1

"I had a cousin win my country’s version of survivor. He finished the final competition about 45 min before everyone else but the producers cut it in a way that made it seem like he barely won with just a few inches ahead of second place. But I guess that’s to be expected with reality TV.

Another fun fact – the host of the show tried to get all of the women to gang up and get my cousin voted out, and it was so bad that the producers had to step in and tell him to stop (that part didn’t get aired ofc). Also the host of the show, who was a “respected” tv host in my country at the time, was a raging alcoholic during the whole trip.

Another thing I remembered was that they had to halt the shooting of the show and get the contestants into hotels on the mainland for around 2 months because a lot of the people got hit by some kind of virus or bacteria that made a lot of them extremely sick."

2

"As a phone-a-friend on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, there is no rule against googling. Instead of studying, I practiced googling all kinds of esoteric subjects for a few weeks. I helped my friend win $50K."

3

"I was on a show where someone in the audience blurted out the answer before I could. They stopped production, removed the audience member, took me off stage, reset the entire round and started over. The kicker is I knew the answer anyway, and the new round had a category I knew absolutely nothing about. Audience member cost me $30k."

4

"On Jeopardy, there are tiny lights surrounding the game board that aren’t visible on camera. You can’t ring in until the lights flash and if you try before the lights flash, you get locked out for a couple of seconds. That’s why you see people rapidly clicking the signaling device."

5

"Wife and I tried out for Supermarket Sweep in 2021. We did a zoom call with the casting people but didn’t get the call. I think:

-We got too many answers right.-We weren’t “enthusiastic” enough. They really went hard on this, like jump up and down and scream, give us more, MORE! MOOOORE!! It was exhausting."

6

"I dated a guy who was on Chopped. He said it’s not as rushed. That they are allowed to have sips of alcohol if they’re using it in the food.

The one that bothered him was that they were super encouraged to take swipes at each other and he’s a really nice guy."

7

"I was on The Price is Right. The stage is much smaller and the colors (including Bob’s makeup) were much brighter than what you see on TV. They took my SSN in case I was picked for tax purposes. Everyone said to act enthusiastically to get picked, but I couldn’t fake it- not my personality. Despite that, I got picked. I must have been wearing a good outfit for TV or something. I ended up winning a lot of $ on Plinko.

Yes, the spinning wheel is heavy!"

8

"I was in the audience for Deal or No Deal once. There were a couple running gags that didn’t make the TV cut.  They also took the secrecy of the briefcase contents very seriously. One of the briefcases got dropped and it opened. I don’t think anyone saw the number inside but that was enough for every one of them to be taken back behind the stage and re-randomized."

9

"I was on Slime Time Live as a kid in the early 2000s, back when they filmed it at Universal Studios Florida. They picked the contestants that are going to play in advance and then put us in the crowd and announced us on air and told us to act surprised. The host was a jerk and wouldn’t talk to the contestants off air. The two cohosts were a lot nicer though. Also the slime is cold and takes multiple washings to get out of your hair."

10

"No one hails the cash cab. It’s all a setup, though the contestants don’t necessarily know they’re about to be on ‘cash cab.’ They also pull you out of the cab after the initial scheme, set everything up then send you on your way. You also get a cheque, not the actual cash."

11

"In the early 80s a friend’s family got to be on Family Feud and I got invited to be in the audience. Among many revelations (to a kid who had been raised on the TV) Richard Dawson was way more creepy in-person than he appears on TV and he had to stand behind the set pieces and chain-smoke in-between takes. It was so odd to see how he could just turn himself ‘on’ and ‘off’ like that. On camera, a totally different person, warm and friendly, off camera, sullen and hungover looking. He did not look like a happy man. What a trip that was."

12

"I was a contestant on The Weakest Link – the American version with the main lady. It was their HS episode!

What you don’t see is a HUGE clock counting down right in front of all of the contestants. It’s very nerve racking. Also, they told us she picks on the ones she likes and boy, she loved me. So much never made it to air but it was so much fun!

Also, none of us were random people that tried out. We were all agency kids. Whether modeling or acting, all of us had representation. It helped the process with minors so they knew we were screen tested."

13

"My dad was on Jeopardy two years ago. You aren’t allowed to tell anyone you’re going to be on the show or going to film. He told us like two days before the episode aired because that’s when they require you to post on your social media that you’re going to be on (and they ask for your social media to confirm you do.) If you don’t win you still get 5K for participating."

14

"My sister tried out for big brother a few years ago and when they went in to do group interviews someone that worked for the show pulled her aside and said “don’t say anything to anyone but you’re a VIP” and we both assumed it was either told to everyone to hype them up or told to everyone to try and stir things up."

15

"Not me, but an acquaintance was taped for “Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”

He was definitely smarter than a fifth grader. That doesn’t make for good television. It never went to air."