What Alec Baldwin Can Learn From the Pitfalls of Reality TV

The big picture

• Alec Baldwin should be careful about moving into reality TV amid his legal battles and paparazzi scrutiny.
• Raising children in the public eye can have negative impacts, as seen in the example of former TLC star Jon Gosselin.
• Presenting a perfect image on reality TV can backfire if viewers feel that something is being hidden or fake.

Alec Baldwin has been an A-list celebrity in Hollywood since the 1980s. He has a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and has produced several films. So when he and his wife Hilaria Baldwin announced that they would be releasing their own TLC family reality series, questions were asked. What prompted this sudden interest in switching from his traditional role as a leading man to starring with his wife and 7 children in a reality show? Jon Gosselinanother TLC The reality TV personality, who has experience raising children under the scrutiny of the cameras, has some words of caution for the celebrity couple.

Alec should pay special attention to the nature of the genre, even if his show is supposed to focus on his wife and children as much as it does on the Hollywood legend. That's especially true because he's still facing charges related to the shooting and murder Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun on the set of rust, a film in which Alec was both the protagonist and producer. The actor still faces possible jail time if found guilty. He continues to maintain his innocence in the case, however Reality TV is a tricky space to navigate when the issue is tied up in a legal battle.

The downsides of reality TV are especially apparent when you bring kids on set, of which Alec and Hilaria have seven. This is clear from the recent teaser that the family released Instagram that the everyday life of the children and the family will be a central aspect of the series. It's possible that the wholesome image they're trying to create on their TLC series is part of a campaign to rehabilitate Alec's public image, or perhaps a continued source of income for the family if their court battle doesn't end favorably . If the idea is a positive public image, TheBaldwins should be wary of how alert the reality TV audience is to scenes that seem overproduced. The couple should consider the downsides of reality TV paying attention to the experiences of another TLC family-based reality star, realizing that many reality TV personalities have tried and failed to present a perfect image to the public, and that viewers are very attentive to the scenes of Hollywood actors who are more – produced.

Former TLC Star Speaks Out Against 'The Baldwins'

Jon and his wife Kate Gosselin she raised her family of 8 children on the TLC series Jon and Kate Plus 8. After the couple's instant rise to fame, their relationship became strained. The series ran for two seasons, but after their divorce in 2009, it was rebranded Kate Plus 8 and then ran until 2017. His experience filming the reality series left Jon with some advice for Alec, telling the actor in an interview with Fox News to “run the other way “. While the A-list celebrity is of course familiar with how paparazzi work, Jon also warned her how people will look to catch him in any kind of scenario that might jeopardize the way he portrays his life on the show: “Why would you invite drama into your home when all you've tried to do is live, you know, a private life…”

On the subject of raising children in the public eye, Jon cautioned the celebrity couple against it, noting that the Baldwins could choose to use their “vast amount of wealth” to shield their children from such scrutiny. He questioned why the couple would choose to involve their children in something they cannot consent to, saying “You have to remember, you can't stop being famous.” It's a fair point, especially considering Alec's history with paparazzi himself. In 2012, the famous actor gave an interview with And! news claiming that being followed by invasive “illegitimate” photographers was “ruining” his and Hilaria's life. He even asked the interviewer, “What if I had a child?” Alec has had a contentious history with the paparazzi over the years, often berating them about respecting his privacy and occasionally getting physical with them when his requests are denied.

It begs the question again, with a decidedly agitated view of how invasive the media will be once the new series premieres, why go ahead with the project, especially given that it revolves around of your children? A privileged person who speaks Us Weekly seems to have an answer. The source claims that Hilaria has been in contact for several years to participate in reality TV in one form or another, noting that with so many children who have “great personalities” hers is the “perfect situation” for the reality TV Just as the teaser the couple posted on social media promised to let viewers into Baldwin's home to experience “the highs and lows, the good, the bad, the wild and the crazy,” a second privileged source confirmed to the magazine that the couple sees the series as an opportunity to “show the world what their life is like on a day-to-day basis”. The couple's desire to take a look at their world could be a bid to take over the public narrative.

Presenting a perfect image often backfires on reality TV

The catch with reality TV is that spotting the lie is half the fun, but viewers are very alert to a cover-up and the fan base can become toxic if they are justifiably irritated by a reality TV series that seems fake. How Lisa Vanderpumpqueen of reality television, made it clear recently during her appearance at Not thin, but not fat podcast, viewers aren't interested in what you're doing, “they're interested in what you're hiding.”The actor's public image can get worse rather than better if viewers sense that there is something hidden behind the picture-perfect facade. it seems from the recent trailer that the Baldwins intend to screen in their new series. The amount of footage required to edit together an interesting reality series means there are frequent opportunities for the facade to slip, and unless you're The Kardashianswho have turned spoofing a reality TV season into an art form after nearly 20 years of experience in the genre, it can be incredibly difficult to maintain control over how family is portrayed.

The Housewives franchise can deliver several cautionary tales about people who are in the history of reality stars who feel they are putting on an act for the camera. Brook Ayers learned this the hard way when he joined the cast of Real Housewives of Orange County as the boyfriend of Vicki Gunvalson. His rise to notoriety led to a confidence that led to his own downfall, when he faked a cancer diagnosis in 2016. The man was so bold that he thought he would be able to control the narrative and gain sympathy . Instead, he had a league of internet researchers digging into his past, including Meghan King. Jen Shah from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is another example. The diva tried to hide in plain sight while committing wire fraud in her telemarketing business, but the extra spotlight on her lavish reality TV lifestyle certainly didn't help her case when she went to trial

Other Hollywood celebrities have tried reality TV

A good example of where a celebrity went wrong with a reality series is Sylvester Stallone in his show with his family, The Stallone Family. The series centered around the perfect life he and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, he had built with his three daughters in Beverly Hills. What the series completely ignored, however, were the serious marital problems that were documented by the press prior to filming. By all accounts, including Sylvester himself, their marriage had been on the brink of divorce before filming, but in the series, all viewers see is a close-knit family, smiling and laughing together at all times, with Sylvester directing the scene. The actor even admitted in an interview with collider that when it came time to edit, the family was present in the room at all times, to ensure that no footage made it to the series without their approval. Although the Stallone family paints a romanticized Hollywood version of their home life, to viewers familiar with the press coverage of what their relationship had been like in the weeks and months leading up to filming, it seems inauthentic.

With his legal battle, public image to maintain and 7 children to appear in the series, there is a lot at stake for Alec and his family. Although he has the confidence of a man with 4 decades of experience on set, the star should be wary of the pitfalls of trying to do a Hollywood version of the reality show. When viewers of the genre, including the press, get the sense that something is being hidden or concealed, it prompts the urge to look more closely.. If people are less interested in what Alec is willing to show and more interested in what he tries to keep hidden on camera, he and his family may have gotten more than they bargained for with their TLC series.

The Baldwins the day is expected to come out TLC in 2025. The Stallone Family is available for playback Paramount+

Watch Paramount+