It’s not a reality show, but I once went to NYC to try to be on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” with a friend of mine. We tried to find out as much about the process ahead of time because we couldn’t spend the night in the city, but they really don’t tell you a lot about what to expect. First, we had to take a written test with a bunch of other people. After the test, we were told that only people who got all of the answers right would get to audition for the cameras. We both knew we hadn’t gotten perfect scores. We were also told we’d have to wait a couple of hours, sit in the audience while a segment of the show was filmed, and then finally hear who had passed the test. The more we talked about it, the less we liked the idea of sitting through the filming. The people at the show said it would take a few hours at least, which would have us getting home in the middle of the night. Then we learned that even if one of us was accepted as a contestant on the show, we’d be put on a “wait list” and might not even be picked for a show that season.
We ended up blowing off the whole thing and spending the day running around the city before taking the train home.