In a limited way, “ordinary Joe” species of celebrity had existed before—game show champions of the 1950s being the clearest antecedent. But the emergence of an entire program genre “celebrifying” ordinary people, and soon to dominate television, was something new. As such, it marked the beginning of a subtle but significant change in the very nature of celebrity. If once it comprised heroes, demigods, kings, and saints, and then later icons of the screen or sports, by the 1990s celebrity was becoming something that could happen to anyone. Thus it became a worthwhile, reasonable goal for the great generality. This, ultimately, may account for the genre’s lasting appeal.

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 843