Source: a&e
It's no secret that reality TV isn't always real. Some shows, like my show, pride themselves on being as real as possible (see me bragging?). While many reality shows are edited to maintain continuity and put together a clear narrative, some shows are completely staged.
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“Fans” have some harsh opinions about zombie house flipping.
Many fans certainly think so, with the show's IMDB user reviews being particularly scathing.
One user, jasinned, wrote:
“Worth watching if you want to get annoyed,” he said, and gave it a rating of 1/10, saying, “The acting from the so-called characters is exaggerated, extremely annoying. Of course it's staged, and there are bound to be leaks. You'd think they'd turn off the water main before gutting the house, but for some reason they always don't do it until they've broken the pipes. Duke (the designer) and Keith (the builder) are probably the two most annoying people on the show, but the other two idiots aren't that different. The show just doesn't work. The cast is constantly bickering and arguing with each other, and there's no chemistry.”
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One incident that was pointed out by many viewers of the show was when there was a crocodile in the swimming pool.
User alisaecrocker wrote:
“Totally staged. Amazing how there was only about an inch of water in the shallow part of the pool before the gator showed up and then suddenly there were several inches of water. FYI, gators don't hiss unless provoked. There must have been someone off camera encouraging it. Also, this guy grew up in Florida so he should know not to feed gators. If you do, they become dangerous and will come back! What an idiot.”
Source: fyi
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Alisae also complained about the way the house was renovated, saying the agents ended up making it “cookie-cutter” instead of preserving its charm.
“Then they stripped out all the features of the home and made it 'luxury.' What really happened was they made it into a run-of-the-mill home. They removed the very interesting backsplash (very beautiful black granite) and replaced it with the same glass backsplash that's everywhere. Then they removed all the real Florida stone and installed imported stone. I'm told the home was unoccupied, or a 'zombie,' for a year before it was renovated. The showers were full of shampoo and there were rugs on the floor. It certainly looked lived-in to me.”
However, just because the show has received critical reviews doesn't necessarily mean it's staged. However, the general consensus among all viewers of the show is that the drama in front of the camera is fake. “It's a local show, so it's reasonably interesting, but the fake drama is terrible.”
Nepatriots1776 thinks the network gods are demanding “boring fake drama,” while myshiningeyes says it's “weird how they always find alligators on every property.”
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Source: a&e
So, is zombie house flipping fake?
Do these criticisms mean that zombie house flipping is necessarily fake? Well, the houses they renovate aren't fake. I appeared on an episode of Renovation Realities to help my son, Baha, fix up the kitchen of a house we bought in Newton, New Jersey. And it was all real. We had a great camera crew and there wasn't even the slightest bit of fake drama.
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That being said, there were no “stars” on the show, just a bunch of people coming to see us do our thing. I took a few days off work and left early on other days to help lay tile and clear tons of trash and debris from his house. It was just us, no celebrities.
But things could be very different on this show.
Source: a&e
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With “zombies” in the title, it seems there is room, or at least an attempt, to make what is seen on camera seem more sensational than it actually is. Investfourmore also has concerns about the valuation of homes featured during the show, citing one example that doesn't take into account other costs associated with home renovations.
In this particular case, the writer of this article states that $23,000 in home improvement costs isn't taken into account. He also points out some things that just don't seem right. In other words, the writer, who knows a lot about home improvement, believes that a large part of this show is staged.
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Source: a&e
So, what do you think? Have you watched some episodes and thought, “Oh my, that can't be real!” Or have you never seen the show and are now inspired to check it out?