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Television executive Kevin Reilly is puzzled as to why these programs are so popular. "Damned if I know," he says.

Mr. Reilly, the head of the FX cable network, says the shows are addictive once viewers start watching them. In fact, he's an addict himself and says reality television is a change from the tradition of scripted dramas and comedies. "These are fresh, they're spontaneous, they're cultural events that everyone seems that they're just tapping into together," he says.

Mr. Reilly's FX network has its own reality show in the works. Called American Candidate, it will feature ordinary people who want to run for U.S. president. Scheduled to air in 2004, potential candidates are already sending in applications. "I don't know if they're qualified to be president, but these are people with something to say and actual credentials to back it up, and I'm sure a lot of nuts, too," says Mr. Reilly.

Producers say reality television runs the danger of getting stale as one show copies another, or of repelling viewers as programmers create ever-more outrageous situations. One notorious episode of the series Fear Factor drew industry criticism for asking contestants to eat horse rectum. But TV executives say that, at least for now, viewers can't get their fill of the new reality shows and more new ones are likely.

"Just when you think 'Fear Factor' has gone too far, they go further!

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