Reality TV Confidential

[My real name is Megan. The following happened to me the year after I graduated from college. This is my first attempt at documentary-style writing, and I will weave together the transcript, production notes, and my own personal recollections. A few of the names and details have been changed for privacy reasons. Like much in life, this story doesn't have a fairytale ending. Not everyone tells the truth, and not everything is at it seems. Consider yourself forewarned.]

The beginning.

"You're so beautiful, Megan," Levett gasped as tears rolled down his cheeks. It was weird seeing a grown man cry, especially during sex. I got off of him and rolled onto my back. I looked at my Movado, anxious to get out of there. Levett made Harvey Weinstein look ruggedly handsome in comparison. He was over 400 pounds, had a large bald spot, and a pitifully small dick. There was no way this ogre deserved my hot 22-year-old body.

I felt like vomiting as he rolled on another condom and got between my legs. I wanted to get it over with, so I figured that moaning and clenching my vaginal muscles might be enough to put an end to this nightmare. His gross and hairy body, robotically pushing away, was something so revolting that I actively avoided having an orgasm. But the more I tried to prevent it, the more I could feel it coming on. Finally, too late, I mumbled, "Oh God, yes, that's it."

Levett smiled and even tried to give me a tongue kiss. I pulled my head back in revulsion.

Keep in mind this was in 2012, five years before #MeToo happened, and my new roommates had assured me that going on a date with the producer was a normal part of the interview process to land an entry-level job as a production assistant.

I never did tweet about Levett, nor did I join the #MeToo movement. This was for two very good reasons: (a) I'm not that chick, and (b) it turns out Levett wasn't much of a Hollywood player after all.

After I started working for Levett, it soon became apparent that he and his production company was stretched to the limit financially, chased by creditors, and had the IRS hounding them for back taxes.

Levett somehow scraped together $100,000 to buy the rights to a UK reality show. The working title of the American version of the show would be "Wild or Domesticated?" The format was simple. Four women or men are locked up together with a single person of the opposite sex, who tries to determine which of the four contestants is also single; the other three contestants are married. If the lone male or female determines which of the four contestants is also single, the two singles split the prize money. The two singles might even make a romantic connection! However, if the picker is tricked into choosing one of the married contestants, the couple wins the prize money. The spouses watch from another room using a television monitor and send secret messages to their partners to help them win the show. The show's premise was that it was a test of whether the married people had become overly "domesticated" in their relationships and how they behaved.

The concept sounded like a unique idea, the next Big Brother meets The Bachelor with maybe the potential to be trashy and controversial like Temptation Island or Joe Millionaire given the high level of deception and possible incentive for infidelity. I wasn't positive that it was something that I wanted to get involved with. I'm the kind of girl who likes serious dramas like Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire, and this was the sort of reality TV show that I would NEVER watch myself!

How did I get here?

Both of my parents were very liberal college professors, and I think this was my way of rebelling against them.

This went back a long time. When I was 13 years old, my parents were in the middle of a rant about the then invasion of Iraq when I suddenly announced at the dinner table, "You know, after what happened on 9/11, I just think we should support our president."

After I said this, the look on my mom and dad's faces was priceless! Their mouths literally dropped open! It was the last thing they expected to hear from their precocious daughter. And then, when I was old enough to vote, I registered as a Republican! It was like a funeral around our house when I gave my parents the news. They spent hours literally begging me not to vote for McCain/Palin. And when they wanted me to waste another four years of my life in a postgraduate program, I refused and packed my suitcase for Los Angeles.

So now, my parents were absolutely horrified that I would be contributing my efforts toward mindless "junk entertainment" like reality TV. They would have preferred to hear that I was working on a thoughtful documentary or a film with artistic merit. However, I didn't care. The whole time I was growing up, I was inundated with their unending concerns about corporations, social justice, US imperialism, the environment, feminism, the growing wealth gap, and our never-ending exploitation of the third world. In contrast, I wanted to live my life with a little more joie de vivre and escape their judgemental attitude and constant moralizing. Capitalism seemed to be working pretty well, as far as I could tell.

