Audiences can now watch such stories unfold before their eyes. Instead of hearing, we can see, and this sense of access has proved much more compelling than the old style of revelations ever was. Since the beginning, HBO has been at the forefront of this new trend toward reality-based programming. The shows' names say it all. Taxicab Confessions uses a hidden camera and a sympathetic cabbie to explore just how much people will reveal in the course of one cab ride.
Real Sex is just that, what people really do behind closed doors from swingers to dominatrixes.
These programs, as well as their ongoing documentary series, have been both wildly popular and critically acclaimed. FEED talked to Shelia Nevins, HBO's executive vice president of original programming, about whether truth has become more entertaining than fiction. Don't settle for being a voyeur.