''Reality Bites" How reality TV helped save fiction

Reality TV has exerted a noticeable influence on the fiction formats in the United States in the last decade, serving as inspiration for the thematic, narrative and stylistic renovation of traditional genres. While Jerry Bruckheimer's popular crime dramas were inspired by scientific docudramas, the competitive reality show Survivor was part of the creation process of the sophisticated adventure drama Lost, and the reality series starring has-been celebrities opened the path followed by innovative comedies like Arrested Development and The Comeback. While this is still a popular trend in the American television industry, we can stress that the hibridity between reality shows and fiction programs is minimal in Spain, where the prejudices against Reality TV continue in full force.