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Constructing, Programming, and Branding Celebrity on Reality Television UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Producing Reality Stardom: Constructing, Programming, and Branding Celebrity on Reality Television A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Television by Lindsay Nicole Giggey 2017 © Copyright by Lindsay Nicole Giggey 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Producing Reality Stardom: Constructing, Programming, and Branding Celebrity on Reality Television by Lindsay Nicole Giggey Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Television University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor John T. Caldwell, Chair The popular preoccupation with celebrity in American culture in the past decade has been bolstered by a corresponding increase in the amount of reality programming across cable and broadcast networks that centers either on established celebrities or on celebrities in the making. This dissertation examines the questions: How is celebrity constructed, scheduled, and branded by networks, production companies, and individual participants, and how do the constructions and mechanisms of celebrity in reality programming change over time and because of time? I focus on the vocational and cultural work entailed in celebrity, the temporality of its production, and the notion of branding celebrity in reality television. Dissertation chapters will each focus on the kinds of work that characterize reality television production cultures at the network, production company, and individual level, with specific attention paid to programming focused ii on celebrity making and/or remaking. Celebrity is a cultural construct that tends to hide the complex labor processes that make it possible. This dissertation unpacks how celebrity status is the product of a great deal of seldom recognized work and calls attention to the hidden infrastructures that support the production, maintenance, and promotion of celebrity on reality television. Given particular forms of temporality involved in both television programming cycles and celebrity itself, this dissertation details how the management of time serves as a defining aspect of contemporary media branding. iii The dissertation of Lindsay Nicole Giggey is approved. Denise R. Mann Chon A. Noriega Jennifer Holt John T. Caldwell, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv For my parents, who encouraged me to dream, and gave me the tools to pursue the world. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... xii VITA.............................................................................................................................. xviii INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 Labor and Work in Reality Television ............................................................................ 3 Television and Time ........................................................................................................ 6 Celebrity and Time .......................................................................................................... 9 Managing Time: Branding............................................................................................. 12 The Evolution of Television Stardom ........................................................................... 14 History ........................................................................................................................ 14 Labor Conditions........................................................................................................ 17 Television Personality Skillset ................................................................................... 20 History of Reality Television and Precedents for Celebrity .......................................... 23 Theorizing Television Celebrity .................................................................................... 26 Theorizing Celebrity Labor ........................................................................................... 29 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 31 Chapter Breakdown ....................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER ONE: “WATCH WHAT HAPPENS”: INSTITUTIONALIZING REALITY CELEBRITY IN BRAVO’S NETWORK BRAND ..................................................... 39 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 39 Bravo’s Early Years: 1980-1989 ................................................................................... 45 Creating a Brand through Programming: 1990-2002 .................................................... 51 Bravo Under NBC: 2002-Present .................................................................................. 56 “Affluencers”: Redefining Bravo’s Programming ..................................................... 58 Bravo-lebrities: Reality Personalities as Brand Strategy ........................................... 63 Andy Cohen: The Ultimate Network Manufactured Celebrity ..................................... 66 CHAPTER TWO: AMERICA’S NEXT TOP BRAND: THE PRECARIOUS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN REALITY SHOW PRODUCTION COMPANIES AND CONTESTANTS ............................................................................................................. 76 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 76 Systemic Star Promotion ............................................................................................... 83 Reality TV’s Micro Star-System: The 7-Week No Option Contract ............................ 84 vi Casting: Cultivating Authenticity ............................................................................... 84 Shooting and Post-Production: Crafting Celebrity ................................................... 93 Social Media ............................................................................................................... 98 Bankable Productions: ANTM’s Bottom Line ............................................................. 109 CHAPTER THREE: MOM-AGER KNOWS BEST: INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP OF REALITY STARDOM ................................................................................................. 121 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 121 Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and the Origins of KUWtK .......................................... 126 Mom-Ager Knows Best: Normalizing Celebrity through TV Tropes ......................... 134 Tabloids, Social Media, and Celebrity Maintenance ................................................... 142 Kompiling K-Stardom: Interactive Celebrity Branding in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood ................................................................................................................... 147 Konclusion: Kendall, Kylie, and Third Generation Celebrity ..................................... 157 CONCLUSION: THE CELEBRITY AP-PRESIDENT: PUBLIC PERSONAE AND THE DUBIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICS AND REALITY TV .......... 161 APPENDIX I: SUPPLEMENTAL BRAVO TABLES AND FIGURES ................. 170 APPENDIX II: SUPPLEMENTAL AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... 175 APPENDIX III: KOLLECTION OF KARDASHIANS ........................................... 178 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 199 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: BRAVO ORGANIZATIONAL CHART – 1980 ................................... 171 FIGURE 2: CABLEVISION AND RAINBOW HOLDINGS IN THE 1990s ......... 173 FIGURE 3: NBCUNIVERAL HOLDINGS AS OF 2017 .......................................... 174 FIGURE 4: ANISA PRODUCTIONS COMPANY ORRANIGATIONAL CHART: 2012-2013 ....................................................................................................................... 176 FIGURE 5: ANISA PRODUCTIONS CASTING DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART: 2012-2013 ...................................................................................................... 177 FIGURE 6: KRIS JENNER (NEE HOUGHTON, FORMERLY KARDASHIAN)178 FIGURE 7: ROBERT KARDASHIAN, SR. .............................................................. 179 FIGURE 8: CAITLIN JENNER (FORMERLY BRUCE), AUGUST 11, 2013 ...... 180 FIGURE 9: CAITLIN JENNER (FORMERLY BRUCE), APRIL 30, 2017 .......... 181 FIGURE 10: KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN; 1ST DAUGHTER OF ROBERT KARDASHIAN AND KRIS JENNER ........................................................................ 182 FIGURE 11: KIM KARDASHIAN-WEST; 2ND DAUGHTER OF ROBERT KARDASHIAN AND KRIS JENNER ........................................................................ 183 FIGURE 12: KHLOÉ KARDASHIAN (FORMERLY KHLOE KARDASHIAN-ODOM); 3RD DAUGHTER OF ROBERT KARDASHIAN AND KRIS JENNER .............................................................................................................
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