Ever wonder what REALLY goes on behind the scenes on your favorite TV shows? Well, you’re not the only one. That’s why someone created a Reddit thread dedicated to people spilling all the jaw-dropping secrets about shows they were on or attended before. Here are some of the best ones!

1. Wheel of Fortune

   I was on Wheel of Fortune. You have to get there at 5 AM where you draw straws with other contestants to decide when you will film. They film the entire week of episodes in 1 day. Pat Sajak is incredibly friendly and interacted with us on every break. The wheel is HEAVY.

2. The Price is Right

   I was in the audience at the price is right. You wait like 4+ hours just to get into the taping. They come by and give you a short interview to see if you are a good prospect to make it to contestant row. I was with a group of 4 and none of us made it. The studio audience is significantly smaller than it appears on tv. Drew Carey told jokes between filming. The set is tiny. The wheel is tiny. No secrets to reveal except that they must use some serious lenses and angles to make it appear bigger. It was a long day but it was a cool experience.

3. Married at First Sight

   A work colleague of mine was one of the couples in married at first sight. She had a horrible experience, needed counseling afterwards and is still receiving an “appearance fee” (read hush money) even though her season aired like 5 years ago. Her words: unReal may as well be a documentary.

4. Iron Chef

   Was in the audience at a Food Network taping and Iron Chef America really is a 60-minute competition. That’s not fudged. The judging on the other hand takes foreeeeever.

5. Cash Cab

   I was on Cash Cab. You can’t just hail a cab in New York which turns out to be the Cash Cab. There is a vetting process, but you don’t know you are going to be on the show so the reaction is genuine. Also, there is a lot of awkward silence time while he is listening to the producer in his ear. There is a cameraman riding shotgun unseen on TV. The money he gives is prop money for TV. They mail you a check after the show airs. Ben Bailey was genuinely a nice guy.

6. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

   It’s all scripted. The filming took half a day for 30 minutes of film. When you win the intro round, you are taken out to get your make up on, and then they instruct you how to act when you celebrate. The reason the audience is so completely useless (And why you see so many press wrong on obvious answers) is because 20-30% of the audience is friends and family to the other 7 contestants who are waiting for their turn. We spent two days in the studio, and if the initial contestant loses, the others get their chance. If one contestant goes far and takes a lot of time, no one else gets a chance, so the audience tells the wrong answer on purpose.

7. Jeopardy!

   “Alex Trebek is just as no bullsh*t and likable as he appears on TV. During commercial breaks he took questions and told stories. Communicating and joking with the audience the whole time.”

8. Fist of Zen

   Was on a MTV game show called “Fist of Zen” on MTV. Basically a group of people subjected to painful and nauseating tasks for cash. We won every round but the producer asked us to purposefully “fail” one to change things up. Despite losing one round we were still paid the full prize money.

9. Deal or No Deal

   Only the interesting people get picked. If you are outgoing and excited you’ve got a high chance of being selected. Also, if you appear to be their target contestant, but turn out to be a dud, then I think they have the option of not putting you on air and no prize for you (whether that is a threat they follow through with or not I’m not sure).

10. X-Factor

    I auditioned for X-Factor. You don’t go to the celebrity judges first you go in front of some “off camera” judges. So every terrible and horrible singer you see on the show has already been told they are better than the many talented ones not deemed “TV-worthy” which makes it a lot more disgusting to me.

11. Jerry Springer

    For my 19th birthday, we went to a Jerry Springer taping. This was about 12 years ago when it was still in Chicago. It’s faker than I thought but far more entertaining than seeing the occasional episode on TV. The guests are small time actors trying to get screen time in. One was actually an eloquent British woman but her character was supposed to be a “gutter dyke”. Not sure that would fly nowadays. Most of what’s filmed is never used and you also get tired from nonstop clapping. However, during breaks they show live marionette sex scenes and also give beads to women if they go topless. (These are audience members). You’re also encouraged to antagonize the actors on stage with one-liners. 10/10 would never go back but it was fun.

Have you ever been on a game show and learned something about it? Share it with us!