For 3 seasons Spike Network has created a show which satires the reality tv genre. Through The Joe Schmo Show an ordinary person “Joe Schmo” is led to believe they have been casted as a contestant on a reality tv show. Actors portray the contestants on the show and each is assigned a typical stereotype that is commonly seen in these shows. I found this concept extremely hilarious because it points out how ridiculous reality tv shows can be at times – especially when people are competing for a large sum on money.
In the first season, Lap of Luxury, the Schmo, Matt was led to believe that he would be competing on this show for a $100,000 prize. Throughout the season he and the other “contestants” competed in a number of events and at the end of every week an eviction ceremony would be held to vote someone off. These “contestants” were in fact actors that would portray common reality show stereotypes such as “The Rich Bitch,” “The Buddy,” “The Gay Guy,” and “The Schemer.”
In the second season they decided to created a satire of shows such as The Bachelor and entitled their hoax show as Last Chance for Love. Stereotypes portrayed on this season included “The Weeper,” “The Drunk,” and “The Playah.”
The most recent season just aired and was entitled Full Bounty. In this season a the Schmo, Chase, was led to believe that he was competing for $100,000 and the chance to become a Bounty Hunter.
Here is the promo for the most recent season: