History Main / RealityShowGenreBlindness

*** In season 34, a team also got put out in the penultimate leg in fourth place but this time in Iceland due to this. The husband, David, didn't know how to swim very well and two tasks involved swimming. He and his wife Aubree ended up quitting and taking the penalty because he couldn't finish the leg.

*** During the "Signature Dish" challenge in the first episode, there's always one chef that uses frozen, canned or packaged ingredients instead of fresh ones. This will not only gain Gordon's ire, but also means that chef would most likely not last long in the competition.

** Special mention goes to Damien from the 2023 reboot. He had never heard of ''Total Drama'', and didn't realize that the series had dangerous and disgusting challenges.

* ''Series/TheBachelor'' is especially bad about this, because more than any of the others, this show is exactly the same every time. Yet somehow the late dumpees always end up shocked — ''shocked!'' — that the guy who told them he might be falling for them, and with whom they really thought they had a "connection", and who slept with them in the Fantasy Suite, picked one of the other 24 women he was seeing while also seeing them.
** The blindness has become even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} as the show has been on for years, and yet only one couple has seemed to find true love (Trista and Ryan from Season 1 of ''The Bachelorette''). Two other couples are together, but one had reports of domestic violence. The show might as well be called ''The Public Breakup Machine'', yet every contestant talks about the experience as if they're going to meet their one and only and live happily ever after.
*** The most JustForFun/{{egregious}} of all -- one season of ''The Bachelorette'' has a girl ''who was on it before'' and who ended up dumped soon after the show ended, so she went on it ''again'' to "find her true love". The ads for the season all but say this, saying that the engagement was broken off when "reality set in".

** Inevitably, during the hometown episode at least one contestant's family will express concerns about the Bachelor/ette seeing other people. It's understandable that they might want to check how likely their particular family member is to get the proposal over the others, but often these doubts are more about other people being involved ''at all''. What show did they think this was, again? (Of course, the producers probably encourage them to ask certain questions off-camera--reality TV often ''does'' have predefined "story" beats, no matter what it tries to tell you. And this is always a good one for putting the Bachelor/ette on the spot.)

** Don’t expect your allies to stick with you past the 2/3 mark or so, especially if you’re a stronger team. In season 10,[[note]] Which is considered to be the point where there had been enough seasons to be able to study the game[[/note]] physically fit brothers with Master’s degrees, Erwin & Godwin, were in an alliance with two other teams (couple David & Mary and friends Lyn & Karlyn) who weren’t as fit or smart. Once they got to the top five, David & Mary had been eliminated, leaving just two of the teams. Lyn & Karlyn, who made up for not being a physical threat by understanding the game very well, were willing to throw the boys under the bus and had fully expected them to be willing to do the same thing but they weren’t. The guys finished the task well ahead of them but waited around on them to finish despite the fact they were fighting for last place. The guys made a wrong turn into the area of the finish line and Lyn & Karlyn passed them up and they got eliminated.

GenreBlindness is not relegated to fiction, apparently. Oftentimes, contestants on a RealityShow will display, by their behavior, that they have never before seen the kind of show they are on. How they found out about this particular one and auditioned for it without actually watching it remains one of the great mysteries of the universe. This could perhaps [[JustifiedTrope make some sense]] if it's the first season of the show, but you'd think they'd still have enough awareness of the genre to know what to expect.

Generating Genre Blindness is often baked into the DNA of reality shows. First, contestants are selected for personality traits that will cause them to act emotionally and impulsively. Once on the show, it is standard practice to isolate contestants from their friends and family and place them in high-stress situations with little sleep for weeks or months on end. Several contestants across several different reality shows have also reported that the producers are more than happy to ensure that there is plenty of alcohol to go around on the set, setting up great conditions for a lot of AlcoholInducedIdiocy. If all else fails, producers will use ManipulativeEditing, goad the "appropriate" reactions out of the contestants, or even outright telling them how to act. (Supposedly, on ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', the contestants have been told that any time they mention a previous season/contestants, it won't be aired on film, and on the American ''Series/BigBrother 2'', contestants were told not to mention the first ''Big Brother''.)

The quote at the head of this article, incidentally, is true in at least one aspect — to simplify editing, contestants are either not given a choice as to what clothes to wear, or are placed in situations where the entire group is made to construct a "uniform" or some sort; if editors decide to "recycle" a clip that was cut from an earlier segment (where the contestant may have been wearing a different outfit), it may not match properly with the more recent footage.

Typically, the casting will try to avoid the GenreSavvy players because an entire season full of them wouldn't seem very interesting (one of the reasons recruiting is the go-to tactic for casting). It's the people who will fight with each other for petty reasons, [[SmallNameBigEgo ego cases]] who boast to the ConfessionCam, the {{Cloudcuckoolander}}s who are borderline insane, and the ImNotHereToMakeFriends types that make the show worth watching - not the players who'd sit around and keep their mouths shut and set up [[ThePlan one clever plan after another]], or the genuinely talented people in talent shows. A common thing with reality game shows is that [[AwesomeButImpractical what makes a good show does not always make a good game]]; [[BoringButPractical and what makes a good game does not always make a good show]].

