Streaming services' most entertaining reality shows

The Real Housewives franchise is one of the most beloved reality television series currently on the air. With nine different installments, over 140 women, and endless drama, creating an all-star cast was, of course, the next best move. In November 2021, Peacock released the first season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip — a seven-day excursion abroad featuring Housewives from various cities. Since the first season, the NBC streaming service has released two additional seasons filmed in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Phuket, Thailand, respectively. 

For any reality TV fan that enjoys watching contestants compete in mental, physical, and social challenges, streaming The Traitors on Peacock is a must. Based in a castle in the Scottish Highlands, 20 contestants must work together to eliminate the three “traitors” among them. Ultimately, if the “faithfuls” eliminate those sabotaging their game, they take home their share of $250,000. However, if any traitors remain among them by the end, they steal the money for themselves.

MTV’s The Real World really is a pioneer among reality television series. Although the show is no longer in production, The Real World aired 33 seasons and 614 episodes from 1992 to 2017. Eventually, MTV aired its first reunion special in 2007 with cast members of the RW: Las Vegas but never produced a second edition. After a 14-year hiatus, Paramount+ revived the idea and announced the first season of The Real World Homecoming: New York. The series saw the cast of the RW season one come together and live in the same NYC loft 28 years later. Since then, Paramount has aired Homecoming specials with the casts of The Real World: Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Fans who watched The Real World’s original seasons in the ‘90s and early 2000s should certainly remember their competition-based sister show, The Challenge. With its first season premiering in 1998, MTV has showcased some of the best Real World cast members in a wildly entertaining way for over two decades. In April 2021, Paramount+ premiered the first season of The Challenge: All Stars — the same cutthroat competition show, only this time featuring “old school” players. Seasons two and three aired in 2021 and 2022, while season four is currently in production. 

Since the early 2000s, the Kardashians have been a household name whether people like it or not. Their E! reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, was a mainstay on the network for 20 seasons — airing from ‘07 to 2021 — and was pivotal in turning this family into A-list stars. After Kim announced the show’s conclusion just a few short years ago, some thought this would be the end of this family’s reality show antics. However, fans soon learned it was just the ending of one chapter. Their new show, The Kardashians, premiered on Hulu in April 2022 and has since aired two seasons, with the third scheduled to premiere on May 25, 2023.

Selling The OC is the Hollywood spin-off of Netflix’s Selling Sunset. Set inside the offices of the Oppenheim Group, luxury real estate agents balance their personal and professional lives with each other in Orange County, California, while showcasing their home lives, too. After an explosive first season in 2022, Netflix renewed the series for seasons two and three in January 2023.  

Rhythm + Flow is Netflix’s first-ever music-based competition show. With rappers like Cardi B and Chance the Rapper serving as judges, unsigned artists were invited to perform, with only the best moving on. Ultimately, the winner would win a $250,000 cash prize instead of a recording contract.

Netflix's The Circle is another game centered on strategy and deceit. In The Circle, players are confined to their apartments and can only communicate with each other through the series’ social media platform. The kicker, however, is that players can be whoever they want. In the end, their goal is to avoid being blocked by the others and be the last player standing. Since 2020, there have been over five seasons, 60 players, and $350,000 in prize money.

Since The Real Housewives debuted on Bravo, the network has shelved only a few iterations. Spin-offs in DC, Dallas, and Miami have all gotten the boot after poor ratings or backlash from the audience. However, in February 2021, Peacock and Andy Cohen announced that The Real Housewives of Miami would return to television as one of the streaming services’ original productions. Seasons four and five have been well-received by fans, and their sixth season is currently in production. 

Below Deck Down Under is the third spin-off of Bravo’s Below Deck series. Set in Australia, this show follows a yachting crew for six weeks as they work and reside abroad. The show premiered on Peacock in March 2022, and viewers hope for a second season soon. 

Although not the typical reality show, Last Chance U is one of Netflix’s hidden gems. The production crew filmed at different junior colleges around the country and showcased a group of athletes striving to make the grades and stats to play at the next level. The show's success has led to additional seasons in Independence, Kansas, and Oakland, California.  

Queer Eye is one of Netflix’s rebooted reality shows they snatched from Bravo after being off the air for over a decade. The show follows a group of five fashion professionals tasked with giving someone’s entire life a makeover. The seventh season premieres on Netflix in May 2023.  

Too Hot To Handle is another Netflix original that places a group of single individuals in a house together for four weeks. While there, the contestants participate in various workshops and must refrain from engaging in any physical activity with themselves or the other show’s contestants. Ultimately, the goal is for the cast members to form “genuine connections” with the other participants. Oh, and every time a cast member breaks a rule, their pot of $100,000 gets reduced stack by stack.

The Mole is another show with underlying layers of manipulation and deception. The show initially aired on ABC from 2001-2008 before its cancellation. In October 2022, Netflix premiered the series’ sixth season after a 14-year hiatus. Essentially, the contestants all compete in competitions to win money for a prize pot of cash that only one player will win. Throughout the group, one of the players has been designated as the “mole” — set to sabotage the rest of the cast's efforts. At the end of each episode, all contestants take a multiple-choice quiz, and the person who knows the least about the mole gets eliminated.

The reason Love Is Blind is so beloved by Netflix viewers is because of how different this sort of show actually is. Unlike others, this show separates the contestants into “male” and “female” pods. They go on a series of dates while never actually seeing what they look like. If they form a meaningful connection and decide to get married, only then can they meet each other face-to-face. Although the concept may sound bizarre to some, it works out for others. Throughout the show’s four seasons, there have been nine marriages, and a few couples are still together to this day.