The last decade has seen a surge of reality shows gaining momentum and favor among audiences not only in the US but worldwide. Such shows are popular mostly due to their non-scripted and raw drama concept. While there’s no denying that some bit of scripting is done to increase the drama and content, reality TV is still among the most-watched genres on television today. Undercover Boss is one of those shows that seem to have found favor within their audience and as the show progresses, it seems the viewers are digging into it. Here are reasons why Undercover Boss won’t get canceled anytime soon:
1. It Allows A Boss to Relate with His or Her Workers
In the show, a company’s boss goes undercover to learn more about how his employees run the company from a low-level basis. He gets to pick an alias and tries his best to blend with the workers. Viewers get to see how well or bad a company’s CEO relates to his workers and how he treats them seeing that he has managed to fit in with them.
2. The Top Honcho Gets to See What It’s Like to Be in Low-Level Management
After the boss sets up his false identity, he is set up with an area in the company and viewers get to see how the bosses struggle at times to get the job done. The bosses get a complete picture of what it’s like to work on a labor-intensive job for minimum wage and how humbling the experience is.
3. Hardworking Employees Are Rewarded
After the boss returns to their true identity, he or she calls the employees that they feel were more hardworking and dedicated to their work to the corporate headquarters. The hardworking employee is rewarded with either an all-expense paid vacation or promotion and whatnot. Some employers also provide a salary raise for their frontline employees and additionally set up a college fund for their kids. Others are helped with their student loans and are aided to offset their mortgages or car loans. Lambert has stated that the American audience likes the big celebrations at the end of the show and that they usually serve as a big morale booster for even the employees.
4. The Show Provides Room for Actual Change to Occur
Any time a problematic employee is featured on the show, the boss talks about implementing some new changes, including some type of training program for their employees. While most times this is just lip-service for the cameras, some employers actually go through with their talk. Some of the companies that have witnessed changes in their day to day running include checkers where their CEO Rick Silva stopped giving bonuses to branch managers and instead begun giving them to team members directly to appease some of the disgruntled employees. In other businesses like Philly Pretzel Factory, the CEO Dan Dizio discovered that there was free-wheeling in his business and although he was more than unhappy, he realized he had gotten out of touch with his employees.
5. Yes! The Show Was Based on A Real-Life PR Disaster
According to Looper, Stephen Lambert, the show’s creator and executive producer, got the idea to start the show after he witnessed the British Airways PR disaster. The head of the airways was asked by a journalist if he had ever experienced any inconveniences from traveling with his own airline and his answer was a simple “they know me”. Lambert decided to pitch a show to Channel 4 that would allow CEOs to try and blend in with their employees and see how exactly their customers are treated when no one is watching. Seeing that the show actually has a basis for it makes it more relatable and not just another drama-filled series on TV.
6. The Show Provides A Good Boost for Companies
According to Daily News, Undercover Boss provided a lifeline for drowning companies in terms of a major stock boost. The show is supposedly not just a PR-related show for companies but it serves to boost the companies’ position in the stock market. Every episode rakes in over 10 million viewers. Most of these viewers witness a company’s potential and decide to purchase its stocks thus bring back the company to its feet.
What Is the Show Undercover Boss About?
Undercover Boss is a reality show In America based on a British series with the same name. The show first premiered on 7th February 2010 and featured the COO and President of Waste Management Inc Larry O’Donnell. It is produced by Studio Lambert in both America and Britain. In each episode, viewers get to see a person with a higher ranking in a company decide to go undercover disguised as an entry-level employee for him or her to discover the issues and faults in the company. Undercover Boss always provides an assurance to the companies that appear on the show that their brand will not get damaged by the series.
Reception
The first season of the show was made up of a total of nine episodes that were produced in 2009 and aired in 2010. Undercover Boss gave CBS a rating success as it raked in more than 35 million viewers on its premiere episode. The show’s first season was ranked as the most popular new show that season and saw an average of 17 million viewers tuning in to each episode. The second season saw a drop in viewership but was still a success and nine seasons later, the show still boasts of massive success. Undercover Boss has received Emmy Awards nominations in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 consecutively for the Outstanding Reality Program and eventually won the category in 2013.
Summary
Although the show Undercover Boss has had its fair share of scandals such as the class action lawsuit against Armando Montelongo whose seminar students claimed his whole seminar was a scheme, the show is an overall success. It would not come as a surprise to many if the show lasts an entire lifetime because of its success and its general format. A show with a happy ending for most involved, what’s not to love?
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