55 Best Reality TV Shows Of All Time Ranked

It would be difficult to discuss the history of reality television without at least mentioning the E! network's tentpole series "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." Starting in 2006, the series follows the lives of Kim Kardashian, her mother Kris Jenner, and sisters Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie, and Kendall as they build their modeling and entrepreneurial empire. The show lasted 20 seasons before transforming into the recent Hulu series "The Kardashians." The reason this series made the list over the new one is simply because of its incredible staying power. Honestly, when you think of "reality TV," it's the name "Kardashian" that comes to mind.

• Starring: Khloé Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian
• Network: E!
• Year: 2006 – 2021
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%

For anyone who enjoyed "Survivor" but thought the game needed a few additional layers of complexity, there's "The Mole." Hosted by Anderson Cooper, "The Mole" is a spy series about a group of strangers who are brought together to compete in a series of games to win money. For every game they successfully complete, they bank a certain dollar amount. One of them, however, was hired by the show's producers to sabotage the games. This person is the titular Mole. Whoever makes it to the end of the season without being eliminated — the better you are at figuring out who the Mole might be, the more eliminations you'll survive — wins all the money the team collected. It requires you to pay attention but is definitely worth the effort.

• Starring: Anderson Cooper, Heather Campbell Willison, Dorothy Hui
• Network: ABC
• Year: 2001 – 2008
• Rating: TV-PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 40%

The paranormal is a fascinating subject on a number of levels. More fascinating than the subject itself, however, are the people who decide to build a career out of investigating it. While there's no shortage of ghost-hunting shows on television, "Ghost Adventures" takes the cake thanks to the goofiness of its host Zak Bagans. Oscillating between spooky showman and silly goofball, you never quite know how seriously to take Mr. Bagans. Everywhere his team visits is reported to be the scariest place on Earth, and they're always about to do battle with the most evil beings in existence. He seems to really care about finding evidence of the supernatural, but his unscientific methods are often unintentionally hilarious.

• Starring: Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley
• Network: Travel Channel, Discovery+
• Year: 2008 – Present
• Rating: TV-PG
• IMDb Rating: 7.3/10

Ever wondered what it would be like to have so much money that you could buy your own enormous yacht and employ a bunch of people to make sure it runs a bit like a hotel? Well, "Below Deck" isn't about that. Instead, it's about the crew of an enormous yacht trying to make sure it runs a bit like a hotel. Of course, they have all the normal drama that comes along with any workplace, but throw in wealthy guests, exotic locations, and lots of booze, and you've got yourself a series so successful it spawns spinoffs and keeps going.

• Starring: Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain, Eddie Lucas
• Network: Bravo
• Year: 2013 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 7.4/10

For a long time, cooking shows were a multi-camera setup with a single chef narrating their process to at-home viewers, educating them on the various techniques needed to produce professional cooking in their own home. Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" kicked that format to the curb and created a loud, dramatic competition show about chefs aspiring to be the best, with Ramsay barking orders and criticisms at them. Episodes go by in such a flash that you can barely process what just happened before diving into the next episode for another dose of high-octane cooking adrenaline.

• Starring: Gordon Ramsay, Jean-Philippe Susilovic, Scott Leibfried
• Network: Fox
• Year: 2005 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68% (Audience)
  

"Flavor of Love" is the culmination of a romantic saga for hype man Flavor Flav — one that began with heartbreak. After joining the cast of "The Surreal Life" in season three, Flav was smitten with actress Brigitte Nielsen. Their courtship spun into its own series, "Strange Love." When they failed to make it as a couple, Flav sought a new life partner, and that's where "Flavor of Love" comes in. A group of women compete to become Mrs. Flavor Flav in this cheap but fun ripoff of "The Bachelor." Whether Mr. Flav genuinely thought he would find his soul mate through this ridiculous process is unclear, but it sure makes for addicting television.

• Starring: Flavor Flav, Ricky B. Head, Dion Graham
• Network: VH1
• Year: 2006 – 2008
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 4.5/10

What happens when the kids from "Laguna Beach" become adults who have to find careers in the "real world?" That's what the sequel series "The Hills" is about. The lives of these young people don't actually change a whole lot. They're still getting dressed up in fancy clothes, going to classy restaurants, and visiting beaches while being worked up over petty stuff that doesn't factor much in the grand scheme of things and engaging in silly squabbles ... but it's still just as entertaining. Also, the series signaled a real turning point in reality TV as it was during this show that production quality saw a seismic improvement.

