You’d be forgiven for finding the television landscape a little dull as of late—especially if you’re only watching scripted shows. In case you haven’t noticed, we are currently living through the Golden Era of reality TV. Unscripted television—a fixture of the American media diet for decades—has only doubled down on its dominance; and in recent years, the mayhem (both onscreen and off) has become all the more enticing. The Golden Bachelor announced his divorce after three months of marriage. A Real Housewife of Salt Lake City is currently serving time in prison. And, of course, there was #Scandoval, the shocking, break-the-internet affair from Vanderpump Rules. That was all just in the last year!
It’s stranger than fiction, yes, and that’s precisely what makes the best reality TV shows so compelling. Amid all the fights, romances, heartbreaks, credit cards, and tears, we are faced with some of the worst aspects of humanity—and also, sometimes, some of the most heartwarming. The best reality TV shows invite us to embrace the chaos—and see a bit of ourselves in the mess.
One thing’s for certain: we can’t stop watching. Luckily, there are plenty of unscripted shows and docuseries from streamers like Netflix, Max, and Apple TV+ to keep us entertained for hours. There’s something for everyone, from the die-hard romantic to the food porn-addicted to the fashion obsessed. Not all of it is good—in fact, most of it is not!—but that’s not the point.
Here, we’ve listed all of our new, nostalgic, and ongoing favorites in the format. Happy watching!
The Real World (1992-2017)
Photo: MTV. Courtesy: Everett Collection.
