Climate change is our reality — so why wouldn’t it appear on reality TV?

Reality TV shows are increasingly incorporating themes of climate change and sustainable living, with upcoming CW Network show “Recipe for Disaster” among those leading the trend.

Shaping the narrative: “Recipe for Disaster” will feature chefs cooking with sustainable ingredients, competing in meat and dairy-free cooking challenges and making light of climate change realities.
* The trend reflects changes in viewer appetites and challenges the avoidance of climate change topics traditionally seen in reality TV.

Emergence of climate-related content: Climate change information and sustainable living tips have started appearing in an array of unscripted TV shows, from celebrity talk shows to car racing competitions.
* Scenes modeling sustainable behaviors or showcasing the impact of climate change have been shown in paranormal reality series such as “Ghost Adventures” and business startup contests like “Shark Tank”.
* A University of Southern California study revealed nearly 30,000 mentions of climate change-related keywords across every category of unscripted TV between last August and this February.

The numbers: According to Statistica, about one-third of U.S. adults aged 18 to 64 watch reality TV.
* A notable example of climate-centric programming is car racing show “Extreme E”, which last year reached 135 million viewers worldwide.
* However, shows that focus on climate change as a topic or mention the term directly are still relatively rare, with “climate change” representing only 4% of keyword mentions.

Expert opinion: University of Colorado Boulder environmental studies professor, Max Boykoff says unscripted TV presents an opportunity to reach those who otherwise may not take interest in climate change.
* Boykoff cautions that focusing only on small behavioral changes isn’t enough to tackle the global issue of climate change.

View original article on NPR

This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.

Contact us about this post

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *