As a kid who would watch whatever someone else was watching on TV, cable network channel TLC quickly became one of my favorites. At 10 years old I was already planning on how I would wipe out the competition on Four Weddings. Despite my continuing obsession with wedding shows, I’ve noticed some pretty strange dramas come out over the years. I also added to this list a couple of short-lived series. Whether they stuck around for multiple seasons or only had a few episodes, these 10 strange TLC shows were bizarre. They are in no particular order. Feel free to conjure up your own list!
1. Sex Sent Me to the ER
It’s just as wild as it sounds. In summary, couples bring themselves to the emergency room of a hospital when one or both have been injured during the act. The dramatization of the situation plays out with some actors and some people who were actually there, like the doctors. It ran from 2014 to 2016 and had 54 episodes.
2. I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant
This show is a relatively popular one where women aren’t aware they’re pregnant until they go into labor. Some of their reasons for not knowing include the lack of typical pregnancy symptoms, believing their birth control won’t allow them to get pregnant, and associating their symptoms with an illness. The show aired in 2009 but due to low ratings had its final episode in 2011.
3. Buying Naked
In a nudist community in Florida, realtor Jackie Youngblood sells houses to nudist couples. While Youngblood is very comfortable around the people of this community, not all its viewers are. Luckily, this show makes use of blurring effects.
4. Sister WivesFor most of us, polygamy is taboo. But for Kody Brown and his four wives and their 18 children, it’s a normal part of daily life. The drama ensues in this popular show as they each try to balance their time and love with one another. This is definitely one of those shows that is too strange not to watch.
5. My Strange Addiction
With “strange” in its title, this show had to be on the list. It follows two different people an episode who have unusually insane compulsions they live with. However, the show would go from laughable to serious when their addictions were life-threatening. Some of the craziest addictions include regularly drinking paint, snorting baby powder, stinging one’s body with bees and having a romantic relationship with a car.
6. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
This show became a successful spinoff of “Toddlers and Tiaras” after viewers were intrigued by the interesting personality of Alana Thompson (AKA Honey Boo Boo). Turns out, her crazy family has some strange and rather repulsive norms. They enjoy eating roadkill for dinner, ketchup on their spaghetti, and mud wrestling, to name a few.
7. 90 Day Fiancé
This series centers on couples in international relationships who must decide whether they want to get married before one of their visas expires. The foreign person in the relationship travels to the United States and the two only have 90 days to wed. It’s a crazy, dramatic show that includes language barriers between the two, culture shocks and strict time limits.
8. Honey, We’re Killing the Kids
The title of this show is very misleading, but fortunately so. While it is not centered around homicidal parents, it is about parents being shown the consequences of how they are raising their children. Typically, the poor parenting relates to the child’s diet, exercise habits, and emotional state. The show brings in specialists that present exaggerated ideas of what the child’s future may become. The parents are often brought to tears and promise to change their ways.
9. Strange Sex
Another show with “strange” in the title. This graphic series about exposing people’s odd attractions, sexual conditions, and fetishes is often embarrassing for those involved. Experts make comments on their sexual habits and can be informational. Regardless, I was personally unaware that a show as explicit as this one is allowed to air on TV.
10. My Teen is Pregnant and So Am I
Last but certainly not least is this oddly specific series where mothers and their teenage daughters both become pregnant simultaneously. It’s dramatic, emotional, and certainly crazy. But it does makes you wonder how much of it is staged.