Breaking news: Kim Kardashian got married to NBA star Kris Humphries this weekend.
OK, so it’s not breaking news. I mean, how can you keep a secret about a reality TV star — Kim Kardashian is actually in at least two separate reality TV shows — who’s life is basically broadcast for public consumption?
Kim is single — season theme. Kim is living in New York City and dating — new reality TV show. Kim gets married — season finale. Kim and new husband — spinoff.
It’s a cash cow.
But I wonder if a show like this would fly in Hawaii.
It’s amazing to me that reality TV juggernauts — particularly Bravo’s “The Real Housewives” series — hasn’t scouted locations here. Hawaii has perfect scenery, a a colorful cultural landscape, and enough drama to last at least a few seasons.
But would it work?
Here are some of my ideas:
• Find an engaged local celebrity — Hawaii News Now’s Stephanie Lum or KHON’s Tammy Mori come to mind — and follow her journey to the altar. Oh, you’d watch.
• Remember Brooke Lee, Miss Universe 1997? Ever read her tweets (@brooksuniverse)? You should. And you’ll know why she needs her own reality TV show.
• Co-host of MTV’s NextMovie Daily and Roosevelt High alum McKenna Maduli (@mckennalive) should move back to the Islands and just eat everything in sight. I’d watch that.
• I know a few single ladies whose lives would make for interesting prime-time TV, including a dietician who drinks two — two — 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke a day.
See? This could happen.
But would anyone watch?
25 Comments
Well, Honoka’a resident Roseanne Barr has her “reality” show on Lifetime. I’m not a reality tv show viewer by any stretch but I do watch this one solely for the Big Island connection (since I live in Hilo).
I haven’t seen a single episode… I must’ve missed it… I’m going to see if there are episodes online. How is it?
Strange and somewhat of a mixed bag. One episode Roseanne had Hawaiian kahuna/priest Akaka and his wife Anna (my former dental hygienist!) bless the Kamuela Museum which she had purchased. Another had her buying a dilapidated food truck so she could roam the streets looking for people to give away produce she grew in her own garden. Weird, to say the least.
I have to admit, though, the show does reveal sides of her personality that I’m sure the general public heretofore had no idea existed. Some scenes are generally funny, though others feel contrived to fit the reality tv mold. Her son and husband/companion appear regularly and are pretty funny themselves. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I’m sure, but interesting, as I say, because it is Big Island-based.
Hey Cat: I’m actually a sucker for reality shows … but not so much for these “follow my daily life” types … so overly dramatic, imho … and they’re really not “real-life” anymore …
… anyway, a Hawaii reality show could be interesting … I’d just watch for the familiarity aspect … you know, it’s always fun when you actually know something about the surroundings or situations …
… but Hawaii and it’s people are just too … NICE … and I don’t think that makes for good reality tv … you need some eccentric, rude, or obnoxious clowns to focus on … you need some drama and over-hyped situations … too much of it would just be manufactured and it just wouldn’t feel right …
… just think of “Hawaii 5-0” … a lot of it seems too much and would never happen here in Hawaii … but I still love the show though …
I think you’ve got a point there… The network would have to bring in outsiders to create the kind of drama viewers are looking for.
Then again, Ruthie from MTV’s “Real World: Hawaii” was drama all by herself.
We have a great law here in Hawaii… NO BILLBOARDS! …and it works out just fine as eye-sores are few and far between!
I see reality TV as billboards on the airwaves–let’s keep ’em on the mainland, and not pollute Hawaii’s airwaves with that trash!
Hawaii is used enough as special settings for reality shows from time to time that film here for a season, or special episodes… isn’t that enough?
We need to encourage more shows like Lost and Hawaii Five-0. They showcase the beauty of our state properly; whether or not the plausibility of plotlines are real. We don’t need to be like everyone else with a reality show… it’s worked out pretty well for us so far.
