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NBC

NBC’s $25 Million Hoax debuts tonight.

by Andy Dehnart 8 Nov. 2004 | 7:00 am

NBC’s $25 Million Hoax debuts tonight.
NBC gets into the twisted game of manipulative reality TV when it debuts the redundantly titled $25 Million Dollar Hoax at 10 p.m. ET. The twenty-five million dollar dollar hoax show will air for three weeks and feature a woman who drags her family through emotional hell so she can get some cash. Her task involves “convincing them she has won the lottery and changed from a level-headed, sweet girl to a selfish spend-a-holic.” If she does this, she gets just $400,000. And we thought no reality show could be cheaper than Big Brother and its tiny prize. Variety’s review compares it to My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance and says the series “offers all the Fox show’s cruelty with none of its humor, though it is fun to watch pretty blond contestant/hoax-er Chrissy Sanford try to think, which kind of looks like it hurts.” The Hollywood Reporter’s review says it is “deception for deception’s sake, playing the audience for fools as much as it does the featured unwitting clan.”
+ also: these shows “cull their stars from the unsuspecting and manipulate them ruthlessly and relentlessly.”

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association, Andy, 40, directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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