The key component in many entertainment shows today is "family". Celebrities' children dominate the evening shows, while weekend entertainment shows showcase parents, siblings, and even in-laws of celebrities, bring them into the spotlight.

Celebrities and their families are not foreign to TV exposure, but the recent trend is casting the protagonist's spotlight on the families of the celebrities. MBC's "Dad Where Are We Going?" began the rush of family entertainment shows. KBS recently introduced "Superman Returns", a show that showcases everyday happenings of celebrities and their children. SBS is continuing their "Star Junior: Lookalike" show, which features about a dozen celebrities and their children in a quiz/talk show format. KBS is also pushing out "Mama Mia", a show that shows female celebrities and their daughters. When including cable programs and the upcoming pilot programs, more than 10 prime time programs are these family entertainment shows.

Many broadcasters think that the search of true "reality TV" has led to these family programs. The programs feature real family and real reactions of the celebrity toward their family. The celebrity is able to appeal his or her natural self, and the family members featured are often highly entertaining and gain popularity as well. Baek Jung Ryul, the program director for "Star Junior", commented, "Programs featuring families are the highest rated these days because of its realism. The more popular the celebrity is, the more interested people are about how the celebrity is at home and with his or her family.

These shows also increase societal awareness of the need for family. The producer of KBS's "Superman Returns" commented, "Because society's perception of the family is crumbling, programs like ours help to rebuild the understanding of bonds and trusts that should be within a family unit."

Celebrities, of course, love the attention that the show brings. Celebrities showing love to their children or interacting with their parents makes the viewers see that they are just people, too, and are able to relate to them at a very personal level. It is also an easy "in" for the families of the celebrities to become celebrities themselves. Comedian Kim Gu Ra's son, Kim Dong Hyun, was able to ease into being an actor because he was first featured on these celebrity family shows. A producer commented, "They learn from an early age how to be celebrities and deal with popularity."

However, there is a growing concern about these celebrity family shows as well. Namely, there is a growing disdain toward the family members of celebrities easing into a celebrity lifestyle. Some have dubbed it celebrity nepotism. It is a hugely advantageous position to be well known with a good public image over the broad spectrum of mainstream media, and the criticism is that this advantage is given to the family members of the celebrities for no other reason than simply being related to a celebrity. Many would-be actors or singers go through difficult auditions through impossible odds to even get a whiff of screen time. As sociology professor Choi Hang Seub states, "Because the sheer odds of becoming a celebrity from nothing is so overwhelmingly impossible, the children of a celebrity also becoming a celebrity themselves can be perceived as nepotism."