<P> First broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1964 , the Granada Television documentary Seven Up ! , broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary 7 - year - olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life . Every seven years , a film documented the life of the same individuals during the intervening period , titled the Up Series , episodes include `` 7 Plus Seven '' , `` 21 Up '' , etc. ; it is still ongoing . The program was structured as a series of interviews with no element of plot . However , it did have the then - new effect of turning ordinary people into celebrities . The first reality show in the modern sense may have been the series The American Sportsman , which ran from 1965 to 1986 on ABC in the United States . A typical episode featured one or more celebrities , and sometimes their family members , being accompanied by a camera crew on an outdoor adventure , such as hunting , fishing , hiking , scuba diving , rock climbing , wildlife photography , horseback riding , race car driving , and the like , with most of the resulting action and dialogue being unscripted , except for the narration . </P>
<P> First broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1964 , the Granada Television documentary Seven Up ! , broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary 7 - year - olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life . Every seven years , a film documented the life of the same individuals during the intervening period , titled the Up Series , episodes include `` 7 Plus Seven '' , `` 21 Up '' , etc. ; it is still ongoing . The program was structured as a series of interviews with no element of plot . However , it did have the then - new effect of turning ordinary people into celebrities . The first reality show in the modern sense may have been the series The American Sportsman , which ran from 1965 to 1986 on ABC in the United States . A typical episode featured one or more celebrities , and sometimes their family members , being accompanied by a camera crew on an outdoor adventure , such as hunting , fishing , hiking , scuba diving , rock climbing , wildlife photography , horseback riding , race car driving , and the like , with most of the resulting action and dialogue being unscripted , except for the narration . </P>
when was the first reality tv show aired
when was the first reality tv show aired
1965
1965