When talking about the popular genre of reality TV, fans are always going to say that shows seem inauthentic, from how fake Love Island seems to questions about the early reality show The Osbournes. It can be tough to believe that everything shown is what really went down, and it's interesting to look back on these shows and wonder how they were filmed.
Fans forgot about this reality show which has some fake elements. Let's take a look at what it is.
'Mantracker'
From wondering if the Love Is Blind weddings really happened to wanting to know if scenes are scripted, fans always have questions about the interesting universe of reality TV.
Back in 2006, a Canadian reality show called Mantracker premiered on the Outdoor Life Network, and there has been 7 seasons. People think that it's totally fake.
The show follows Terry Grant as he looks for "prey" in the wild. According to the description on the show's IMDb page, "Contestants are pitted in a race to the finish against an expert wilderness tracker."
A fan started a thread on Reddit asking if people assumed Mantracker was fake, and the responses were fascinating.
One said that it seems to be real but scenes are shot again later. They wrote, "A couple girls from my town went on it, and as far as they said it was all legit. I understand they have a cameraman with them, who is in better shape that pretty much anyone, and that they go back over the terrain again later after the contest is over to do a lot of the shots."
A few people commented and said that it seems like the crew films certain scenes again, which definitely appears to be a common practice in reality TV.
Some people weren't so sure that it was totally real, with one commenting that it would be impossible to film: "Hard to hide in the bushes with a cameraman and sound man following you."
Another viewer of the show wasn't totally convinced that it was real after speaking to people they know who appeared on the show. They said, "Actually it is fake, my roommate and his partner who were both firefighters were constantly stopped by the camera crew when they were getting to far ahead. They would often use excuses about changing batteries and they actually had to do filmed sequences with man tracker. He has also leased land from my aunt's ranch to film the show and they do a lot of pre-filming I guess."
Someone said that they studied TV and New Media Production in school and someone they used to be in class with interned on the show. They said that the cameras do follow the case and it's real, but later, the crew could come back to film more. They wrote, "Afterwards there is a review of the footage, and the paths taken. If there is something that would look cool for television, they revisit the location, set up cameras, and go through the motions again. A few different angles, a frantic look there, and it is much more entertaining than watching to people wander through the woods."
Someone who appeared on Mantracker did an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit and said that the editing that was done on their episode seemed "fair."
They wrote, If anything, they make you look better than you really are." They did explain that edits are made for "drama" and said "they definitely might overdramatize certain moments and it is amazing what the music does to increase the suspense.
Terry Grant
Terry Grant the Scouts Canada Chief Scout and also on the Alberta Foothills Search and Rescue Team.
Terry says that when the TV network asked if his cousin was interested in starring on the show, his cousin said no, and the opportunity fell in his lap. He said he wasn't sure what would happen and told Avenue Calgary, "I really didn't know what to expect."
Terry said, “They really just sent me out there and said, ‘be yourself, do what you do,’ and that’s it. It was really me using all the skills I had learned from 30 years of cowboying." He continued, "Humans are going to do very predictable things in the bush. When we come to a river, we’re probably going to follow it downstream. We will gravitate downhill or to the path of least resistance — we are all lazy,” he says.
In 2015, Terry left Mantracker, and as he told CBC, he was still very humble despite starring on a TV show for a long time. He said, "It’s hard. Everybody has me on a pedestal like they do all TV people. I feel I’m still me and I’m just the guy that rides his horse and am lucky enough to be on TV."
Fans of reality TV should definitely check out Mantracker so they can decide for themselves what seems real and what doesn't.