This article investigates the ongoing importance of national culture as a context to understand variations in television formats. To this end, it uses the example of the docusoap, a recent addition to the broad category of “reality TV” that crosses the border between fact and fiction and, in particular, between documentary and soap opera. The docusoap conventions have quickly spread internationally, but national variations can be distinguished. To illustrate this point, two “celebrity” docusoaps are analyzed, the American The Osbournes and its Flemish counterpart The Pfaffs. While both shows are superficially similar, they also show many differences, which are partly related to their respective national contexts. Although eccentric, The Osbournes is typically American in several respects, referring to American myths and themes. The Pfaffs, in contrast, are presented as typically Flemish, most clearly through the emphasis on their simplicity and ordinariness. The ensuing differences in tone make the program more authentic to domestic viewers.
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