• Starring: Audrina Patridge, Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad
• Network: MTV
• Year: 2006 – 2010
• Rating: TV-PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%

There are a lot of reality shows about people just trying to find love. It is a universal concept that the vast majority of audience members can immediately identify with. Sometimes, the show can be a competition, other times it can just document what it's like for people who are actively on the dating scene. With the Japanese series "Terrace House," it's more about finding genuine connections, even if that means walking away as friends. Its production quality is top-notch, and the level of drama is subdued enough that watching it can be almost relaxing as opposed to edge-of-your-seat intense.

• Starring: You, Reina Triendl, Yoshimi Tokui
• Network: Fuji Television, Netflix
• Year: 2015 – 2016
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 8.1/10

"Wife Swap" sounds much more risque than it actually is. The series is a fascinating look at what happens when a person is uprooted from their regular life and asked to adjust to someone else's way of doing things for a while. It sheds light on the idea that family units are wonderful, but sometimes they can be a bit too insular and detached from the rest of the world. For instance, the notorious "God Warrior" episode is about a woman who is so devoted to her faith that the concept of accepting anyone who doesn't align with her views is interpreted as a personal attack. The show can be an excellent reminder of the importance of maintaining an open mind.

• Starring: John Schwab, Brian Lee, Robert Robinson
• Network: ABC, Paramount Network
• Year: 20004 – 2020
• Rating: TV-PG
• IMDb Rating: 4.5/10

An original take on hidden camera shows, "Impractical Jokers" makes the creative decision to put their hosts in uncomfortable positions rather than innocent people. Each episode consists of the hosts competing against each other in challenges requiring them to embarrass themselves in front of perfect strangers while everyone else watches from behind the scenes, laughing and making the situation worse. At the end of the episodes, whoever lost the most challenges has to suffer a punishment that is both grueling and hilarious to watch. The show has become such a success that the hosts regularly go on tour to share more stories with their adoring fans.

• Starring: Brian Quinn, James Murray, Sal Vulcano
• Network: TruTV
• Year: 2011 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89% (Audience)

Beginning in 2002, the ABC series "The Bachelor" has been going strong ever since. This could easily be considered the start of the reality TV competitive dating genre. Even if other shows existed beforehand, "The Bachelor" — with its premise of a man dating a series of women to find his one true love — perfected the formula so completely that it spawned an entire universe of spinoffs. "The Bachelorette" is essentially the same show with the genders reversed, "Bachelor in Paradise" gives contestants a second chance at love, "Bachelor Pad" was the same as "Paradise" but in a house, and there's a ton of region-specific brandings of the show as well.

• Starring: Chris Harrison, Brad Womack, Sean Lowe
• Network: ABC
• Year: 2002 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 3.1/10

After a few decades of reality television dating shows, the creators behind such programming continue to find ways of changing up the format in interesting ways. For example, "Love Is Blind" sets out to discover whether or not someone can truly fall in love with another person based solely on their voice and personality. A group of people meet each other behind a wall and attempt to connect through conversation. Of course, most of the cast resorts to superficial elements in their decision-making, but taking the journey leading up to that point is often riveting.

• Starring: Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Shayne Jansen
• Network: Netflix
• Year: 2020 – Present
• Rating: TV-MA
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

"The Real Housewives" franchise is like the next spiritual evolution following "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills." Each series (of which there are several) picks a geographic region where ludicrously wealthy live and cause drama. It isn't so much about seeing how the other half lives than it is about reminding us that all the money in the world can't fix your dysfunction without you doing the psychological work. For the intense amount of memes it has inspired and the mountain of hilarious clips it's produced, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" beats out all the rest.

• Starring: Kyle Richards, Adrienne Maloof, Camille Grammer
• Network: Bravo
• Year: 2010 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 5.2/10

Gordon Ramsay could have an entire network of his own, one that broadcasts nothing but shows starring him, and it would probably never run out of episodes to air. And the best of the bunch would without a doubt be "MasterChef." Beginning life as a series from the U.K., "MasterChef" is a cooking competition series allowing talented home cooks to prove their skills in an enormous kitchen filled with all the supplies they could ever need. They complete challenges in the hopes of impressing expert judges in order to win the coveted "MasterChef" trophy. If sports aren't your thing and you really like food, "MasterChef" is probably for you.

