confessional television

noun

1. television programmes, esp talk shows, in which members of the public reveal their private lives, personal problems, etc

Example Sentences

The exhibition does not ignore the criticism she has faced: for neglecting black issues on her show, for instance, and privileging the concerns of whites; for promoting unhealthful diets; and of course, for “Oprahfication,” which the Collins English Dictionary defines as “the perceived increase in people’s desire to discuss their personal problems, attributed to the influence of confessional television programs.”

From Washington Post

Pamela Adlon is deeply versed in the variety of autobiographical, confessional television comedy that Louis C.K. has perfected in “Louie.”

From New York Times

The main reason for the spate of confessional television in China is, in fact, political: it is a conscious policy of the regime of Xi Jinping, China’s ruler for the past three years.

From Economist

Drawing exclusively on the public record of news conferences, confessional television interviews, emails, tweets and resignation speeches of the four men involved — yes, all men, surprise! — the playwright Mario Correa and the director Dan Knechtges have concocted a play that turns these unseemly stories into mordantly funny burlesque.

From New York Times

The general protocol of the confessional television interview is for the subject to sit down and take his lumps while appearing as abashed and contrite as he can muster.

From Salon