{"product_id":"cue-the-sun-the-invention-of-reality-tv","title":"Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe rollicking saga of reality television,  a “sweeping” ( The Washington Post )  cultural history of America’s most influential, most divisive artistic phenomenon, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning  New Yorker  writer—“a must-read for anyone interested in television or popular culture” (NPR)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“Passionate, exquisitely told . . . With muscular prose and an exacting eye for detail . . . [Nussbaum] knits her talents for sharp analysis and telling reportage well.”— The New York Times  (Editors’ Choice)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn development as a docuseries from the studio behind  Spencer  and  Spotlight\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eONE OF  THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE  AND THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e\nA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:  The New York Times Book Review,  NPR,  The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWho invented reality television, the world’s most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why can’t we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of “dirty documentary”—from its contentious roots in radio to the ascent of Donald Trump—Emily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built it. At once gimlet-eyed and empathetic,  Cue the Sun!  explores the morally charged, funny, and sometimes tragic consequences of the hunt for something real inside something fake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn sharp, absorbing prose, Nussbaum traces the jagged fuses of experimentation that exploded with  Survivor  at the turn of the millennium. She introduces the genre’s trickster pioneers, from the icy Allen Funt to the shambolic Chuck Barris;  Cops  auteur John Langley; cynical  Bachelor  ringmaster Mike Fleiss; and Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim, the visionaries behind  The Real World —along with dozens of stars from  An American Family, The Real World, Big Brother, Survivor,  and  The Bachelor . We learn about the tools of the trade—like the Frankenbite, a deceptive editor’s best friend—and ugly tales of exploitation. But  Cue the Sun!  also celebrates reality’s peculiar power: a jolt of emotion that could never have come from a script.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat happened to the first reality stars, the Louds—and why won’t they speak to the couple who filmed them? Which serial killer won on  The Dating Game ? Nussbaum explores reality TV as a strike-breaker, the queer roots of Bravo, the dark truth behind  The Apprentice,  and more .  A shrewd observer who adores television, Nussbaum is the ideal voice for the first substantive history of the genre that, for better or worse, made America what it is today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ANT","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":52891262124319,"sku":"A2276","price":7.64,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0957\/0546\/5119\/files\/ebook_1536_9487694c0c.jpg?v=1789632684","url":"https:\/\/lumobook.store\/products\/cue-the-sun-the-invention-of-reality-tv","provider":"LumoBook","version":"1.0","type":"link"}