Factual Television is a genre of television programming which documents actual events and people. These type of programs are also described as documentaries, observational documentaries, fly on the wall, docudrama and reality television. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the term factual television has most commonly been used to describe programs produced in recent years. [1] [2]
Television programs in this genre include COPS from the United States, Airport from Great Britain, Border Security and Bondi Rescue from Australia and Motorway Patrol from New Zealand.
'Best Factual Series' has been a category at the British Academy Television Awards for quite some time. 'Most Popular Factual Series' and 'Most Outstanding Factual Series' were new categories introduced to the Australian Logie Awards in 2008 to cover this genre.