I am worried about Emily Nussbaum. She clearly needed to watch thousands upon thousands of hours of reality TV to write her book, Cue the SUN!, and I am seriously worried what that can do to someone's mental health.

If you love reality TV, then this review is simple. You must read this book and you will absolutely love every page. If you hate reality TV, then guess what? You and I are in agreement. I hate reality TV. Unless Gordon Ramsay is in it, then it should win an Emmy. All others are trash. All that being said, I still loved this book.

The reasons why everyone should love this book are evident from page 1. Nussbaum's writing style is easy to read, and it feels like a conversation. Also, I am not kidding about how much reality TV she must have watched. She is utterly meticulous, and she consistently brings up events that have long been forgotten. And I mean long forgotten. Nussbaum doesn't start with a show like Survivor. Instead, she traces the roots of reality TV all the way back to the 1940s and works her way to today. The chronology is seamless and a chapter on a show called An American Family is a particular standout. If you aren't keen to go back that far, then you are missing out. However, Nussbaum quickly gets to all the shows you know and love (or love to hate).

There is no way to write this book without inevitably touching on some political hot buttons. The Apprentice was a show after all and is the subject of the final chapter. As someone whose tolerance for political diatribes is zero, I think Nussbaum is fair with her subjects throughout the book. Yes, I don't think it is hard to pick out what side Nussbaum herself is on. However, multiple times I read a chapter and thought, "Hm, I think one extreme would be mad about this part of the chapter, while the other extreme would be mad about another." In the end, Nussbaum's research is so extensive and so well presented that it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you fall on. A great story is just a great story.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House.)

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters and the narrative structure were very interesting. I would recommend this book to those interested in this genre. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

I would like to thank Random House and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.This is a fairly lengthy book about Reality TV. Clearly, Emily Nussbaum has done a lot of research on the subject. She begins with the earliest antecedents- Candid Camera , Queen for a Day , and continues through the years with chapters on Chuck Barris's game shows, An American Family, and Cops, for example. She then does a deep dive into several well known franchises- Survivor, The Bachelor,Real World, and Big Brother. She also ends the book with an overlong chapter on The Apprentice, which is to say a long chapter on Donald Trump. A lot of this got boring after a while. There was a lot about the first seasons of shows- I read more about Survivor Borneo than I needed, ,for example ,but little about subsequent seasons. This was a thread - lots about season one, then nothing. And some of the shows are very long running. Which brings me to the shows not mentioned. While there is a lot about the shows that had some unsavory backgrounds, shows that were not as controversial barely rated a mention. There were a few paragraphs about American Idol, nothing about the Voice and a very little about Amazing Race. Top Chef got barely a mention. Project Runway was really only mention for its first season and its connection to Harvey Weinstein. The writer talks about how the TV producers looked for the story lines and people who were most likely to be provocative. I am thinking that this attitude carried over to this book. I have one other , fairly petty comment to make. The cover states- A Pulitzer Prize Winner, under the title. Yes, the writer did win a Pulitzer for her critical columns. The way this is positioned, to me, makes it look like this book is a prize winner. Just my opinion. For the most part, I enjoyed the book. Again, thanks for the opportunity.

I received this as an eGalley from NetGalley.

I don't really watch much reality television but I do enjoy reading about it? A lot of that probably is credit to the writing and research of Emily Nussbaum.

There are only two reality shows I have watched- Survivor so as to join our large extended family in our decades long pool and I used to watch Amazing Race given the global travel buddy theme. The Bravo genre has often left me perplexed as to why people want to watch it. This is why I chose to read Cue the Sun. The well researched author not only pulls back the curtain of “reality” she charts the insatiable audience who wants more, more, more. She also reminds us it has always been with us, Candid Camera, Dating Game etc. As television grew more polished this category did as well. I highly recommend Cue the Sun simply to better understand the history of this genre which is here to stay. And “Bravo” to the author, I read it cover to cover in one weekend!

I've loved Emily Nussbaum's journalism so I was so excited to see she was writing a book! I really enjoyed reading this; the threads that Nussbaum draws out through so different kinds of shows and across many decades. The ethics of reality TV is, for me, the central topic animating this work, and Nussbaum tackled it with nuance and from a variety of perspectives. She also paints detailed, specific pictures of all the people mentioned in the book, which I also admired. My one suggestion would be to include a list of who's who and what shows they were affiliated with, since I did sometimes need a reminder. Overall, would highly recommend this as an engaging cultural history!

