Real People was a quasi-reality-TV series that aired on NBC in the early 80s. The show's premise turned the spotlight on average people (just like you and me!) who had interesting or quirky lives.

Each episode's format include a studio segment in front of live audience that would interact with the show's many hosts. The hosts included Sarah Purcell, Byron Allen, Fred Willard, Bill Russell and a few others; it was their job to fan out among the studio audience and chat a bit about current events. The action would then shift to field correspondents who would interview one of the aforementioned "real people" and their strange hobbies/jobs/habits/talents. Sometimes the real person would be invited back to the studio to bask in 15 minutes of fame.

Another segment of the show featured mail from the audience at home who sent in pictures and captions of humorously erroneous signs, newspaper headlines, marquees and road signs. After 1982, young Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story) joined the host team and worked on stories that appealed to kids.

Real People became a big hit and remained one of the network's highest rated prime-time shows. It produced a flurry of imitators, like That's Incredible! and Those Amazing Animals and, possibly, had a lot to do with the When Animals Attack oeuvre.