Episode #736: Bryan & Krissy discuss the go-go 90's and 2000's reality show boom. They recall the dumb race to the bottom as one show after another tried to pander to the lowest common denominator. As an homage to that "time and space" they review THE craziest reality show of them all: Next Superstar USA! A one season mock-american idol style singing contest, looking for the worst, not the best singer in America! It's cruel, crazy and nuts. Perfect for TCB. To apply for "Americas Next Top Mediocre Podcaster" send us a message at: 212-433-3TCB TCBit: Crabapple Mayor Slaughbush responds to critics regarding his appointing of Mr. Bettleberry as president of The Women's Club. Watch EP #736 on YouTube! Text us or leave us a voicemail: +1 (212) 433-3TCB FOLLOW US: Instagram: @thecommercialbreak Youtube: youtube.com/thecommercialbreak TikTok: @tcbpodcast Website: www.tcbpodcast.com CREDITS: Hosts: Bryan Green & Krissy Hoadley Executive Producer: Bryan Green Producer: Astrid B. Green Voice Over: Rachel McGrath TCBits Written, Voiced and Produced by Bryan Green To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What was the 90s and 2000s reality TV boom about?
Survivor was also one that was out there. The Greatest Race. What was that called?
Chapter 2: Which reality shows from the 90s and 2000s survived the test of time?
No, that's so odd.
The Amazing Race.
The Amazing Race, yeah. And so is Survivor.
Survivor and Amazing Race survived the Amazing Race of bad reality television shows. And I loved... to watch a lot of these shows. As an exhibitionist, I thought they were stupid and funny, and I kind of, I think, felt like I was in on the joke. Like, this is crazy that we're doing this. But a lot of people took them very seriously. A lot of people really got into them.
My dad and I really wanted to do The Amazing Race. Too late now.
I did, too. What happened? Did you, like, apply or anything?
Okay. We talked about it.
The next episode of The Commercial Break starts now.
Yeah, boy!
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Chapter 3: How did 'The Real World' change reality television?
Well, right.
But they sure did make it look dangerous. And people would be competing for like, you know, $10,000 in Chili's gift cards or something. It was so stupid. It was so stupid. But it was very popular for a couple of years anyway. Very popular. I think it ran on NBC and then on MTV and it went around the circuit.
But one of the wildest – and American Idol, of course, kicked this – kicked all of the singing competitions off and all of like the kind of competition. Survivor was also one that was out there, the greatest race. What was that called?
No, that's still on.
The amazing race.
The amazing race.
Yeah.
And so is Survivor.
Survivor and Amazing Race survived the Amazing Race of bad reality television shows. And I loved to watch a lot of these shows. As an exhibitionist, I thought they were stupid and funny. And I kind of, I think, felt like I was in on the joke. Like, this is crazy that we're doing this. But a lot of people took them very seriously. A lot of people really got into them.
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Chapter 4: Why did 'American Idol' become a significant reality show, and what was Bryan's take on it?
I haven't watched it in a long time. I think I watched like the second and third season and I was really into it. And then I don't know, for whatever reason, I stopped watching it.
But he had 30 children.
I did have 30 children. Yes. I'm just getting to Top Chef season seven. It's on 23. I mean, honestly. But that singing reality show kind of contest. Listen, it is all got kicked off with MTV's The Real Life, The Real World.
The real world, yeah.
The real world was the OG, I think, by a lot of people. It might not have been the very first reality show television necessarily per se, but it was the first one to gain mainstream attention and really kind of massage the format in a way that it was interesting. Put people in a room, let them be humans, film all the drama in a house, living together for a month or two or whatever it was.
Film all the drama, edit it in a way that is linear so you can understand from one moment to the next what is going on. Cut out all the crap and just put the best, most interesting, juicy parts of it out there on television. And they did. And it was critically panned and acclaimed. People watched it in droves. Oh, it was huge.
And the unintended consequence of this was that the people who were a part of these shows became famous in their own right, which I don't think anybody expected, but they did. And by season number three, it became clear that people who were going on the real world were there in part to become famous, not for some human social experiment, but because there was fame and riches at the end of it.
