Reality TV Shows of the Future

The reality TV show has long been a staple of television. But what type of reality TV shows might we see in the future? Below are some possibilities.

Brute vs. Cyborg: This reality TV show will be an athletic competition or a fighting competition between tall muscle-bound weightlifters and short weak-looking nebbish nerds whose limbs have been technologically enhanced with electronic hydraulic enhancements giving them super strength or super speed.

Say As I Say: In this reality TV show, a man with a professional position (such as a lawyer or business man) is given a pair of special camera glasses that provide a real-time video feed to a distant listener, along with a hidden microphone providing a real-time audio feed. The man also has an ear device that picks up audio transmissions from the listener. Throughout an entire day, the man must only say things he has been prompted to say by the remote listener, who sees and hears what the man sees and hears. The listener is an ordinary lower class guy such as a street peddler. Can an ordinary guy “fill in the shoes” of some professional for an entire day?

Holographic Horror House: In this reality TV show, a group of participants is told that as part of a reality TV show, they will be sleeping in a haunted house overnight. They observe terrifying translucent ghosts, but the ghosts are just holographic projections that are projected from special devices in the floor and ceiling. To capture authentic terror, the real name of the TV show is not revealed to the participants until the filming is finished.

Gang Versus Robot: An intimidating street gang faces off in combat against a steel robot. The combat takes places in a studio set simulating a back alley in a big city. The robot has high-tech tools like a taser gun and a projectile launcher. But the street gang has plenty of grit, and can make use of trash cans and other familiar items as part of its assault against the robot.

Survivor Suburbia: In this reality TV show, a group of participants is transported to a suburb far from a city, a suburb that was abandoned after Peak Oil caused oil prices to skyrocket, because people could no longer afford the cost of the commute. How can the participants survive in suburbia when there are no stores, farms, or inhabited houses nearby?

Rembrandt For a Week: Five participants with no known artistic talents are put in the hands of neurologists who have mastered the finest in electrical brain stimulation that causes a surge in creativity. Which of these “Rembrandts for a week” will produce the greatest work of art?

Beyond Death's Door: After the first frozen dead person has been successfully revived from cryonic suspension, this reality TV show will feature participants who willingly commit suicide in interesting ways, and then are immediately frozen. The winner is the first person to be successfully revived from cryonic suspension.

Pick Your Hell: In this reality TV show of the late 21^st century, participants are given a choice between living in four nightmarish living places: the surface of Venus, a radioactive wasteland caused by a nuclear meltdown, an overpopulated city with air three times worse than modern Beijing, or the streets of Miami that are constantly flooded by rising global sea levels. The first contestant to live two weeks in his chosen environment wins.

Gene Gamble: In this reality TV show, contestants spin a giant spinning wheel. The result determines what type of experimental gene modification will be applied to them. Some may get increased speed, stamina, or intelligence, but others may find themselves with some weird mutation. After the show is taped, the gene changes are reversed. 

Real or Robot?: In this reality TV show, blindfolded participants are asked to intimately interact with a body that may be a real living human or merely a sophisticated android robot. Guessing correctly to "real or robot?" causes contestants to move up to higher levels of physical engagement.