'Undercover Boss' Season 10 preview: A reality show about bosses snooping on employees that can get too real
The tenth season of the American reality show ‘Undercover Boss’ is about to premiere and things will get wild on the show. But even in its tenth year, it is altogether reasonable to assume that a lot of people really have no idea what this somewhat niche TV show is all about. Here’s what you need to know about it:
First, it is based on a British series of the same name. Produced by Studio Lambert, each episode depicts a person who has an upper-management position at a major business, who decides to go undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company.
It’s essentially the modern-day equivalent of when monarchs dressed as commoners and went about their kingdoms to discover discrepancies in the execution of their orders; only this is entertaining and will definitely not result in jail or decapitation.
Two, the American version is not the only one out there. The reality show has been rebooted across the world, from Canada to Australia to Norway to Japan to Poland, and even Russia!
Three, while most participants -- bosses or employees -- claim that the show is in no way staged, things might be a little more complicated than that simple binary. According to a Looper report, producer Eli Holzman claimed the bosses are allowed to choose their disguises, which usually involve wigs, makeup, and fake facial hair.
The detailed report deduced that the businesses “either choose the most gullible employees they have working for them to participate in the filming, or they actually know what's going on but play along in hopes of being rewarded at the end”.
Four, the first episode of season 10 will take place at Louisiana’s Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar, a leading full-service family sports bar that provides gourmet takes on game day favorites. At the eatery, we are likely to see founders Brandon Landry or Drew Brees disguise themselves as ordinary customers and test the staff with unusual requests.
Five, the stakes are absolutely real. According to Looper, there have been several occasions on the show’s many seasons where employees have been fired for their misconduct.
One time, per the report, a Boston Market employee was immediately canned after inadvertently confessing to his boss, “I literally hate customers more than anything in the entire world. I hate them so much.”
So, while it may seem all fun and games, it really isn’t. ‘Undercover Boss’ is just one of those rare reality shows that, despite its best efforts to remain light and fun, ends up having consequences that are far too real.
Season 10 of ‘Undercover Boss’ premieres on CBS on January 8.