* On ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'', contestants are often unprepared for events that happen at least once every season, such as the Snatch Game (a ''Series/MatchGame'' parody where they impersonate their favorite celebrities). By this point, any queen who gets on the show and says they "don't do impersonations" is likely to be torn down (with just cause) by her fellow contestants.
** A common trap queens fall into when it comes to Snatch Game is the fact that the impersonation doesn't have to be particularly accurate, it just has to be funny. Justified for Season 2, where the queens didn't realize what was being expected of them, and the bottom queens were those who prioritized accuracy over comedy, and even criticized Snatch Game winner Tatianna's impression of Britney Spears for being "too ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''".
** The bottom two contestants of every episode have to "lip-sync for their lives" in order to determine who is eliminated. Although the queens are told in advance what each episode's song will be, some queens ''still'' don't bother learning the words, indicating either genre blindness or naked hubris. Needless to say, the ones who clearly don't know the words are eliminated. The inverse sometimes happens, with queens who just stand there and mouth the words with no form of choreography, which also leads to almost guaranteed elimination.

** Another example is the sewing challenges. There will always be at least one or more challenge per season that involves creating a look from scratch, plus the makeover challenge. This has been a ''Drag Race'' staple since day one. And yet, queens still complain because they don't know how to sew. Even worse are the queens who will explain that they can't sew and expect sympathy from the judges when they are called out on their awful outfit. As Ross Matthews said, "You don't make your first dress when you're on Drag Race. You make your first dress when you find out you're going to be on Drag Race."
** After 9 seasons of critiques, Ru and the judges have made it clear what they are looking for in a winner. And yet season after season girls will go on the runway and stand in front of the judges and make the exact same mistakes, including:
*** Wearing skimpy or revealing clothing and expecting the judges to be impressed by their naturally-feminine physique. Especially now that "Stop relying on that body" is essentially a Michelle Visage soundbite.

** In short, the four pillars of ''Drag Race'' are designing, comedy, singing, and dancing. A queen must have solid skill in at least three out of four if she wants to get far in the competition. Yet you still get a queen who'll whine about a challenge not being her style even though it's clear by this point what [=RuPaul=] is looking for. Stated point-blank by season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio in the commentary for Season 7's premiere episode that if they cannot do any of the four ''in some way'', they have zero business being there in the first place.
** In over half the seasons, Rupaul brings back either a queen who was eliminated earlier in the season, a queen from an earlier season, or in some cases, both. In fact, at this point, it's no longer even a surprise to bring back ''everyone'' who's been eliminated that season and make them compete for the chance to return! Yet as late as All-Stars 4, some queens still express surprise and displeasure at this "twist" (despite the fact that no queen has ever won a season on which she left and returned).

* In reality show satire ''WebVideo/SexHouse'' one of Derek's early traits is being aware that ''somebody'' out there was the one to set situations up, which leads to him wondering why they only cast one gay guy and protesting by drawing the prophet Muhammad on his head (meaning they have to censor him).

* Defied in ''WebVideo/StripSearch'',[[note]]About ''comic'' strips. GetYourMindOutOfTheGutter.[[/note]] where the contestants focused on winning by ''being the best artist'' rather than any reality-show politicking. The only one who tried to use an ounce of strategy was Amy, and even she gave it up due to stress after an incident where the judges declared "ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem" and created a ShockingElimination.[[note]]They sent ''two'' contestants home and reinstated a previously-eliminated contestant in their place, on the grounds that they considered her a much better artist than the two that had been up for elimination.[[/note]] Tavis even pointed out to Amy as she was struggling to cope with this development that the show's real benefit to the artists is making professional contacts with each other and the crew and gaming the system to win the prize could get in the way of that.

*** Justified in later seasons, where the outfits worn by the castaways while on the island are picked/approved by the producers, not the contestants. This is partially used to appropriately color code outfits for the castaway's intended tribe and partially used so the producers can create their character through easily identifiable visual cues (Dan Lembo's $1,600 alligator shoes in ''Nicaragua'' spring to mind, as they instantly revealed his status as an out of his element city slicker.) Similarly, Candice Cody (nee Woodcock) interviewed that her personal swimsuit choices for ''Heroes vs. Villains'' were all declined because they weren't sexy enough.

** The ice cream machine is another troublesome piece of equipment. Some contestants instantly think to use an ice cream component as part of their dessert round, but never realise that they should think of a backup in case their opponent gets there first since only one person can really make ice cream.
*** What's worse, some people actually don't know ''how'' to use the ice cream machine.

