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Split Screen: Thrill Seekers – CBC — Documentary
Split Screen: Thrill Seekers – CBC

A TV crew offers 12 ordinary people the chance to take part in the adventure of a lifetime. But there’s a catch. The audience knows everything but the contestants are kept in the dark. As the cameras roll, no questions are allowed. Split Screen: Thrill Seekers is a new 6 part series that exposes how a TV show left contestants struggling to trust what’s actually real.

Host Nick van der Kolk (Love + Radio) asks: does reality TV only succeed when it exploits those involved? He talks to the set designers, crew, and the contestants themselves to learn what it took to permanently distort their sense of reality.

Welcome to Split Screen, an examination of the utterly captivating, sometimes unsettling world of entertainment and pop culture. From reality TV gone awry, to the cult of celebrity, each season of Split Screen takes listeners on an evocative journey inside the world of showbiz. Ex-contestants, producers, and cultural critics uncover complicated truths behind TV’s carefully curated facades, and question what our entertainment reveals about us. Split Screen: sometimes reality is twisted.

Copyright: Copyright © CBC 2024

Latest Episodes:

Thrill Seekers, Episode 2: Star City Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

The contestants are flown to a Russian cosmonaut base and put through the most gruelling training of their lives in preparation for their mission. But as the training becomes more and more ridiculous, doubts begin to creep in.

Thrill Seekers, Episode 1: Are You a Thrill Seeker? Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

Would you go on a reality show if you didn’t know what it was about? Even if they promised you the adventure of a lifetime? In 2005, 12 people did just that. They answered an ad that read “Thrill Seekers wanted” and began auditioning for a show unlike any other in British television history.

To listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories Premium channel here.

Audio Trailer | Split Screen: Thrill Seekers Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

This is the story behind a multi-million dollar media experiment that promised 12 ordinary people an adventure of a lifetime. But there was a catch: while the audience knew everything, the contestants had no idea what the adventure would be. Love + Radio’s Nick van der Kolk is on a mission to uncover if reality TV only succeeds when it exploits those involved. Split Screen: Thrill Seekers, available on September 23, 2024.

Introducing | Split Screen: Thrill Seekers Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

What if everything you believed about the world around you was a lie? In the early 2000s, a TV crew offered 12 ordinary people the chance to take part in the adventure of a lifetime. But there’s a catch: while the audience knows everything, the contestants are kept in the dark. Introducing Split Screen: Thrill Seekers.

Josh Gwynn, host of Split Screen: Kid Nation, caught up with this season’s host, Nick van der Kolk, to learn more about the podcast that uncovers the twisted reality behind the multi-million dollar media experiment. Split Screen: Thrill Seekers will be available wherever you get your podcasts on September 23, 2024.

Kid Nation, Episode 6: Where are they now? May 22, 2024

Show notes

Negative portrayals left kids like Olivia traumatized whereas others, like Laurel and Anjay look back with fondness. How did being on the show affect the trajectory of the pioneers? And why does Kid Nation continue to strike a cultural chord?

For ad-free listening to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Kid Nation, Episode 5: Anarch-Kids May 15, 2024

Show notes

After the chaos of the first few weeks life in Bonanza City stabilizes – but that doesn’t make for great TV. The former pioneers say that as the show wore on, the drama became more contrived, with plot-lines that saw kids portrayed as gambling addicts and anarchists, looting the town stores. It leaves us wondering whether Kid Nation could ever have lived up to its utopian premise? How do the former pioneers feel about it now?

For early access to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Kid Nation, Episode 4: Little People, Big Ideas May 08, 2024

Show notes

The producers prompt the kids to confront adult themes, with a joint religious service and town hall elections. Through the introduction of politics and religion, we see how Kid Nation is a microcosm of the real world in 2007, where the shadow of 9/11 and the War on Terror looms large.

For early access to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Kid Nation, Episode 3: Class War Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

The kids are forced to navigate social hierarchies as producers introduce class, competition and warped financial incentives. Every few days, a team competition sorts the kids into four social classes: upper class, merchant, cooks and labourers. We ask what these themes reveal about America’s values and prejudices.

For early access to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Kid Nation, Episode 2: Kid Casting Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Every reality show has a villain. In Kid Nation, that role was assigned to 15-year-old Greg Pheasant. Through multiple perspectives on Greg’s bullying, we explore whether kids were cast to perform predetermined roles. It raises questions about the different levels of agency these kids had in what was a high-pressure and high-stakes situation.

For early access to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Kid Nation, Episode 1: Dropped in the Desert Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

We introduce the concept of 'Kid Nation' through the lens of its controversial reception, including a campaign to have the show banned before it even aired. But how bad was it? We hear from one of the parents about their hopes for the show, and their daughter’s auditions and first few days. We’re left wondering: what have these kids signed up for?

For early access to Split Screen: Kid Nation episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

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