In director Peter Weir's wonderful 1998 dramedy "The Truman Show," Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is an affable insurance salesman who quietly yearns for a life less ordinary. He resides in an idealized vision of suburbia with white picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns, unaware it's all a massive set for a TV show about him. Extras roam the streets while hidden cameras monitor his every move 24/7. Even Truman's best friend and wife are really actors who gaslight him when he finally starts to notice the cracks in the walls of his "perfect" life.

Despite the timing of its release, "The Truman Show" didn't originate as a reaction to what was then the cottage industry of reality TV. In an interview with Vanity Fair to mark the film's 20th anniversary in 2018, writer Andrew Niccol explained how his script began with a fear that had plagued him since a very young age:...