I was captivated by Emily Nussbaum's ability to seamlessly transition between different TV shows in this book! Despite not being a fan of the early shows she discusses, I found myself engrossed in her narrative. From Survivor to Project Runway and even the unsettling evolution of Trump, Nussbaum's storytelling kept me hooked.

Viewing reality television started with Survivor. I had been a Peace Corps trainee and then a volunteer in the seventies. I was curious about the conditions the castaways had to endure. I wondered if it was anything like being a volunteer in a country where I was often sick from tainted food, had Dengue Fever, and some form of Typhus they never nailed down. I was always hot in a country with the highest mean temperatures worldwide. Yes, the castaways had a similar experience but suffered from a lack of food more than tainted food. They were hot and even spent a season in the same country where I had volunteered. What I learned about "behind the scenes" in Survivor production had me glued to the page. Big difference in motivation between me and the castaways. They were trying to win a million dollars. I was an idealistic kid trying to make a difference, inspired by JFK.

My heart went out to Tim Gunn for how he was treated on Project Runway. His genuine desire to help a contestant thread a bobbin was a testament to his character. I was relieved when he and Heidi left, and I sincerely hope this kind-hearted educator is enjoying life to the fullest. I eagerly anticipate his future projects.

I am not surprised by how The Apprentice was made or by what Trump said and did during production. Nothing he does surprises me anymore. I am happy that Trump is sitting in court as I read Nussbaum's wonderful book, which is complete with excellent writing and research. At the same time, a jury is being selected for his criminal trial.

Cue the Sun! Reading for every media class in secondary and post-secondary courses should be required. Thank you, Emily Nussbaum, for educating me, making me laugh, and enjoying every page of information.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. The book will be published on June 25, 2024.

I've long been a fan of Nussbaum's writing, and her latest is no exception. Cue the Sun is a thorough, engaging cultural history of the reality tv genre, full of smart observations about the lineage of the genre's tropes. Nussbaum does an excellent job at demonstrating how seeds planted through the decades in the culture industry grew into the current ecosystem. Readers of other television histories will likely be familiar with some of the shows featured here (An American Family, The Real World), but this book goes into much more detail and context than other works.

Emily Nussbaum knocks it out of the park (again) with this incredible history of everyone’s favorite (and sometimes guilty) lowbrow pleasure, Reality TV.

As a child of the (late) 90s, I found this history to be grounding and familiar, while filling in gaps I didn’t know my knowledge was missing. I have a deep interest in the ways that media changed during and after the 9/11 so I personally enjoyed and appreciated that Nussbaum takes care to ground the history and evolution of reality TV within the political and social climate and context.

This read is equally valuable to academics, nerds, and genre fanatics alike — you could give this to your sister in law or discuss it with your Cultured frienemies.

The length of this book can be intimidating but Nussbaum is uniquely talented at making 400+ pages feel like a dear friend is telling you a story.

Thank you to the author and publisher for access to this titled in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was overly long and detailed. The writer even acknowledged at one point the seemingly long backstory was needed for context. But it was a good overview of the genre which many only hearken back to the turn of the millennium. Readers may get the most out of this book if they have seen a lot of shows mentioned and know more about the personalities discussed.

There are two reasons why I was initially interested in reading “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV,” by Emily Nussbaum. The first is that, for better or for worse, I’m always looking for an excuse to wax poetic about Allen Funt, and I was quite sure that that itch would be scratched here (it was). The second is that ever since reading an essay by Chuck Klosterman about ‘The Real World’ as a teenager, I’ve been lightly obsessed with the psychology of that and other reality TV programs: what makes somebody want to participate in those sorts of shows? What makes somebody want to *watch* them? These particular brain worms of mine made “Cue the Sun!” sound like exactly the sort of thing I’d find fascinating, and it didn’t disappoint.

From early proto-reality radio programs like Funt’s ‘Candid Microphone’ and the wholesome-ish game shows of early tv, to user-submitted clip shows and 90s sick day staple tv judges and ‘Cops,’ through the invention of discrete reality micro-genres (‘normal strangers living together,’ ‘team survival challenges,’ ‘garish dating shows’ etc.) all the way to touching upon Trump’s ‘The Apprentice,’ Nussbaum weaves a fascinating tapestry from the many threads that make up the history of reality programming. We are taken from the naive early days when nobody really knew what the genre would become or what would be embraced by audiences, to the modern understanding of reality as unreality, as an at least semi-artificial vehicle for fame and fortune. Nussbaum interviews many reality creators, producers, production staff, and cast members, to really get into the depths of how many reality shows were conceived of, produced, and released out into the wild. We hear from cast members of various reality shows, whose experiences range from the generally benign to the catastrophic. Production is by design a side of reality tv that we don’t really see or hear much about, so having a spotlight shone upon some of the things that were going on behind the scenes of big reality productions, especially some of the bigger missteps along the way, was definitely interesting to me. Nussbaum treats her interviewees and subjects with a clear eyed curiosity and respect not normally associated with the reality genre, which I appreciated - nobody was treated as a joke, whatever their reality tv portrayal may have been.

