@davidvienna Exactly! I'm not a TV show writer, but I come from a long line of writers and producers, and this is what I've always been told.
I think, correct me if I'm wrong, another example is WWF, or WWE as it is called today. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a “reality TV” or “reality game show”, but while they do fight for real (afaik), they follow a story arcs, and season plots.
Another I can think of, I'm not sure if you're familiar, is the reality game show from Korea, #RunningMan. While game matches were real, and the winners were not pre-determined (in most cases, there are some that I suspect), there is always an episodic theme, and a seasonal story. (In #RunningManPhilippines, there were times it was obvious.)
(In fairness though, in Korea, reality and variety show hosts do admit they act more than half the time to make their respective shows entertaining, and how viewers shouldn't take things too seriously. They even show on-air some scenes wherein the hosts would ask, “Do you need more materials?” And the PD would reply, “Yes, or you won't get paid.” LOL.)
If reality shows were raw. That would be like watching a homemade video of a town's festivities.
Glad you shared it. It's not every day that someone “from the inside” reveals the reality. ;)