Cue the Sun!The Invention of Reality TV

by Emily Nussbaum
Cue the Sun!The Invention of Reality TV cover
Good Books rating 4.38
Technical:
  • ID: 461
  • Added: 2025-09-12
  • Updated: 2025-09-12
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
bookmarks.reviews · Unknown · 2025-09-18
brilliant 4.50

Emily Nussbaum's book is praised for its passionate and exquisitely told history of reality TV, blending high and low art into a potent concoction. It is described as smart, thorough, and often skeptical, with witty and entertaining commentary.

Emily Nussbaum's book on the invention of reality TV is highly acclaimed for its engaging and detailed exploration of the genre. Reviewers highlight the book's ability to blend high and low art, making it accessible and compelling for both reality TV enthusiasts and those who might be more critical of the genre. The book is noted for its muscular prose, exacting eye for detail, and incisive questions about the increasingly scripted world of reality TV. It is also praised for its witty and entertaining style, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the cultural impact of reality television.

Quick quotes

    Passionate, exquisitely told ... With muscular prose and an exacting eye for detail, Nussbaum... outlines how such shows united high and low art into a potent concoction

    Show me a history of reality TV and, honestly, sorry, I don’t much care. But show me a history of reality TV written by Emily Nussbaum...and I am now very interested

    Quick-witted, brilliantly written ... Nussbaum offers a treasure trove of anecdotes that seizes our attention like an action sequence, while asking incisive questions about a world increasingly scripted for consumption

goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-09-18
fascinating 4.00

Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum is a thorough and thought-provoking exploration of the history and impact of reality TV. The book delves into the origins of the genre, highlighting how early shows like Candid Camera and The Dating Game shaped contemporary culture. While it occasionally drags with detailed historical accounts, it's a must-read for pop culture enthusiasts.

Emily Nussbaum's Cue the Sun! offers a deeply reported account of reality TV's evolution, from its early days to its current influence. The book focuses on pivotal shows like An American Family, which tackled issues such as divorce and infidelity, setting the stage for modern reality TV. Nussbaum's exhaustive research covers everything from radio prank shows to the impact of social media on the genre. While the book sometimes gets bogged down in granular details, it's an impressive and fascinating read for anyone interested in pop culture. The ripple effects of reality TV on society are undeniable, making this a compelling and somewhat unsettling exploration of a genre that has shaped contemporary culture.

Quick quotes

    The ghost of those shows, as well as the evil geniuses behind them, linger just out of frame; a grimy film you can’t quite wipe off the camera lens, a muddy feeling of guilt and cheap thrills that hums under every binge-watch.

    It’s a nostalgic, bleak, and pretty damn fascinating piece of non-fiction.

    For better or worse, so much of contemporary culture has been shaped by early reality TV pioneers.

vox.com · Unknown · 2024-06-26
intriguing 4.50

Emily Nussbaum's book 'Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV' explores the history and craft of reality TV, highlighting its paradoxical nature and the creativity behind its production. The book delves into the genre's evolution, from its early roots to its current cultural impact, providing a comprehensive look at the people and experiments that shaped it.

Emily Nussbaum's 'Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV' is a deep dive into the world of reality television, examining its history and the creative processes behind it. The book is not a critique but an exploration of reality TV as an art form, crediting it with the same level of creativity as filmmaking and music. Nussbaum interviews various participants, producers, and editors to tell the story of how reality TV evolved, from its early experiments in the 1940s to the cultural phenomenon it is today. The book highlights the genre's paradoxical nature, where creativity and depravity often coexist. One of the most riveting chapters focuses on the history of 'Survivor,' which Nussbaum argues is an invention on par with significant technological advancements. The book also draws parallels between early reality shows and modern ones, showing how the genre has evolved while retaining its core elements.

Quick quotes

    The goal with this book was not to say 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' on reality TV. It was to try to tell it through the voices of the people on both sides of the camera.

    It’s the story of a lot of experiments. It’s about people inventing jobs that didn’t exist.

    I was convinced that the Survivor format was an invention on the level of the telephone or the car.

latimes.com · Unknown · 2024-06-21
insightful 4.50

Emily Nussbaum's 'Cue the Sun!' explores the origins of reality TV from 1947 to 2009, using over 300 interviews to craft a detailed history. The book is praised for its thematic organization and insightful analysis of the genre's evolution.

Emily Nussbaum's 'Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV' is a comprehensive exploration of the genre's origins, spanning from 1947 to 2009. The book is based on over 300 interviews with key figures in the industry, providing a rich tapestry of the genre's development. Nussbaum organizes the programs thematically, covering game shows, prank shows, reality soap operas, and clip shows. Her analysis delves into the commercial and ethical aspects of reality TV, highlighting how it blends cinema verité with commercial formats. The book is noted for its insightful commentary and the author's unique perspective on the genre's evolution. Nussbaum's personal journey in writing the book, including her battle with long COVID, adds a human touch to the narrative.

Quick quotes

    The faker a show is, the more ethical it is

    Each of those takes cinema verité, which people think of as an elevated discipline where you hold the camera and capture the truth with a lot of patience, and then mix in commercial additives that give it a format: speed it up, make it serialized, make it inexpensive, put pressure on people. That’s how I think of [reality TV]

    Nussbaum tested positive for COVID-19 and developed long COVID after one of her first reporting trips for the book

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