From Karen O – Mr. Pop – “Survivor” was the first of the successful run of Reality TV shows – is this true? In all the research I’ve seen – including Wiki – they say yes. Can you confirm this?

Mr. Pop History – Technically – no. “Survivor,” when first pitched to CBS, was pitched on the basis of the “suddenly” hot game show genre. That’s right – “Survivor” is a game show before it’s a reality show – and that’s what gets lost. All the others which followed? – They’re game shows in a reality setting.

You can thank “Who Wants To Me A Millionaire” because that trend won producers over. I don’t think it ever would have happened without Regis Philbin and crew!