Reality TV Casting: A Therapist’s Regret

Loni Fagel is a psychotherapist who specialises in helping clients cope with medical trauma, grief and loss - but she didn't always use her qualifications for good.

The American clinical counsellor tells Daily Mail she once worked in casting for shows in the US between 2002 and 2005. 

She says she was encouraged by producers to search for contestants with 'marketable' trauma and emotional baggage that would make good content. 

'I look back at it and it was an amazing experience, and I feel like I ruined some people's lives,' she recalls. 

'I put them in a show and they were edited in a certain way. Then, were they able to go back and be a normal human afterwards?'

She claims casting teams were often advised to search for 'unhinged' people with trauma and baggage that could be exploited for entertainment. 

Loni says she left her work in television when she felt it was no longer aligned with her morals and had become exploitative.

However, she says she still sees similar casting goals being pursued today in controversial shows like Married At First Sight - though there is a notable difference.

'Casting has shifted into something very different than what it used to be. It's no longer just about finding people who genuinely want the experience,' she says. 

'A lot of it is about who has the most followers, who can bring the most viewers in, and who can generate engagement. 

'When reality TV first started, it looked very different. People were submitting VHS tapes, going to casting calls, or getting discovered in their day-to-day lives. 

'There was no social media. Now everything is about who has a brand deal, who has the most followers, and who can bring the most drama or viewers in.'

Loni goes on to say 'network heads often have a vision for the "characters" they bring in, and those roles are often stereotyped'. 

'They are casting based on archetypes or personality types, and they want outlandish,' she adds. 

'It's like that analogy when you see a train wreck, you don't look away. If anything, you want to get a closer look and see what happens next,' she continues.

'Some of the "unhinged" people they are casting are reflective of the times we live in.'

Loni says when she worked in casting, viewers 'were not as influenced by politics and the state of the world was not as chaotic as it is today'. 

She adds that reality TV contestants nowadays appear to have 'been given more permission to act without the same fear of consequences'.

'So are people really going on Married At First Sight because they , or is it because they want clout and visibility however that looks?' she asks. 

'I do think that people want to be on these kinds of shows for both the love and the fame. 

'And they do this by making themselves visible, which often looks like mental instability or "being more unhinged".

'People know what they are getting into when they go on these shows, whether they were approached by casting or reached out themselves. 

'On shows like Married At First Sight, are there some people who are there because they want to get ? Yes. 

'And there are people who are there because they want exposure, and how they get that exposure is by acting unhinged so they get airtime.'

Loni says one rule has persisted across the decades of reality TV - 'boring people means boring TV'.

'People who are more "unhinged" bring tension, storylines, and drama, and draw viewers in because people get invested,' she says.

'I've also noticed a trend that, along with being more "unhinged", there is a ridiculous amount of lip fillers, Botox, and boob jobs.'

She says this trend toward a particular kind of look - often only achievable through cosmetic and plastic procedures - brings its own dangers. 

'[It] can amplify eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and other body image insecurities,' she says.

The psychotherapist goes on to lament that it has become far too easy to 'forget' that reality TV contestants 'are real people'.