Being hugely liberal, my parents practically encouraged me to have sex at a young age, getting me on the pill and supplying me with condoms as soon as I had a boyfriend and felt ready. I wasn't a slut or anything, but I'd been with a few guys before I slept with Levett, and I didn't feel guilty about it afterward at all.

Once Levett gave me the job, I never let him touch me again. He tried, but all it took to stop him in his tracks was to make a joke about his fat belly or tiny dick. It almost seemed like he got off on the humiliation of these moments. Levett soon promoted me to an assistant producer. I was still getting used to this new level of responsibility when, at the last minute, they offered me a position in front of the camera! I was going to be the host of the show! (I'd actually make use of the voice training I did during my degree in broadcasting!)

In explaining the decision, Levett told me that I was the kind of younger woman that older guys go crazy for. He said I reeked of confidence and had a maturity well beyond my years.

Pre-production.

The casting process.

A reality show begins with the casting, landing on the right mix of heroes and villains for onscreen chemistry.

Janet was our casting director and was responsible for finding contestants for the show. Reality shows are always looking for new contestants. We built a website with an online application form and placed ads for the show on various casting websites, such as Backstage and RealityWanted. But Janet also had less conventional techniques to find cast members. I was shocked to discover that she had posted an ad on a Christian website welcoming applications to be contestants on our reality TV show!

The ad stated:

TV show to highlight the importance of marriage to mankind and that God's teaching on marriage and sex is still relevant in today's world. Seeking a newlywed couple who exemplify Christian living and values. Contestants have a chance to win an $80,000 prize by demonstrating marital teamwork and the ability to stay connected and communicate through thick and thin.

Even though I didn't consider myself a person of faith, I felt like we were making an ethical lapse. It didn't seem right to be promoting the show in this way.

I confronted Janet: "What the hell is this? I know we're not giving anything away about what this show is about. But this ad is completely different from the actual premise of our show! So isn't this false advertising?"

She shrugged, "Megan, the secret to reality programming is personality clashes. We've got all the usual attention whores applying to be on the show, the kind of people who will do anything to be on TV. So now we need to find a straight-laced couple, a pair of 'holy rollers' to balance the cast out."

"So this is just to add conflict and drama?" I asked in exasperation.

Janet sniggered, "Prepare for some serious drama, sweetheart! I make sure of it. Sparks are gonna fly!"

In the end, Janet recruited one of the three couples, Eric and Naomi, from the ad she put on the Christian website. Naomi had forwarded the link to her husband, hoping that participating in the presumably faith-based TV show would give them a chance to save his parents' farm. Usually, Eric would thoroughly investigate something like this before making a commitment. However, since he was working 80+ hour weeks in his new career to earn as much overtime as possible, he didn't have time to look into the show before they made the drive to California. I felt bad. This naïve young couple really had no idea what they were getting themselves into!

It took Janet nearly seven weeks to sort out the thousands of applications for the reality show. We received a lot more applications than expected. This was probably because we only required contestants to take one week off work which was much less of a time commitment than other reality shows. Janet finally narrowed down the three married couples and single person for the pilot. They were all in the target 20-35 age demographic. She wrote detailed bios about each of the contestants well in advance of production. Janet was delighted to have found three relatively normal couples who would be relatable to the show's audience. How these gorgeous young couples reacted to being placed in this highly unusual situation would drive much of the story.

I was curious about who would be appearing in the show and eagerly read her notes:

Couple #1: Peyton (age: 26) & Andy (age: 27)

On the outside, Peyton is the brunette "All American" girl next door who men easily fall in love with, and girls want to befriend, but inside she's a strategic and aggressive competitor who they should fear. Having grown up in Seattle, she's always been athletic and outdoorsy. She knows her looks give her an edge in life but doesn't rely on them because she's the total package.

