Reality TV is without a doubt the dominant television genre of the 21st century. Dating programmes alone could easily fill their own channel given the constant stream of shows such as Love Is Blind. And when reality TV isn’t churning out new formats, it is rebooting old Noughties favourites, such as Netflix’s The Mole – which initially aired in the US in 2001 – or Big Brother, whose highly anticipated return to British TV is next year.
But as the genre booms, soap operas, which once reigned supreme on TV screens, continue to go bust. This year, the Australian soap Neighbours was canned after 37 years. It marks a global trend in the genre’s decline. The audience figures on EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are tanking, too.
