What Are the Odds of Getting on TV?

Author: Editorial Team

It’s no secret that reality television has swept the nation. Did you know that reality TV and gameshows make up a whopping 40% of all television programming in the United States? Meanwhile, according to Statista, one in three people aged 18 to 29 admit to watching reality television.

Whether you’re into dating dramas, high stakes singing competitions, or downright outrageous entertainment series, there’s a reality show out there with your name on it.

But let's be real, who hasn't dreamed of being on a reality TV show at some point? Imagine the thrill of competing for love, fame, or fortune on national television. However, breaking into the world of reality TV can be tougher than it seems. Some shows are harder to get on than others, requiring more than just a flashy audition tape.

Odds of Getting on a TV Gameshow

To give you the scoop on which shows are the most sought-after, we did some digging. We analyzed the most popular reality TV shows in America - to begin with, we took seven of the most popular American gameshows and worked out the odds of being invited to compete on them. So, if you're aiming for a spot on one of these shows, be prepared to face some long odds, especially if you are looking to find love on TV.

1. The Price is Right

Let’s start with the absolute classic, The Price is Right, which debuted way back in 1956, was revived in 1972, and continues to be a family favorite to this day. With an online search volume of 29,960 and a total of 1,638 contestants, the odds of getting onto this epic game show are 17/1.

This makes The Price is Right the most likely gameshow to get on out of all the shows we looked at, though only just.

2. Wheel of Fortune

Come in at a very close second, we have Wheel of Fortune, which had odds of 18/1 backed up by a search volume of 11,040 against 585 contestants. Much like The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune has been a family favorite show for years, so it’s no real; surprise that your odds of getting on are so high.

3. Family Feud

From here the odds drop a fair bit, with long-running gameshow Family Feud having odds of 47/1 if you and your loved ones want to compete against another family. This is due to a very high search volume of 72,120 against 1,500 contestants.

These odds still aren’t that bad though, so maybe it’s worth giving it a go if your parents or kids are good at guessing the most popular responses to a range of questions.

4. Jeopardy!

Continuing down our list, prepare for the odds of you getting on a gameshow to become even more unlikely, as the search volume for Jeopardy! is the very highest at 84,360, which is against 690 contestants. This gives you odds of 121/1 of answering clues in the form of questions to earn those big bucks.

5. Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Next up, we have Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which is even more difficult to get on due to just one contestant being quizzed at a time. With a search volume of 8,400 and only 34 contestants, your chances of being asked multiple-choice questions by Jimmy Kimmel are just 249/1. As for your odds of becoming a millionaire on the show… well, that’s not for us to say.

6. Survivor

Heading to the bottom of our list, the second hardest gameshow to get on is Survivor, where contestants are stranded in remote locations and compete in challenges to win a million-dollar prize.

With a search volume of 7,560 and 18 contestants, the odds of getting on Survivor are a pretty severe 416/1. Still, if you’re someone who’s willing to compete in physically draining and mentally strenuous challenges, you probably won’t mind a bit of competition.

7. Big Brother

Last, but not least, at the very bottom of our research data is Big Brother, where contestants live together in a house under constant surveillance.

To be a contestant on this gameshow you must be prepared to make alliances, play strategically, and win the admiration of the American public in order to be the last remaining houseguest.

As we’re sure you can imagine, getting on this show is a huge achievement in itself, as a search volume of 50,900 against 17 contestants gives you painfully low odds of 3332/1.

Odds of Becoming a Reality TV Star

Now let’s take a look at reality TV shows and how easy (or extremely difficult) it is to secure your place on them. We’ll start with the ones with the best odds, although even these make for some tough competition.

The CasinoReviews.net team conducted research from 10 of the biggest reality TV shows which involve romance and intimacy.

Too Hot to Handle, which premieres its sixth season on Friday, July 19, offers the best odds of joining the cast. With 4,800 Google searches in the past year and 14 contestants based on season five, the odds of making it onto this Netflix hit are 344/1.

For fans of Below Deck and its charismatic Captain Lee, securing a spot on the show is more challenging. With 6,600 applicants and only 13 participants accepted each season, the odds are 499/1. This number can fluctuate slightly depending on if someone gets fired or injured during filming.

Unfortunately, the odds then drop into four-figure territory, as the chances of you getting on the hit reality TV show Love is Blind are 1249/1. And it only gets harder from here, with Love Island, FBoy Island and Bachelor in Paradise each having odds of 1427/1.

90 Day Fiancé is an interesting show, as it follows couples where one partner is a foreign national visiting the US on a K-1 visa, exploring their relationships and cultural clashes. If you and your partner would like to be featured on the show, the odds of you getting on are 1665/1.

As for The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, you’re looking at odds of 1999/1. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are even more competitive. With 64,800 applicants, and only 25 contestants in the most recent season, the odds of finding love on these shows are a daunting 2499/1. (Maybe don’t stock up on roses just yet.)

The second most challenging show to get on is The Mole. The seventh season, airing on Netflix on June 28 and set in Malaysia, features just 12 contestants. With such limited spots, the odds are a staggering 3,332/1.

However, the hardest show to make by some way is Temptation Island with odds of 4999/1.

Is It Worth Trying to Get on TV?

As you can see from the data above, it’s probably not as easy to be on a TV show as you may think, as the odds of getting on a gameshow or becoming a reality TV star can be very much against you.

You have just as much chance of being a houseguest on Big Brother as you do of uncovering (or being) the secret saboteur on The Mole, but perhaps neither of those are your style and you’d rather search for true love on a tropical island?

That being said, all of these shows are super popular and continuously need new contestants for each episode or season, so why not try your luck and give it a whirl? Or failing that, why not head over to Casino Reviews to find out which online Casino will give you the best odds of your next big win?

Methodology:

Keyword Tool was used to determine the number of applications for each show listed. We did this by typing in the show and adding ‘application’ to the end of it. To find out the number of episodes each TV show aired in a season, IMDb was used to determine this, looking at the most recent season that ended. To create the odds, we worked out the percentage by calculating the amount of application searches by the number of contestants that have appeared in the most recent season.