And when social media came... Forget about it. Now it's a different game altogether. You're going to be famous if you go on a reality show, at least to some degree. And that is a big part of the reason why you would even want to partake in any of these shenanigans, so to speak. Well, I applied for The Real World.
Yeah, you said that.
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Chapter 5: What is 'Superstar USA' and why is it considered the cruelest reality show ever?
Brian McFadden here in Hollywood, home to the WB superstar USA. You remember this guy, Brian McFadden? Yeah, he's so familiar.
He was in a lot of WB stuff. I think he was like a, I think he did like a, what was that show? Aisha Tyler, remember her? And she did the bus thing, get on the bus, bus, something love bus. And I think he was also part of that crew or part of that show.
most anticipated show of the year. You know, people said we couldn't do it. People said we shouldn't do it.
The most anticipated show of the year.
A hoax so ambitious you won't believe your eyes or ears. Thousands of singers auditioned, all believing that we were searching for America's best singer. But we're not. We're actually searching for America's worst. But we're not. We're fucking with them all. But we're not.
We're crushing their little hearts. How happy you are to be doing this.
And to pull it off, we enlisted dozens of crew members, teams of dancers, and hundreds of screaming fans, all to create the illusion of a real talent show. Now, why did we do this? Because we were bored by all the cookie-cutter pop idols being crammed down our throats.
But because we're bored by all the cookie cutter pop, we decided to crush people's spirits and any possible dreams they have of success because we're bored.
Forget vocal ability. We're looking for a true entertainer. Someone who is fun to watch. So do yourself a favor, America. Get ready. Our search for America's worst singer starts right now.
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Chapter 6: How does 'Superstar USA' reverse the American Idol format?
Yeah.
Clearly a ripoff intro of American Idol. Right.
Lots of flashing stars.
Yeah, the WB's Superstar USA. Yeah, lots of stars. Lots of weird graphic stars.
All right, now before we get to the audition process, let me break it down for you one more time. We're out to find a new kind of singing superstar. The kind that can't make an album. Other talent shows are looking for this.
And it was just my mind playing tricks on me.
We're looking for this.
Well, people did love to hate watch the American Idol for the bad stuff.
Yeah, they took the best part of American Idol's audition process and they just juiced it. And so for that, I guess they're taking what works about another show and they're just extending it. Or this.
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Chapter 7: Who were the judges and key figures on 'Superstar USA'?
To help us find our superstar, we assembled a distinguished panel of experts. A distinguished panel of experts. Let's see.
You're going to laugh.
First up, you know her from her hits Graduation and Smile. Platinum-selling recording artist, Vitamin C. One hit wonder, Vitamin C. I don't even remember Vitamin C. Hey, listen, Chrissy.
She had two hits. I remember that song. That song played on rotation like in 2003. Yeah, that's right.
You're cocky and confident, and you don't have the goods to back it up. You're exactly what we're looking for.
I wonder why Vitamin C never stayed in the conscious collective pop lexicon.
Well, probably because she was in on this horribly cruel show.
Part of the cruelest show ever.
Grammy-nominated rap pioneer, the wild thing himself, Mr. Tone Logue. Tone Logue was a part of it? Tone Logue, Funky Cold Medina?
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Chapter 8: How were contestants treated and what was the ultimate reveal on 'Superstar USA'?
Celebrate good times, come on. Oh, yeah, look at that spin. Celebrate great times, come on. Celebrate everyone around the world, come on.
I thought it was really good. I thought it was great.
I thought you rocked the mic, Playboy. You handled your biz, so congratulations. You're one step closer.
You handled your biz.
Oh, my God.
Poor kid. You're being a superstar. Thank you. Cool.
And once the audition process is completed, the 12 worst singers will face off in Hollywood for their shot at fame and fortune. And the hoax gets even bigger when they're given the superstar treatment. They'll receive image enhancement.
So they're showing them flying them. Image enhancement. Yeah, they're flying them. They're limousine.
Yeah, they're getting their hair cut and their new duds. And they're in the studio with professionals. Work with vocal coaches.
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