Ozzy Osbourne: From Prince of Darkness to reality TV's favourite dad

Ozzy Osbourne, known as the 'Prince of Darkness' from his days as the lead singer of Black Sabbath, became a different kind of star in the early 2000s. Along with his wife Sharon and their teenage children, Kelly and Jack, Ozzy starred in the MTV reality show The Osbournes. This show was one of the first to let viewers see the daily lives of a celebrity family, mixing their rock-and-roll lifestyle with ordinary family moments. Instead of focusing on the wild side of being a rock star, the show often showed the Osbournes doing regular things, like loading the dishwasher or watching TV. This mix of the normal and the unusual made the show very popular, and it ran for four seasons, winning an Emmy award.

Before The Osbournes, reality TV was mostly about competitions, like Survivor or The Bachelor, where regular people tried to win prizes. The Osbournes changed that by showing a famous family just being themselves. The producers didn't know exactly what would happen when they started filming, but they ended up creating a new kind of reality show. The episodes were about 20 minutes long and included funny moments, like Sharon throwing a ham over the fence at a noisy neighbor, and Ozzy struggling with simple things like tripping over the dog bowl. The show felt like a sitcom, with Ozzy as the lovable, sometimes clueless dad, Sharon as the mom trying to keep things together, and Kelly and Jack as the typical bickering siblings.

The Osbournes was a huge success for MTV, with millions of people tuning in each week. It inspired other celebrity reality shows, like Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. At first, the show was very real, with cameras filming the family all day, but as it got more popular, some parts were planned out, like a story about a dog therapist. The show also showed the challenges of being famous, especially for Kelly and Jack, who had to deal with growing up in the spotlight. Ozzy later said that having cameras around all the time was hard, and it made him feel like he couldn't relax. The show ended after four seasons, especially as the family faced tough times, like Sharon's cancer diagnosis and Ozzy's struggles with addiction. Even so, The Osbournes is remembered for showing a famous family that, despite their wild side, truly loved each other and changed the way people think about reality TV.