Will Bravo's Silicon Valley reality show be a hit?

Reality TV isn't just for misbehaving housewives, tattooed chefs, and bachelors on the prowl. Silicon Valley techies are getting a shot at small-screen fame, too, as Bravo is shooting a reality series tentatively called Silicon Valley, produced by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi and inspired by the 2010 hit movie The Social Network. Randi Zuckerberg says the show will inspire more people to pursue the "entrepreneurial American dream" of launching a startup that becomes the digital era's next big thing. Startup entrepreneurs reportedly fear the show will make their industry a "laughingstock." The question is, are tech nerds really interesting enough to make people watch?

Trust me, people will tune in: Bravo's invasion of Silicon Valley is bound to be an "over-the-top view of startup land," says Victoria Barret at Forbes, and that's a good thing. "Silicon Valley is in a froth period," polluted by "too many startups with copy-cat ideas" getting funded and, yes, a lot of parties. Exposing the excess is sure to get people to tune in. If we're lucky, the silliness will remind everyone that this should always "be the place of big, audacious dreams."

"Silicon Valley gets real, thanks Bravo"

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This sounds a bit predictable: The drama is bound to be "amped up to make the show palatable," says Tracie Egan Morrissey at Jezebel — which isn't necessarily a good thing. And it's sure to be heavy on tired story lines about "guys using their investor money to host pool parties in their crash pad." The "silver lining" is that Bravo has cast some female entrepreneurs, which will destroy the myth that the tech world is only for "boy wonders" trying to attract girls who would have ignored them in their geek days.

"If nothing else, Silicon Valley reality show proves the existence of female tech entrepreneurs"

Success or not, it's payback time for nosy tech titans: This being reality TV, it's a good bet that — "after injudicious, cynical editing" — the tech-world stars will look like "vacuous, venal vassals of contemporary self-centeredness," says Chris Matyszczyk at CNET. No wonder startup entrepreneurs don't want reality TV producers prying into their private lives. Funny, these are the same people "who claim to eschew evil while perhaps being fined $22.5 million for actively bypassing privacy settings." Isn't that a delicious irony?

"Techies offended by Silicon Valley reality show"