Novels About Reality Television

Novels About Reality Television

This article relates to The Compound

Aisling Rawle's debut novel The Compound takes place on an unnamed reality competition television show, where contestants live together, compete in challenges to earn rewards, and gradually get banished until only one remains to win the grand prize. As it borrows recognizable elements from popular reality shows like Survivor and Love Island, The Compound feels almost like turning on the TV on a Friday night to binge the latest Netflix series. But it's hardly the first novel to utilize the backdrop of reality television—a premise that has been explored through a variety of genres, from literary fiction to thrillers to romance to science fiction.

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll follows two sisters who have long had a competitive relationship. The younger sister, Brett, has become a success, her life being filmed and aired on the reality show Goal Diggers, but when older sister Kelly infiltrates the show, she threatens to expose a secret that could ruin Brett.

Anita Kelly's romance novel Love & Other Disasters follows the first openly nonbinary contestant on popular reality cooking show Chef's Special, London, who falls for their competitor, the recently divorced Dahlia. Shenanigans ensue, but as the finale draws closer, London and Dahlia have to ask themselves whether their relationship can withstand the heat of the competition.

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore follows romance novelist Jacqueline Matthis, whose floundering career leads to a comeback plan which involves appearing on the biggest dating show in the country, the 1. In the style of The Bachelor, the 1 features a group of women all vying for the affections of a single man, Marcus. But when Jac realizes her last one-night stand, Henry, is one of the show's producers, they begin to have an affair, which she knows will complicate her chances with Marcus if it comes to light.

In The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir, Essie Hicks is the youngest child on the wildly popular reality show Six for Hicks, which chronicles the lives of Essie's evangelical family. Essie, who has grown up in the spotlight, becomes pregnant, and her horrified parents consult the producers, who discuss how best to handle Essie's pregnancy in a way that will grow their ratings.

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva is a post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction thriller in which twelve contestants are sent into the wilderness to survive. When a global disaster occurs, contestants don't know how much of it is real and how much is part of the game. One contestant referred to as Zoo by the producers must struggle through the wilderness to survive and win, even as the world she left behind to join the competition no longer exists.

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah takes place within the prison industrial complex, as inmates take part in CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment. In this highly controversial program, prisoners compete in gladiator-style combat against one another in order to secure their freedom.

Though this array of titles is diverse both in genre and subject matter, all grapple with a similar question raised by Aisling Rawle in The Compound: how do we draw the line between reality and fiction when we consume reality for entertainment?

Filed under Reading Lists

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Compound. It originally ran in July 2025 .