Peyton met her husband, Andy, in college when they were in the same molecular biology class. Peyton and Andy eventually married, and while she became an optometrist, Andy went to dental school. Andy prides himself on not being like other dentists. He is loud, obnoxious, and never seems to run out of energy. Recently, he's taken up Ironman triathlons. Andy wants Peyton to win the show so he can finally pay off his student loans.

Couple #2: Naomi (age: 21) & Eric (age: 24)

Naomi grew up in a small town in Texas. She is very tight with her parents and considers her state trooper dad to be her hero. A raven-haired beauty, Naomi loves to get dressed up and look fabulous head-to-toe but isn't afraid to get dirty either. This big-hearted daycare teacher married her high school sweetheart, Eric, at the age of 20. For religious reasons, they both decided to wait until their wedding night. No wonder they were in a hurry to tie the knot!

Eric grew up on a dairy farm passed down for three generations and believes in working hard and helping his community. A former college football player for Texas A&M, he graduated in only three-and-a-half years and says he's smarter than people give him credit for. Currently, he is a project manager for a company in the oil and gas industry. Eric hopes Naomi can win the money to help save his parents' farm.

Couple #3: Alyssa (age: 25) & Jake (age: 34)

This self-proclaimed "Scarlett Johannsen" look-a-like is used to a fast-paced lifestyle. Alyssa says growing up in New Jersey was the best time of her life. She's been boy-crazy and super competitive for as long as she can remember. In high school, Alyssa decided to be a cheerleader to flirt with the jocks. This natural blonde knows she's sexy and isn't afraid to use it to get ahead. As a flight attendant, Alyssa travels the world and does not live a boring life. She says she has what it takes to win.

Alyssa met her husband, Jake, while she was on a girls' trip to Cancun. Jake is known by all as an adrenaline junkie. He surfs, snowboards, and flies a Diamond DA40 plane in his spare time. So how does he afford to be a modern-day adventurer? Jake's parents own and operate more than 50 KFC and Taco Bell franchises in New York and Connecticut. Recently, his parents cut him off financially, so Jake and Alyssa need the prize money for their first home.

True single: Julia (age: 23)

Born and raised in Essex, England, Julia is a professional model and dancer and a mainstay on the Los Angeles club scene. More than just a pretty face, Julia is known as a bit of a brainiac, having graduated cum-laude, but still spends plenty of time keeping up with her favorite reality TV shows. When it comes to dating, Julia wears her heart on her sleeve and is a true romantic looking for love. It will be a little difficult for her to separate the game from her personal feelings, but she's well aware that her sultry, raspy voice and stunning blonde looks can work magic with men. Julia realizes she can come off intimidating, and girls can be catty, so she plans on working extra hard on her relationships with the other girls in the house.

After reading these intriguing profiles, I looked forward to meeting the cast in person.

We definitely had a range of strong characters -- larger-than-life personalities, salt-of-the-earth types, nice guys the audience would get behind -- who were all "really open emotionally." Clearly, it wouldn't take much for them to become totally invested in the show's premise.

While Janet and I were grabbing a coffee from Starbucks, I asked her why the cast members lacked any diversity, which seemed increasingly important to everyone in the industry. Janet started giggling and answered, "No worries, there will be diversity. I'm working on that part right now!"

It wouldn't be long before I found out why she thought my question was so funny.

A week before production, I met the male contestant whose job it was to figure out the single girl from the other three married contestants. I was in the boardroom, staring at my laptop intently as the door opened, and suddenly the biggest Black man I'd ever seen was standing there. He must have been 6'4" and powerfully built. Janet introduced me to Tyrone and bragged that he was a former NFL player. His skin was blacker than black, and everything about him was physically imposing.

Levett entered the boardroom and shook Tyrone's hand. He told Tyrone that he had personally picked him out during casting. Tyrone smiled as though they had a mutual understanding. I'd never seen Levett looking so pleased with himself. After Janet had escorted Tyrone from the boardroom, Levett sat down and started to talk about his decision. He explained excitedly that having the girls live with a Black man would increase the dramatic tension between the female contestants and their husbands. Plus, it would be a nice slap in the face to any of the racists who might be watching.

