He may have been dubbed the ‘Prince of Darkness’ but when it came to reality TV, the late Ozzy Osbourne was a guiding light, who pioneered the fly-on-the-wall show.
The Black Sabbath frontman – whose death this week, aged 76, stunned the world of rock – took centre stage alongside his family when he launched ‘The Osbournes’ on MTV in the early noughties.
It pulled back the veil on the legendary metal singer’s quirky and often explosive relationship with wife, Sharon and their two rebellious teen children, Kelly and Jack.
Many feared Osbourne’s venture into the world of reality TV was a sign his career was in an irreversible nose dive, with this being the final nail in the coffin for the bat-biting hellraiser.
But instead, the riotous, expletive-laden romp ran for four seasons from 2002 to 2005 and was a ratings goldmine, propelling the entire family into the spotlight and revitalising Ozzy’s career.
It made stars of wife Sharon – who later went on to feature as a judge on the X-Factor alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, earning her millions – and children Jack and Kelly – with the latter following in her father’s footsteps in the music industry.
And the wild global success of The Osbournes also opened the doors for others, kick-starting the celebrity ‘real life’ TV genre, spawning programmes like Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the Real House Wives series, showcasing America’s uber-rich as they flaunted their wealth and lavish homes.
The premise of Ozzy’s show was simple: camera crews were let into the Osbourne’s Beverly Hills mansion as the family went about their daily lives.
The Osbournes propelled the family of Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne into the spotlight
It gave audiences a glimpse into the chaotic home life of Ozzy and his family in LA
Viewers lapped up the drama – and loved seeing Ozzy doing day-to-day tasks like peeling potatoes with his daughter, Kelly (pictured)
The success of The Osbournes sparked a new wave of celebrity reality TV shows including Keeping Up With The Kardashians (pictured is Kim Kardashian)
But audiences lapped it up. From the fights and blazing rows between Kelly and Sharon, to feuds with their well-to-do neighbours.
And it pulled no punches when it came to language – almost every other word was a ‘f***’, ‘s***’ or ‘c***’.
Kelly and Jack, showing their father’s rebellious streak, would use fake IDs to get into clubs on the Sunset Strip.
Sharon was the one truly in charge of running the ship and trying to bring order to the chaos – even if her husband saw himself as its captain.
Audiences got to see different side to the Prince of Darkness, too, with Ozzy shown as the long-suffering patriarch, who just wanted to sit back and watch tele, walk the dogs and chill at home, while bellowing ‘Sharon!’ when he needed a hand.
Summing up the mayhem during the film’s premier, Osbourne told his family: ‘I love you more than life itself but you’re all f***ing mad.’
The show smashed records for MTV, becoming the broadcaster’s highest-rated programme ever. Ozzy later admitted he was high on drugs for much of it.
The show shone a light on the chaotic Osbourne household and the daily struggles – which included their dogs pooing on the floor (pictured)
A dog therapist in one episode was brought in to try and help the Osbournes deal with their pets’ incessant poo problem
Audiences got to see different side to the Prince of Darkness, too, with Ozzy shown as the long-suffering patriarch
In the occasional moments film crews tried to infuse some TV-style drama into the family’s lives, Ozzy’s clear disdain for the process shone through – often with hilarious results.
One of the episodes included a dog therapist subplot who was trying to solve the incessant pooing of the family’s pooch, which was proving a faecal fiasco.
But Ozzy was having none of it. ‘You don’t need to hire a dog therapist,’ he growled to the camera. ‘You just need to wake up at 7am and open the f***ing door.’
However, The Osbournes also documented many key life events, such as Sharon’s cancer diagnosis and Ozzy’s horrific quad bike accident.
But fans of the show lapped up the mundane more than the dramatic, often relishing in Ozzy’s daily struggles about what food to eat, how to work his ‘bloody’ TV and his typical British no-nonsense attitude towards life.
Viewers delighted in seeing the mundane struggles faced by Ozzy, including trying to work his TV remote control
Ozzy’s son Jack helps his father with the family’s huge TV remote
Viewers also delighted in the fiery clashes between Ozzy’s children and his wife, Sharon
Ozzy is seen getting dressed as the cameras continued to film for the show
In the years that followed, other broadcasters tried to emulate the success of The Osbournes, with celeb clone shows like E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians – which also focused on the lives of another LA-based family.
The Kardashian-Jenner collective, much the like the Osbournes before them, have also benefitted – with the family now thought to be worth a staggering £1.92billion.
However, it was The Osbournes who were the trailblazers that made it possible.
Speaking to the BBC last month, Jack said: ‘The fact that my dad and mum allowed cameras into our house, it made it OK for famous people to do that. It opened so many opportunities for people.’
The show eventually ended not because ratings dipped but because the ‘level of success that TV show got us was too much,’ Ozzy – who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s before he died – told NME in 2020.
Jack later spoke of how the series had impacted his mental health, while Kelly admitted the family was not prepared for how opening up their home to the cameras would turn their lives upside down.
Jack Osborne said their family’s show made it ‘OK for famous people’ to open their homes up to the cameras for TV. Pictured: a clip from Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Ozzy was seen as the long-suffering patriarch in the show who just wanted to chill at home
Pictured are Ozzy and Sharon in the kitchen during their show on MTV
Ozzy and Sharon’s careers were sent into overdrive following the wild success of the show
The Osbournes are pictured in 2003 as they prepared to host the annual American Music Awards following their show’s smash-hit success
Speaking to US Weekly in October, Kelly revealed she has struggled to watch herself back on the show – although she admitted she has no regrets about featuring in it.
‘I’ve only just this year watched The Osbournes for the first time,’ the 40-year-old singer said.
‘It’s horrible to watch yourself on TV. I don’t care what anyone says. ‘You’re, like, “Oh my God, I have a double chin there and my top lip is glistening”. You will find everything wrong with yourself. ‘
She added: ‘But what was even harder is that I was struggling so much with my identity, who I was and what I wanted. [This was] on top of my mom having cancer and my dad being active in his addictions. It was quite a difficult time.’
Speaking earlier this month, Jack hinted his father’s legacy and relationship with Sharon was in the process of being turned into a film which could surface in the next couple of years.
Describing it as still very ‘hush hush’, Ozzy’s son told the BBC: ‘It’s coming together wonderfully and we’re really happy and my dad’s pretty chuffed by it, so it’s fingers crossed.’
Ozzy’s death was announced on Tuesday – just two weeks after he appeared in front of 42,000 fans at Birmingham’s Villa Park for a Sabbath reunion gig.
The metal icon, now visibly frail, sang from a throne encrusted with skulls during the July 5 show.
Ozzy’s death was announced on Tuesday – just two weeks after he appeared in front of 42,000 fans at Birmingham’s Villa Park for a Sabbath reunion gig (pictured)
Ozzy’s death was announced this week. He died at the age of 76 surrounded by his family
Floral tributes are left by the Sabbath Wall in Navigation Street in Birmingham on Wednesday
Osbourne died ‘surrounded by love’, his family said last night.
‘It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,’ the family said in a statement.
‘He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.’
Osbourne had Parkinson’s disease and had suffered other health woes in recent years, including complications from injuries sustained in a fall in 2019.
He leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, and grandchildren.
