Culture: Television / The Netherlands
Keeping it real
The Dutch are reality TV pioneers but as times evolve, shows are voted off. Can these new formats be the catalyst for a renaissance?
It is the moment of truth for 11 Dutch celebrities. They are fidgeting nervously under dramatic lighting and sinister flags as they wait for their cue to start throwing accusations of duplicitous behaviour at each other. Glued to a monitor in a room nearby, three TV executives from Israel watch as a contestant breaks down in tears. They don’t understand a word but are gripped and throw questions at Kevin Soares, the executive vice-president for international formats at idtv, the Amsterdam-based production company that first created the programme…
