yen from prizes ''in Korea'' to obtain a ticket back to Japan ([[MovingTheGoalposts later moved to getting enough for a business class, then a first class ticket]]). Think that was enough? [[ButWaitTheresMore Not at all]]. As a last bit of mockery, he would be led onto the main stage of the show unknowingly, and while he was sure that he was stuck in the same situation as before [[BirthdaySuitSurpriseParty the walls give way to him naked in front of hundreds of audience members]]. This all occured over the span of ''15 months''.

* ''Anime/{{Megazone 23}}'' has this as its main plot, albeit more in common with ''Film/TheMatrix''

** Homer's murder trial in "The Frying Game" turns out to be an elaborate reality TV hoax, which is only revealed when the switch is pulled on the electric chair.

** One of the comics paid a more direct tribute to ''The Truman Show'' when a pair of executives realize that Homer Simpson's everyday behavior is comedy gold. It unravels when he learns the truth, only to begin self-consciously playing along and 'trying' to act stupid, which he is much worse at.
*** They lament that they spent all that money installing thousands of camera's all throughout the town, when they could have captured Homer's whole life with about six.
** The episode "To Surveil, With Love" ends with the revelation that all of the surveillance cameras set up around Springfield (ostensibly to keep the peace) were broadcasting the Springfieldianites' behaviour as a reality TV show in Britain.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Cancelled" reveals that [[spoiler:the entire planet Earth is one of these, set up by aliens. Every different species on Earth, including different races of humans, actually originated from different planets and were all thrown onto the same planet to see what would happen. When the inhabitants of Earth discover this, they start fame-whoring it up and end up getting the show cancelled because of it ("cancelled" in this case meaning the total destruction of Earth). Eventually the boys were able to blackmail the producers of the show to simply wipe everyone's memories instead]]. Originally the intended 100th episode, [[spoiler:it was a callback to the first episode and explains why Cartman had an anal probe to begin with (it was one of many anal probes that transmit recorded footage back to the aliens)]]. Incidentally, [[spoiler:this episode was produced during ''Hit & Run'''s production, but aired about six months before the game came out]].
** In "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers" the whole plot of the episode turns out to be [[spoiler:a hidden camera prank television show called ''Yes, I Was Scared!''.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' is a variant. The titular dog is the star of the ''Bolt'' TV show, where he plays a superpowered dog who protects his owner, Penny, against the evil Dr. Calico. He's spent his entire life having been led to believe he really has superpowers as EnforcedMethodActing by the show's PrimaDonnaDirector, even when he isn't filmed. A sizeable portion of the film explores him learning how to be a 'real' dog.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' is a variant; the film is about a dog named Bolt who is the star of a TV show about a superpowered dog named Bolt. He's led to believe he really has superpowers as EnforcedMethodActing by the show's PrimaDonnaDirector to encourage Bolt to actively protect Penny, the girl he is meant to protect. For most of the film, Bolt ''isn't'' being filmed, but because he ''believes'' he's a superhero he still acts accordingly, with a sizeable portion of the film exploring him learning how to be a 'real' dog.

* In ''LightNovel/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' the protagonist realizes after a while that a world based on RPG mechanics isn't meant to be fun for her; it's meant to be fun for the gods watching her. [[spoiler:This is likely an incomplete memory given to her by D, who indeed built the System for the sole purpose of amusing herself]].

** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Again, it's no surprise that the killing game is being broadcast, but you probably wouldn't expect that [[spoiler:it is a literal reality TV show based off the popular ''Danganronpa'' franchise, currently in its 53rd season (or at least its 50th, since the show would had to have started on ''Danganronpa 4'' at the earliest), and all of the students ''voluntarily signed up for it'', happily consenting to have their [[IdentityAmnesia minds wiped]] and be implanted with FakeMemories and personalities of ''Danganronpa'' characters so they could kill each other for fame and profit on their favourite show. The exception to this is Ultimate Robot K1-B0, who actually ''is'' a robot, and is the AudienceSurrogate character whose eyes function as a camera letting the fans watch the action from his perspective, and whose "inner voice" that he constantly looks to for guidance is actually telling him the results of fan surveys about what he should do next. The characters themselves are utterly horrified by this revelation, particularly PlayerCharacter Shuichi Saihara, who watches a video of his pre-mindwipe self requesting to be turned into an Ultimate Detective just because no Ultimate Detective on the show so far has killed anybody and he wanted to be the first, and then ''suggesting what his execution should be'' if he got caught]].