USUALLY, when we write about reality shows, we rarely give them much respect. From the Kardashian family who practically voodoo-ed us into watching them, to the empty vessels on Jersey Shore, there is no limit to the rubbish that has been commissioned by TV networks for our viewing “pleasure”.
Yet there are also success stories in reality TV when the viewer actually cares about the subjects on or off the screen. That must be what rapper T.I.’s fans feel like when watching T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle. Coming to us for a third season on MTV Base, we’ll catch up with the rapper, his wife and his kids in the next chapter of their lives.
In the first two seasons, we saw how they dealt with jailbird T.I.’s time in prison.
Now that he’s back, we see him and the family as he promotes his latest album, Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head. Not to be outdone, Tiny is also promoting her all-girl group, the OMG Girlz, so this is going to be a musical season.
While this is all well and good, if you follow the news around T.I. you will realise that the reality TV show is far from real. In fact, it rarely touches on the things that TMZ or Media Takeout report on. Take for instance the news about Tiny and Floyd Mayweather jr having an affair. Although it turned out to be false (she snubbed the boxer at the BETs), wouldn’t it be nice to see that footage on the show?
Then there is the issue of T.I. actually confronting Mayweather jr about Tiny – and apparently a fight ensued. Wouldn’t you want to see that on T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle? No, seriously, if reality shows are really what they claim to be then we need to see the good and the bad.
The same applies to Ice T and his wife Coco Austin. They faced trouble when she was allegedly seen with some rappers who claimed that theirs was more than just an innocent relationship. The marriage was on the rocks and the couple were rumoured to be breaking up. Again, tell me you wouldn’t want to see that.
We’re not saying we want to see people in pain or anything of that sort, but if celebs sign up their lives for our amusement they have to give us the good and the bad, because if they are showing us only the good then reality shows are nothing but PR campaigns, which is disheartening.
• T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, MTV Base (channel 322), 5.30pm, Mondays.