• Starring: Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, Aaron Sanchez
• Network: Fox
• Year: 2010 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 7.2/10

Based on a reality show from the Netherlands, "Big Brother" takes "The Real World" and "Survivor" and mashes them together in a premise that's ripe for a geyser of conflict. The idea is that a group of strangers live in an isolated house together with no contact with the outside world, and the audience at home watches everything unfold. The guests of the house are forced to compete in challenges that determine whether or not they'll get to stay. It has lasted for over two decades because this is a formula that just doesn't get old.

• Starring: Julie Chen Moonves, Clayton Halsey, Phil Proctor
• Network: CBS
• Year: 2000 – Present
• Rating: TV-MA
• IMDb Rating: 5.4/10

"Love After Lockup" is an insightful show for two major reasons. The most obvious reason is witnessing the kind of strain that incarceration can put on a relationship. (Some of the subjects in the series were already involved with the inmates getting released from prison and struggling to remain committed to their significant other while maintaining their own lives.) The other is how often people will seek out romance with incarcerated individuals simply because they know that person's options are limited. It's an interesting look at the lengths people will go to in an attempt to find and keep love.

• Starring: Lizzie Kommes, Scott Davey, Garrett Tanner
• Network: WeTV
• Year: 2018 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 6.4/10

Supermodel Tyra Banks helped create and serves as the host of this long-running reality competition series about aspiring models striving to make a living in front of the camera. Other than the usual bickering personalities, the series offers glimpses into the cutthroat modeling industry previously unseen by the public. If this show is to be believed, the life of a model is kind of agonizing. You don't just stand around and let people take pictures of you. Thanks to this series, we can see that the life of a model is far more complex, grueling, and terrifying than most of us probably assumed.

• Starring: Tyra Banks, Adrianne Curry, Yoanna House
• Network: UPN, The CW, VH1
• Year: 2003 – 2018
• Rating: TV-PG
• IMDb Rating: 5.6/10

"Love on the Spectrum" is similar to "The Undateables" in that the series sees matchmakers assisting adults with disabilities in their quest to find love. The individuals in this series have been diagnosed with various forms of autism, making it difficult for them to connect with other people. Seeing people wrestle with everyday conversations and societal norms that we take for granted not only makes you root for their success but reevaluate your own perspectives. The show started in Australia but spawned a spinoff in the United States that features a crossover with "Born This Way."

• Starring: Brooke Satchwell, Michael Theo, Mark Radburn
• Network: ABC
• Year: 2019 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

In "Married at First Sight" three experts match strangers together based on their compatibility. These matches meet for the first time on their wedding day where they are expected to get married based on nothing more than trust in the people who put them together. They then live together as a married couple for several weeks before deciding whether or not they want to stay married or get divorced. What works about the show is seeing how dedicated the participants can be to making something work because they've tried everything else and gotten nowhere.

• Starring: Pepper Scwartz, Calvin Roberson, Viviana Coles
• Network: FYI, Lifetime
• Year: 2014 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 6.1/10

The "Little Women" franchise of shows could easily fit in the "Real Housewives" and "Love & Hip Hop" mold of reality television. It depicts women spending time together at nice restaurants and parties with lots of drama going on, but the fact that they have dwarfism adds a pseudo-educational element to the series, one lacking from similar shows. Not only do we get all the arguments and backstabbing seen in other series, we're also informed on what it's like to live in a world that doesn't necessarily cater to adults your size while seeking the same kind of happiness everyone else is.

• Starring: Terra Jolé, Mimi Faust, Tonya Reneé Banks
• Network: Lifetime
• Year: 2014 – 2019
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 5.3/10

A continuation of the show "16 and Pregnant," "Teen Mom OG" shows what happens when young women become mothers before they've even had a chance to graduate high school. Some of them have the kind of support group of family and friends that most mothers could only dream of while others have to work extremely hard to raise a baby and continue their education. There is a reality to this unscripted series that others lack. At no point do you get the feeling that these situations are contrived or forced in any way. Although the show led to more spinoffs, the original is still the best.

