If you’re reading this, I can only assume you’re like me. You enjoy basking in the drama. Relishing the Big Moves™. Cringing at hot people being unable to communicate. Shouting at your screen for a player to realize they’re being played. Gripping your wine glass, awaiting that final rose to be handed out.
Ah, the joys of reality TV.
From the early aughts to the mid-2020s (hey, that’s right now!), reality TV has wormed its way into our culture, language, and collective psyche unlike any other niche media genre. The result? A veritable boatload of shows, some using the tried-and-true formats of yore and others branching off into completely new territory.
The pantheon is large, and every viewer’s preferences differ. But Bracketology asked ya boi to pick the best reality TV shows, and I answered the call!
Naturally, my picks here are the undisputed best, but you’re still welcome to dispute them, I suppose. Get in the comments!
Survivor
The tribe has spoken; Survivor is the ultimate grandaddy of reality TV shows. It brought mass appeal to the reality competition format, practically inventing the genre and spawning countless copycats, imitators, and loving iterators. For me, Survivor is the undeniable best reality TV show, and I’ll die on this hill.
Allow me, for a moment, to wax romantic about the far-reaching influence of Survivor. The show began on May 31, 2000, with Survivor: Borneo. Viewers tuned in to watch strangers live on an island with few resources while they competed to stay in the game and earn a shot at $1 million. Chances are you don’t need the format rehashed. So ubiquitous is the Survivor format nowadays that practically every reality competition borrows from it. The real glory of Survivor, though, is its staying power. It’s still on, a fact I remind people of when I mention that I still watch (alongside my fellow Survivor fanatics and our life-sized Jeff Probst cutout). It has reinvented itself over the course of 48 seasons (with the legendary 50 looming) to stay relevant and bring new concepts to its gameplay. Not every innovation hits, but Jeff Probst and the Survivor team listen closely to fans and take feedback to heart. The evolving game and constant surprises make Survivor like a sport unto itself, one that players desperately want to be good at.
All that’s just the impact of Survivor in a vacuum. Star players from the show have gone on to succeed in other shows, including The Challenge, Big Brother, and even my next pick on this list.
Without Survivor, the reality TV arena would be empty. Survivor started it all, and it unequivocally deserves its slot on this best reality TV shows list.
The Traitors
The Traitors made its way to the US only a few years ago, but it already has a cemented spot among the best reality TV shows. Why? Well, host Alan Cumming’s outfits certainly go a long way…
Really, though, The Traitors excels at the reality TV format thanks to its unabashed willingness to relish in the drama and unite players from disparate franchises. Few reality competitions can spark Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Survivor, and The Challenge fans to watch every week and stay embroiled in the game of murder and sabotage.
The Traitors also emerged with a well-formed and fully seasoned vibe, which can’t be said about other picks on this list. Rolling Scottish hills, a decadent castle, and killer outfits. It’s a feast for the eyes. Think back to the early seasons of Survivor or RuPaul—they were embers yet to catch fire. They took time to click into their identities. The Traitors hatched ready to fly, pulling lessons (and players) from the best franchises that preceded it.
And, of course, Survivor fans know The Traitors finally gave redemption to one of the former’s undisputed legends.
RuPaul’s Drag Race (And All Stars and UK, etc.)
Few shows have honed and perfected the competition format like RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’m including all of the spin-offs here, too (UK and All-Stars are my faves, but there are many other good ones, including various international versions).
From its meager beginnings, Drag Race went on to become a defining element of LGBTQIA+ culture. Some of the show’s phrases—Shantay, you stay—have become part of the culture’s vernacular. The show has created stars of drag queens like Trixie Mattel, Bianca Del Rio, Peppermint, and countless others.
Beyond its platforming influence for gay, queer, trans, and other marginalized identities, RuPaul’s Drag Race has crafted a strong identity as a competition show. Every season, you can expect a Snatch Game, a Rusical, a few fashion challenges, and other standards. Newcomers might think this gets boring, but longtime viewers know the format allows for no shortage of iteration and new ideas.
One ingredient of the secret sauce behind Drag Race’s success is its judging panel, now headlined by RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, Carson Kressley, and TS Madison. Their chemistry is palpable, and they’re completely watchable no matter the quality of the queens on a given season (to be fair, it’s usually very high).
The Bachelor andThe Bachelorette
I’ll level with you here, folks. I’ve seen maybe three total episodes of The Bachelor/ette franchise. I love drama, though—should I tune in?
Despite my lack of experience with them, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are so entrenched in reality TV culture that they can’t be ignored for this list. I know countless fans who watch each week like clockwork, eager to see who gets a rose, who fights with their fellow contestants, and who gets to go on a date with that season’s potential beau or darling.
From what I understand, The Bachelor franchise still thinly masquerades as a show about finding love, but we all know why we’re really here, right? The villains, the heroes, the edits! The twists and breakups and make-ups! It’s a hotbed for drama, and viewers have tuned in for countless seasons and spin-offs as a result.
Love Is Blind
I’ve got a bone to pick with Nick and Vanessa Lachey, hosts of Netflix’s Love Is Blind. Two bones, actually.
Bone number one: stop hosting the gosh-danged reunion! You are not good at it! You cannot “both sides” your way out of this deplorable behavior!
Bone number two: stop acting all high-and-mighty, like this show is actually at its best when the people are there “for the fight reasons.” We’ve seen enough of it on The Bachelor/ette and Love Island. We can’t be fooled. We want to see the drama.
Why is Love Is Blind on this list if I have two major gripes with the show? Because it’s still so damn good. Love Is Blind reaches its boiling point when the couples live their regular lives together and have to reckon with the vast differences between them. Two essential strangers discovering little nitpicks and red flags while reconciling their intent to marry in weeks yields the type of reality TV viewing I bask in. I’ll go so far as to admit that the most boring episodes are the wedding ones, especially when couples decide to get hitched. Cool, good for you, now show me the blow-ups!
Love Is Blind has made an indelible and unique mark on the genre, earning it a slot as one of the best reality TV shows.
