As summer begins and we can think of things other than finals, I think it is important to remember what truly matters. For me, that happens to be reality tv shows. School has distracted me from this passion, sadly I have not been “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” As a reality tv show fanatic, I thought I should educate people about the five best reality tv shows and explain why they are gifts to this world.
5. Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise takes recent contestants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and puts them together on an island where they couple up, give out roses, send people home, and get new contestants who of course bring drama and may even separate already happy couples. Obviously, one of the Bachelor spin-offs would make this list. Recently rejected, dramatic, and slightly desperate people make for great television. The reason Bachelor in Paradise is better than the other shows in the franchise is that people that you loved that the most recent bachelor/bachelorette coincidentally did not love, have a second chance at love and you have more time to appreciate these past contestants who got their time cut too soon. Summer love on a beach filled with beautiful people, can you imagine anything more romantic? Pros: love, drama, crying, and maybe a little bit of romance if the contestants are lucky. Cons: it reminds me that I am both lonely and not on a beach with beautiful people and I am not okay with that!
4. Bad Girls Club
Bad Girls Club was created to help self-proclaimed bad girls become better people. Although most the time it fails, it is a very interesting concept which happens to be very entertaining. These girls are not discrete about the fact that they think they are the hottest and baddest girl in any room they walk into. The girls get jealous very easily and are always down for a fight. There is a lot of screaming, throwing things, and fighting in the house. Pros: the girls know how to throw shade and insults like it is their job. Cons: the only negative of this show is that you will find yourself ready to fight or “pop off” on anyone who gives you attitude, side-eye, or a dirty look.
3. RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race is a competition show for drag queens. This consists of comedy skits, sketches, lip-syncs, and clothing challenges. In this show the faces are “beat”, wigs are snatched, and the outfits are sickening! The show is filled with iconic songs, challenges, impersonations, and quotes. The show is very underrated and has brought a lot of light to many issues the LGBTQ+ community often faces. Pros: is truly iconic, every episode will leave you wanting more, and you will be obsessed with drag culture after watching just one episode. Cons: there are several side effects of this show including excessively tongue popping, constantly saying “I’m gagged,” and you may start saying things that will make people think you have an inflated self-esteem but is that really a bad thing?
2. The Challenge
The Challenge is filled with past members of other reality shows such as Road Rules, Are You The One?, and The Real World as well as many cast veterans who have already been on the show The Challenge. This show has the perfect mix of strength, endurance, and memory challenges which constantly forces the cast members to push their abilities. All the cast members are incredibly competitive and will do practically anything to stay in the game. Pros: challenges are very intense, there is a lot of backstabbing, people have to work their way up to the top, and the fan favorites come back practically every year. Cons: it reminds me how unathletic I am and that I probably would be the first person eliminated if I was in it. :/
1. Big Brother
Big Brother has been my favorite show for years now and is always one of the things I look forward to every year. Big Brother takes people from all parts of the country with all different backgrounds and puts them in a house together where they will participate in competitions and eventually eliminate the other houseguests one by one. The plot seems simple but trust me this game gets really intense very quickly. Lately, Big Brother has been slightly disappointing because some people did not have the desire to do whatever it took to win it all. However, this year for the first time ever they introduced Celebrity Big Brother which was filled with true competitors. This spin-off reminded many long-time fans how much they loved the game and I assume Celebrity Big Brother, as well as Big Brother, will continue to be on for many more years to come because of the success of Celebrity Big Brother. Pros: it is on three times a week, there is lots of deceit and backstabbing, there are funny punishments which houseguests have to do, and it is more about smarts than strength. Cons: many entertaining houseguests or good competitors get sent home way too early and they are in desperate need of another all-stars season.