• Starring: Amber Portwood, Catelynn Lowell, Maci Bookout
• Network: MTV
• Year: 2009 – 2021
• Rating: TV-PG
• IMDb Rating: 3.5/10

"Intervention" is a series that isn't concerned with being dumb, disposable entertainment. They're not trying to engage with the audience's desire for wish fulfillment by showing them how fabulous their lives could be if they had enough money. "Intervention" — a show about families trying to help their loved ones struggling with addiction — is about healing. This is a series that makes the viewer uncomfortable. It doesn't do this to shock them and convince them this is edgy and important. The uncomfortable feeling that comes with watching the show is the agony human beings must go through in order to admit their mistakes and change their lives for the better. 

• Starring: Candy Finnigan, Jeff VanVonderen, Ken Seeley
• Network: A&E
• Year: 2005 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 7.9/10

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

"Shark Tank" celebrates entrepreneurs by giving them the chance to go on national television and pitch their product or service to a team of wealthy investors. The folks they're pitching to are referred to as the sharks — each one a successful industrialist hoping to find the next big product to invest in so they can make even more money. Watching a single episode makes the viewer believe they could come up with an idea and get a deal from the sharks. But watching several episodes makes it clear that the people on this show worked very, very hard to get there, and finding an investor takes a lot more than a good idea and a solid pitch.

• Starring: Kevin O'Leary, Phil Crowley, Mark Cuban
• Network: ABC, CNBC
• Year: 2009 – Present
• Rating: TV-PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 7.7/10

Unlike many baking/cooking competition shows from the United States, the U.K.'s "Great British Baking Show" doesn't place its contestants in high-stress situations in the hopes of watching them break. Instead, it gives them a challenge just to find out how well they bake. Yes, the pressure gets to the bakers every now and again. Sure, things don't always work out. However, that's not what keeps you watching. Seeing capable people bake gorgeous dishes in a serene setting with amusing hosts is what it's all about. There was a network shift that resulted in some personnel changes, but the series retains its quiet, wonderful charm all the way through.

• Starring: Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry, Mel Giedroyc
• Network: BBC Two, BBC One, Channel 4
• Year: 2010 – Present
• Rating: TV-PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

The Church of Scientology is well-known for being a secretive religions that's the center of some pretty insidious stories while still managing to boast a lot of famous members. Once upon a time, one of those famous members was television star Leah Remini. Viewers may remember her from her days in "Saved by the Bell" and "King of Queens," while others likely recognize her from co-hosting "The Talk." A member of Scientology since her teenage years, Remini has left the religion, and her series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" delves into the personal stories of other Scientologists and their shocking interactions with the church. It is a harrowing watch that attempts to remind the viewer that not everything about this institution is as it seems.

• Starring: Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, Mary Kahn
• Network: A&E
• Year: 2016 – 2019
• Rating: TV-14
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

"Catfish" began life as a feature-length documentary about Nev Schulman falling in love with a woman online and discovering that she wasn't who she said she was. It was an intense and heartbreaking watch that held you in suspense the entire time. "Catfish: The TV Show" sees Schulman using his personal experience to help others who may be in a similar situation. Regardless of how many episodes you've seen, the endings almost always surprise you. Either you didn't expect the reveal, or the person's motivations just completely throw you for a loop.

• Starring: Nev Schulman, Max Joseph, Kamie Crawford
• Network: MTV
• Year: 2012 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 7.0/10

"Survivor" is probably the series that ushered in the modern age of reality television. Released in 2000 (one of the earliest on this list), this show about strangers living together in a remote area and having to work together to survive — while also plotting against each other in order to win a million dollars — was such a massive success that it's continued for over two decades. Shortly after it hit, an avalanche of reality television followed. It took a few years for the TV landscape to find its groove with unscripted programming, but "Survivor" was always there to enjoy the ride, whether it was taking contestants to China, Brazil, or Panama.

• Starring: Jeff Probst, Tony Vlanchos, Sandra Diaz-Twine
• Network: CBS
• Year: 2000 – Present
• Rating: TV-PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75% (Audience)

Originally released in 1992, "The Real World" set the stage for shows like "Survivor," "Big Brother," and "Jersey Shore." As the intro states, "This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real." The show did not shy away from frank conversations about racism, homophobia, and sex. It normalized discussions about those topics in a way that made the audience feel more comfortable and open to the idea of having those conversations themselves, and that's how society progresses. Although later seasons cared more about fights and relationships, those first few seasons were a fascinating social experiment that changed television forever.

• Starring: Janelle Casanave, Alton Williams II, Arissa Hill
• Network: MTV, Facebook Watch, Paramount+
• Year: 1992 – Present
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDb Rating: 5.9/10