I think TV shows are close to reality to different degrees. And different shows have different settings, for example, 'Friends' is stores about young professionals living in NYC, and 'That 70s' show' is about teenagers from 70s' midwest. I think soapies are more close to reality than sitcoms, because in sitcoms they say funny things to make people laugh while in soapies they don't do this and actors try to act like it's real daily lives.
On the other hand, I think tv shows are very close enough to reality for me to learn English from them.