A May 14 story from National Public Radio (NPR) highlights the fact that some reality TV producers use sleep deprivation as a tactic to make cast members emotionally volatile and temperamental.
“They work you till, like, midnight or 1. Before you know it, it’s four days later. And you’re like, ‘Wait I’ve slept a total of 11 hours in the past week!’” former Project Runway contestant Jay McCarroll tells NPR.
The article also highlights BRAVO’s reality show, Top Chef, which aired a recent episode requiring contestants to pull an all-nighter to cater a wedding the following day.
Highlighting the fact that sleep deprivation makes for good TV, Lincoln Hiatt, executive producer of the reality show Solitary, tells NPR that sleep deprivation is “a producer’s ally on almost any show.”
