S2 E4: Ray Murray on the Early Days of Reality Television, Why "The Real World" Hardly Was Real and If We Have Reached 'Peak TV'

Summary: Ray Murray was there when reality TV really took off. He founded Banyan Productions in 1992 when The Real World first aired on MTV. But Murray took a different approach with his creations. Rather than seeking conflict, he sought authenticity in the shows he produced. "Trading Spaces" is his most famous one, following by "A Wedding Story," "A Baby Story." These were shows that showed "real" people doing "real" things, rather than the manufactured scenes we now see in the "Houswives Of..." series, "Dance Moms," and "The Bachelor." We open our discussion about Murray's new venture "The WorkShop" and then head right into the reality TV discussion. Hear his thoughts on: binge TV viewing (3:30), being there when cable TV and then reality TV started to expand exponentially (6:20), "The Real World" (6:54), why he sought to produce more positive reality shows (8:14), why he kind of wishes he came up with "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" (10:11), why shows branded as reality TV are rarely real at all (11:30), creating Trading Spaces (12:05), why it is so hard to predict if a show will be a hit (13:30), his favorite reality TV show of the moment (16:10), how social media enhances his job (17:27), if we have reached "peak TV" (19:17), what our next big idea should be in the reality space (22:35) and if we are amusing ourselves to death (23:14). Recorded in the lunch room of a corporate office building in Radnor, PA on February 20, 2019.