Reality television has always gotten a bad reputation in my eyes. While all of it might be entirely scripted, overdramatic, and far from educational, there is an undeniable appeal to sitting down and mindlessly watching the first reality tv show that graces your screen. The drama, humor, and fantasies about how if you were on the show you would definitely be the fan-favorite just keep us coming back for more! In celebration of one of my biggest guilty pleasures, I decided to put a list together of some of my all-time favorite reality show recommendations.
Below Deck
This one is my absolute favorite reality show, along with all of the ensuing spin-offs like Below Deck Mediterranean or Below Deck Sailing Yacht, all of which have yet to receive the popularity they deserve!
This show follows the crew employed on mega-yachts which are rented out to usually extremely privileged rich people and it is simply the most entertaining thing I’ve ever watched. The relationship drama on board between coworkers and the added insanity that the guests bring along with them just makes for the perfect show. It also helps that most of the cast feel like real people, and although they have a different crew for the most part between seasons there are some familiar faces that are always very exciting to see back.
I also want their job more than anything, you get to see them traveling on these gorgeous yachts all over the world and the tip money is insane. Highly recommend.
Real Housewives
Can you tell I’m a Bravo girl? Literally, any iteration of this show is peak entertainment for me. My mom has it on constantly in our house which may have sparked my love for reality tv from a very young age, but Real Housewives was my first introduction to this genre and just holds a special place in my heart.
The fights are just iconic and the situations always verge on ridiculous. I like to live my escapist fantasies of being a housewife with more money and clothes than I know what to do with through these shows.
Love Is Blind
After just recently finishing season 2 of this show it has really climbed to the top of my list. This show is a twist on the classic dating show where all of the men and women meet for the first time behind a wall. They have their ‘dates’ unable to see each other, and only get to meet once they get engaged. Which is 1, absolutely insane and 2, very entertaining. The show then goes through the process of them learning to live together and navigate their relationship with this borderline stranger that they will be marrying in a few weeks.
As you can imagine—it’s chaotic. I’ll admit the first few episodes in the ‘pods’ can be a bit of a drag, especially when they introduce people you will literally never see again because they don’t manage to get engaged to anyone, but once all of the couples have met in person it becomes hard to turn off.
There are some love triangles, arguments, and crazy contestants which will keep you hooked right up until that moment at the altar where they say ‘I do.’ (Spoiler, not all of them get their picture-perfect wedding at the end). Would definitely recommend.
Are You the One?
This MTV show I have only seen a few seasons of but it is so fun. There are 20 people—for most seasons 10 men and 10 women—and every person is assigned their ‘perfect match.’ At the end of each week everyone will pair up with who they think their match is, and for every correct match a light will turn on. The catch is though, that they don’t get to know which light corresponds with which match, so they have no way of knowing if the light is for them or not. They essentially have 10 tries throughout all the weeks to match up all 10 couples correctly, and once they do they win $1 million dollars! It is so messy and frustrating depending on who thinks they’re a perfect match, especially when they’ve got the wrong pairings.
Terrace House
This Japanese reality show is so different from the rest on this list that I debated adding it, but the fact that it’s so different is also its appeal. Whereas American reality shows play up drama and issues to better their ratings, Terrace House is literally just about strangers living in a house together and going about their daily lives. There are some couples and some drama but it’s overall a very calm show that is surprisingly relaxing to watch. There’s also some fun commentary from the hosts of the show that are essentially watching the scenes with the audience.
The seasons I’ve seen have been very wholesome compared to American reality tv. There’s no competition or grand prize at the end so there are no added stressors aside from these people just going about their daily lives. I know it might sound kind of boring but just trust me it’s cute.
The Circle
This is another Netflix original that I really enjoyed. The Circle is a social media competition where each contestant is given their own apartment and the only interaction they have with the other contestants is through their profile on ‘circle chat.’ This gives people the opportunity to be themselves or catfish. The goal is to become an ‘influencer’ of the group as determined by the other members each episode, and influencers get to vote out one person. There are fun competitions and quirky people, and it’s always fun to watch a catfish try to get away with pretending. The first two seasons were definitely my favorite, but I have to admit I couldn’t get through the third after they did one of my favorites dirty. Still a very fun show to binge.
These are just a few of my favorite reality shows that I would definitely claim are binge-worthy. Say what you want about the genre, but you can’t say it’s boring!