I sometimes wish I had a reality show, but my life just isn't that interesting. But I often feel that I am destined for stardom and a reality show would be the quickest way to achieve it. Take Elisabeth Hasselbeck, one of the co-hosts of The View. She got her start on TV on the reality show Survivor. And Eva Pigford, winner of America's Next Top Model Season 3, and is now a regular on The Young and the Restless. What luck.
Another lucky thing about reality shows is the money to be made. I always knew that the networks were paying the reality stars, but I was blown away when I found out how much some are actually making.
The Osbornes' reported earnings jumped from $5,000 each the first season to $5 million each in their last season. The Osbornes are a unique example because Ozzy Osborne was a star before the show, but they are still just living their lives and getting paid by MTV $5 million each a season.
The celebrities on ABC's Dancing with the Stars earn a base salary of $125,000.
NBC pays Donald Trump $50,000 per episode for Celebrity Apprentice and the B-list stars on The Surreal Life earn between $10,000 and $25,000 per episode, according to msn.com.
But Jon and Kate Gosselin, who were not known to the public before their show on TLC Jon and Kate plus 8, earn nearly as much as Trump. CNN reported that the couple earns between $50,000 and $75,000 an episode.
In comparison, the no-names on CBS' Big Brother earn $750 a week. It averages to about 10 cents an hour, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The contestants on CBS' The Bachelor are paid whatever their mortgage or rent is. I'm sure there is a max, but that information wasn't available.
While some careers are catapulted by reality shows, others are destroyed. Jon and Kate said last week that they hate the media after news organizations reported that Jon had an affair. Kate said they are targets because they are on television.
Tara Reid says her reality TV show Taradise, which followed the actress as she partied around the world, ruined her career. And singer Nick Lachey says his reality show Newlyweds was "among the dumber ideas I think I've ever seen executed in history."
Would you ever star in a reality show?