The one missed opportunity, in my opinion, would have been to spend some time casting a reflection upon the audience of reality tv, to invite some introspection as to what it is about these shows makes us so receptive to them despite most of us being generally aware of both their status as “air quotes reality” as well as their tendency to be at least lightly abusive toward their cast members.

All in all, I thought that this was a really fun read, a bit of a palate cleanser that I’d certainly recommend if all this sounds interesting to you, too.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read & review an ARC copy of “Cue the Sun!”

This review is being posted to GoodReads ( https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15458637 ) and The StoryGraph ( https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/suzeisreading ) and linked on Instagram ( @suze.shi )

Engaging and enlightening, this book offers a deep dive into the history of reality TV, far beyond the commonly cited beginnings. Nussbaum's narrative is compelling, making this read a delightful journey through the evolution of a genre that has shaped television. It's a thought-provoking exploration that will appeal to fans of reality TV and those curious about television history.

This was a really enjoyable read, i enjoyed the concept of this nonfiction book. I thought it had a great overall story to and didn't realize how long reality tv has been going on. Emily Nussbaum writes a strong book and was really well researched.

Really enjoyed this book. Nussbaum is an excellent writer and she really knows her stuff. This is a fascinating look at the social and entertainment history of reality TV and the way it has changed our world—spoiler alert-not for the better. If you have any interest in reality tv, this book is a must read.

Some chapters felt too short, while others felt too long - ultimately informative and entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

As a big fan of Emily Nussbaum but a very, very casual fan of reality tv: I loved this. In fact, I loved this so much that after finishing the chapters on Survivor, I stopped reading to binge-watch two random seasons in a single week because it put me in the mood.

This is an excellent account of the advent of reality tv--I wasn't expecting the history to go back so far because I'd only really considered An American Family to be the beginning. As it turns out, minor iterations of reality tv popped up even before that groundbreaking show. I googled a lot of people and shows while reading, which is one of my favorite things to do since it enhances the experience. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

I really enjoy Emily Nussbaum's TV reviews, but I think she went too far back into the reality archives for this book. It starts back in the radio era and early television days, and I would have preferred that she jump right to the "modern" era of reality television starting with the original shows on MTV and The Bachelor. This had too much extra background for me so I sadly lost interest at the beginning of the book. I think it could have been a tighter narrative and more focused on the reality TV moments that readers are more familiar with.

It is a testimony to how great this book is that even though I don't care about reality TV, I stilled LOVED it. Nussbaum paints an interesting story of how reality TV fits in with our current culture. And on top of that, there are tons of hilarious stories from the wild frantic shoots that these shows are famous for. Find out the crazy ways the field producers manipulate the action. And when there isn't action, find out how the inventive editors make drama out of nothing.

I especially loved how Nussbaum went back and discussed some of the earliest examples of reality programing-- Candid Camera as well as Chuck Barris' Gong Show, Dating Game, Newlywed Game run. Nussbaum also makes an interesting point that the way Rupert Murdoch's Fox reality shows played fast and loose with the truth parallels what we've seen with Fox News. And then, of course, the role The Apprentice played in giving Americans a mistaken view of Trump.

Really a fantastic book full of humor and that also hold a mirror up to society.

Netgalley provided me with an e-galley of this book in return for an honest review.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE reality shows, from Survivor to the tacky-tacky Below Deck. The idea of reading Pulitzer Prize–winning New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum's trestice was something I could not pass up!

Nussbaum is able to pull off an amazing feat - she provides the long history of Reality Tv, including the lore we have heard, the facts that we have not and all of the experimentation that lead to what millions watch today.

Nussbaum covers the heroes of the genre including Allen Funt and Chuck Barris, John Langley as well as more well known Mike Fleiss,Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim. She also discusses the early stories including An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Bachelor - all which are the elders of what we watch today! She is always bracingly honest but treats the genre with the seriousness it deserves - we all know plenty of people who love to watch. This is a honest and enjoyable history of my favorite genre and what is has wrought on our society (see The Apprentice). Highly Recommended!
#randomhouse #cuethesun #emilynussbaum

Such a thorough and fascinating look at reality tv. I loved the combination of historical context, deeply researched reporting and cultural criticism throughout.