Unlike actors and actresses, the cast members of reality shows are not paid to appear onscreen. They would receive a $250 travel stipend for the week and a chance at winning the prize money. Participants in reality shows are primarily motivated by the opportunity to appear on television.

Set design.

Producers hire the crew and decide how the budget is spent. As the executive producer, Levett cut corners and skimped wherever he could.

For instance, we rented an empty industrial building on a short-term lease and built the set ourselves using illegal immigrant day workers. It wasn't a proper soundstage, but the acoustics were decent. Working with minimal resources, we tried our best to make it as cool and trendy as the Big Brother House. The new assistant producer, Denise, and I made numerous trips to vintage furniture stores to find unique mid-century modern pieces to furnish the set. We also got a lot of the furniture from IKEA.

Like the Big Brother House, we made extensive use of one-way mirrors throughout the set to allow cameramen in special black hallways to use movable cameras to film the contestants without being seen. These corridors were carved out between each of the rooms and would only be accessible to the crew.

We even purchased and installed an inexpensive 24 ft. x 12 ft. above-ground pool from Costco in a space just off the party room and constructed a wooden platform around it covered with astroturf to provide the illusion that it was an inground pool in an outdoor courtyard. We rushed out and bought potted palm trees to set around the pool before filming began. Unfortunately, all these plants were destined to die after spending a week inside a steel building with no natural light.

Levett's production company was located in a suburban office park near LAX, approximately a hundred miles away from the space we rented for the set.

It made sense to keep the husbands at the office to avoid any entanglements during the show. Therefore, we converted one of the meeting rooms into a home theater for the three husbands. We bought three comfy, overstuffed burnt orange leather recliners and arranged them in front of the biggest TV we could find. Cameras were set up to film the husbands' reactions as they watched the action. During the day, we would stream a live feed from the set in real-time. Then, since they would go back to their hotel rooms to sleep, we would play a recorded and edited synopsis of any of the events that took place on the set at night the following morning.

We decorated the viewing room with timber beams, knotty pine paneling, and a faux stone fireplace to give the space a very masculine feel, kind of like a Lake Tahoe cabin.

In future weeks of the show, we planned to occasionally switch up the format to have a set of three wives watching their husbands with a single lady. I thought it would be fascinating to see how this opposite dynamic played out! It would undoubtedly change the show with the roles reversed. In that case, we would tear out and redecorate the viewing room to have a feminine vibe, like a girly slumber party.

The wardrobe.

Rhonda was a costume designer and in charge of the wardrobe. Because I was younger than most of the contestants, but the show's host, they needed to dress me to look older, like I was the "adult in the room." I would wear my long hair up and dress in super-sleek skirt suits with hose and patent leather stilettos. The black, grey, red, and navy suits Rhonda picked out for me were stylish yet conservative, with one-button blazers and pencil skirts one inch above the knee. Trying on each of these expensive tailored suits made me so excited for taping to begin.

The contestants weren't even allowed to wear any of their own clothes during the show. Rhonda carefully controlled each of the outfits they put on day and night. The contestants provided their measurements beforehand. Even with the studio services discount, Rhonda dropped $9,000 at Forever 21, American Apparel, Hollister, Victoria's Secret, and H&M, picking out a wardrobe for each contestant based on what she imagined was their personality. We needed the contestants to wear contrasting outfits that were still visually cohesive as a group. I noticed that the female contestants' clothing was probably much sexier and showed more skin than the clothes they'd regularly wear. This was quite deliberate. As the old-timers in the crew constantly repeated: "TV is a visual medium."

The pre-production party.

The entire show would be taped before airing. Even though I wasn't going to be on live TV, being the show host was a formidable task. I stayed late at the office every night for a month to prepare. The actual script for reality television is created in post-production. Instead, I reviewed the possible story arc, beats, etc. After such a hectic schedule, I was exhausted, and a break was quite welcome.