In the first program, a man is chained to four women for four days and must eliminate one woman a day. The imagery is base, but worse yet is the manner in which the women must lobby to avoid being discarded. Conjoining a man to four women and having the male cast off one woman at a time combines a sort of soft brutality with a subject matter that would previously have been considered unsuitable for conventional television network use. A similar tendency can be seen in the bread and butter programming of TV networks - the sitcom. As plot lines and language push the envelope of decency, parents must shield the eyes and ears of their children during what used to be called the family hour.
Television is notorious for lacking innovation when it comes to competition.
There is usually an attempt to copy any show that is getting high ratings. This is not to say that all copycat efforts succeed. Only time will tell if this apparent fad continues to burgeon. Unfortunately, reality programming could be the signpost that forecasts the direction our collective psyche is headed. It's not a pretty picture show.