** Part of this comes from a misconception on the part of some viewers. If you pay closer attention to the lead-in, the person is told they're being part of an ''[[JediTruth episode]]'' of a Food Network show, not that they're getting their own series. Food Network does have a lot of shows that feature such chefs (''Series/DinersDriveInsAndDives'' being a good example), so being told you're going to be part of a special/episode of a new series is hardly unbelievable.

*** A team got put out in fourth place by a matter of minutes in season 27 (!) because one of the partners wasn't a good enough swimmer and spent several hours trying to do the obligatory swimming task.

* This probably also would have killed the reality DeconstructiveParody show ''Series/TheJoeSchmoShow'', but they stopped at two seasons (each with a completely different reality show formula being deconstructed). Even so, one of the stars of Season 2 figured out the hoax and had to be replaced.

*** It turns out the Silver Monkey puzzle was more finicky than it seemed - people who did compete pointed out that simply assembling it wasn't enough, or that the show that

** There are three things that show up every season and have since the beginning: DrivingStick, a swimming task, and a thrill task. There are still teams who come on the show without being able to do the first two well and unprepared for the third :

*** Russell had the advantage of the other players having never seen him before in ''Heroes vs. Villains'' when ''he'' had the chance to see ''them'' play. This worked well for the most part. However, in ''Redemption Island,'' where ''everyone'' had the chance to see his playing style, he told everyone that he would play differently. Unfortunately... he assembled his usual harem of girls who were perpetually at arm's length, started Idol-hunting without making sure he wasn't being followed first, then essentially asked someone to be another third wheel. And he's ''surprised'' that he's targeted right off the bat in his tribe?

Typically, the casting will try to avoid the GenreSavvy players because an entire season full of them wouldn't seem very interesting (one of the reasons recruiting is the go-to tactic for casting). It's the people who will fight with each other for petty reasons, [[SmallNameBigEgo ego cases]] who boast to the ConfessionCam, the spazzes who are borderline insane, and the ImNotHereToMakeFriends types that make the show worth watching - not the players who'd sit around and keep their mouths shut and set up [[ThePlan one clever plan after another]], or the genuinely talented people in talent shows. A common thing with reality game shows is that [[AwesomeButImpractical what makes a good show does not always make a good game]]; [[BoringButPractical and what makes a good game does not always make a good show]].

Typically, the casting will try to avoid the GenreSavvy players because an entire season full of them wouldn't seem very interesting (one of the reasons recruiting is the go-to tactic for casting). It's the people who will fight with each other for petty reasons, [[SmallNameBigEgo ego cases]] who boast to the ConfessionCam, the spazzes who are borderline insane, {{The Mean Brit}}s, and the ImNotHereToMakeFriends types that make the show worth watching - not the players who'd sit around and keep their mouths shut and set up [[ThePlan one clever plan after another]], or the genuinely talented people in talent shows. A common thing with reality game shows is that [[AwesomeButImpractical what makes a good show does not always make a good game]]; [[BoringButPractical and what makes a good game does not always make a good show]].

* Anything involving Creator/GordonRamsay. The man is famous for being '''the''' MeanBrit and having exacting standards and no tolerance for idiots. What on earth makes people think he'll be their YesMan?

** And then she takes this UpToEleven on a meta-level. She starts going on a rant against Amanda Freitag over some saffron (which the other judges said was too much as well) and she promises to conquer Food Network for not giving her what she needs. Someone who places 7th on ''Food Network Star'', 3rd in ''Series/{{Chopped}}'' and is shown to be an overall {{Jerkass}} bitch is ''not'' someone who deserves to get a show on Food Network.

** One of Russell's new "concubines" lectured everyone not to vote out Russell (who had a '''huge''' target on his back) by saying that everyone else would backstab each other... but Russell wouldn't. [[UpToEleven And in a tone of voice Natalie White would rarely use.]] Apparently Stephanie wasn't watching ''Samoa'' or ''Heroes vs. Villains,'' whereupon he'd backstab all of his allies.

*** UpToEleven in ''San Juan Del Sur''. It became very clear early on that very few of the contestants had seen the show. While John Rocker stated he has seen a little of the show, his girlfriend Julie clearly hasn't. The Christy brothers Drew and Alec said in interviews that they've never seen the show. Keith was the most hilarious example since he came one tribal council short of winning, despite the fact he had zero clue what the hell he was doing. Even the ''winner'' herself admitted that she's not a longtime viewer of the show. Lampshaded by Jeremy (who was a fan) in the reunion who said it was difficult to work with people who don't know the show because they can be unpredictable.

* ''Supermarket Stakeout'', a common mistake is hyperfixation on a specific dish.

*** It turns out the Silver Monkey puzzle was more finicky than it seemed.

** Since you generally have between 20-30 minutes per round, making rice is almost ''always'' the kiss of death because it's nigh impossible to do this without a rice cooker - which ''Chopped'' does not have.