As for the nuptials above, I give KK and her hubby a year… I know, I’m such a cynic, LOL! I guess I woke up on the wrong side of bed today!
I wonder if there are office pools on the length of any Kardashian marriage!
how ’bout a day in the life of andy bumatai, that would be cool. or cruising with frank delima and 8tututut in a cab. Dont sell your self short Cat……we are all already following you….to…whereevers. Even if u elope….we’ll be there. smart phone in hand,all set to post in the comment section. Leave some cookies out…..
Andy Bumatai should bring back “All in the Ohana.” That was better than any reality TV!
all i know about the roseanne show is that she got in all kinds of humbug with her neighbors.Court battles and the like. She cut down trees and caused flooding on others property is theissue, i think. something like that.Was in the paper last year. My idea for a reality show was a long time ago…it involved cheech and chong and cruising over saddle road. Hunter S. Thompson already did it in “The Curse of Lono”. But that was a book, not tv. hmmm…….
I don’t think it’s ever a good thing to film celebs moving into a new city and wreaking havoc. Not the best PR.
I thought they did that already but that was LOST on most people… OK, seriously now. I think I’d like to do a show on the Golf Channel. A bunch of 50 somethings like me that are close to scratch golfers live in a house near Ko’Olina, we play golf by day with lessons from all the greats hoping to eventually make it to the Seniors tour. You could call it Big Break Waianae Coast. There would be a twist. The challenges would not start until six months into it. In the meantime they could highlight the misadventures of the participants learning to live Hawaii. I think one participant should be a kama’aina that has an eleven year old kid. There are a lot of 50 somethings that think they have what it takes to make the tour. People who did not grow up looking to play college golf. Sort of the 50 year old equivalent of Tommy ‘two gloves’ Gainey. the winner gets to play an event on the Champions Tour. OK, every now and then you have to work in the exhaustively pretty girl to work with the guys on their game. I know a number of guys that started playing at 30 that are pretty amazing golfers now. Give them six months of Hawaiian golf with the right teachers and I bet they can compete. Come to think of it the name of the show should be Bit Broken – but still good 🙂
A reality TV show about golfers…………?
Golf…?
The sport….?
Yes, golf the sport. Great exercise! I carry my clubs and walk. Basically a six mile hike with a 25 lb backback over the course of 4-5 hours. Usually play two rounds in a day doing that. So it is more like 10 miles.
Are you saying golfers are boring???
What about Local Justice? Kind of a reality series, and it does profile local court cases. Caught a couple episodes on KFVE and think it’s available online too. Hilarious! These was an adobo chicken case a couple weeks ago that made my husband crack up.
I’ve never seen it. Sounds like TLC’s “Trauma: Life in the ER.” An episode from filmed at Queen’s. Makes you second-guess where you want to be taken in an ambulance…
Reality TV show? You mean one featuring Cat Toth? Yeah, we’ll all watch it. 😀
No ways. My life is too boring. I’m sitting at a computer all day, cursing. It’s not fun.
what ? Tammy Mori is engaged ? and Stephanie Lum is engaged ??? my heart is breaking…………..
I know. The world is over for you men. 🙂
Haven’t we already had multiple Hawai’i- based reality shows, e.g., Dog the Bounty Hunter, MTV Real World? People watched those.
again, late to the party.
how about a travel channel type show where celebs from hawaii or with local connections come back for vacation. shane victorino, kelly hu, carrie inaba, etc. probably better than those hawaii travelogues that they usually hav with the hosts going from tiki bar to luau in search of the “real” hawaii
I was going to say I would watch anything about Hawaii but someone brought up Roseanne Barr. ugh. oh my.
I loved Maui Chopper but they only had like 4 episodes. Then there was one where they had episodes filmed on the beaches, beach rescues etc. Loved that one too. Only had a few episodes in Hawaii tho.
I would watch, what about one with Augie T?
Real World did a season here and it was kind of a disaster. One of the members either got roofied or darn near drank herself to death!