CHEATERS

Cheaters...one of televisions craziest and trashiest shows, yet it somehow managed to be featured on Australia’s Crime Channel. I have several problems with this, the first is that Cheaters technically isn’t even a crime show, since cheating in a relationship is not really a crime (well in most societies anyway), also, CI channel is risking its reputation and integrity by even broadcasting this show.

For those of you who don’t know what Cheaters is about, it’s basically a show where a suspicious spouse 

hires the private investigators of Cheaters to investigate whether there is infidelity in 

their relationship. The private investigators then follow the ‘suspect’ to find out if they are cheating. When they find sufficient ‘evidence’ of infidelity they show the video footage to the spouse who is the ‘victim’. Then the confrontation…this is where the ‘victim’ confronts the ‘suspect’ while they are on a date with someone else, not surprisingly a overly-dramatic (and always funny) fight always erupts. The show ends with the host, Joey Greco, giving updates of those featured in the show and his closing thoughts on the subject. Ultimately, Cheaters is a trashy reality show disguising itself as a ‘crime stopping’ show.

There is a Cheaters YouTube channel dedicated to providing all the best bits from the show, it total the 

channel has more than 2 million views! Some people have so much time on their hands…

This video is just a preview of what the show is about, all the best bits.

Many like me question the reality of the show, watch an episode and you can see what I'm talking about, it’s just too weird to be true, then again it is America, so who knows…This show is one of the most bizarre shows on television. There is one episode where the host was arrested, and strangely enough, in another episode the host was stabbed (allegedly). 

Now you may ask why I chose to make this crime in the media blog about the show as it is not a crime show, per se (even though assault and property damage is common in the show), however, Cheaters being on the Crime Channel symbolises the media’s evolving portrayals of crime. It represents a shift from giving pure facts and information to a more entertainment focus of crime in the media or “infotainment” (Thussu & Freedman, 2003). Cheaters can be described as a show which goes beyond usual information and infotainment to simply being entertaining.

Even though I have trashed Cheaters so much in this blog, I have to admit I am guilty of watching the show regularly; it’s one of my guilty pleasures...

On a finishing note, I urge everyone to visit the Cheaters website, really good laughs. 
www.cheaters.com

References:

Thussu,D & Freedman, D (2003). War and the Media: Reporting Conflict 24/7. Sage, London.