Who is popular today?

Now we know how it feels to be cooped up inside for weeks on end – and our favourite shows continue to reflect our new lives back to us
Reality TV may be one of the few winners during the coronavirus pandemic. MasterChef reached record viewing figures of 7.9 million at the end of last month, while Britain’s Got Talent had its best series launch since 2017 with 8.2 million viewers. Last year, the show’s figures slumped to an all-time low.
At first, reality TV served as a means of escapism: a throwback to the good old days, when seeing singletons swap spit on an island turned your stomach for reasons unrelated to anxiety about the R-rate. Now, however, we are all cooped up indoors, just like the contestants, and reality TV can be enjoyed through a different lens. Continue reading...