The 25 best guilty pleasure TV shows

Though the show is among the most beloved in television history, even the actors (specifically Robert Reed) knew how corny and "too perfect" the storylines were. No blended family gets along this well all the time. And when issues arose, they were solved in roughly 22 minutes. But when we're looking to escape reality through some wholesome family viewing and innocent hijinks, we tune into the Bradys, who are still a syndication staple.

Whether talking the early days with "The Kids of Degrassi Street" to "Degrassi Junior High" and "High," "The Next Generation" and the "Next Class," the Degrassi franchise is not just Canada's greatest guilty pleasure but also something for the whole world to not admit to watching. "Chasing Amy's" Banky Edwards isn't the only one who has a "weird thing for Canadian melodrama." Plus, it gave us Drake (aka Aubrey Graham), before he was a rapper. 

From the gratuitous running-on-the-beach scenes to the crazy plotlines, sometimes involving bombs, "Baywatch," which debuted 30 years ago this year, was the ultimate guilty pleasure television show that thrived in syndication. It resurrected the acting career of David Hasselhoff, was huge in Germany and made Pamela Anderson a sex symbol while opening itself up to constant mocking and spoofs. It's the ultimate in eye-candy viewing.

The sets were cheesy and the jokes pretty lame, but we just could not stop watching Zack Morris and Co. There was plenty wrong with "Saved by the Bell" from a realistic standpoint, mostly the fact that principal Richard Belding should have been fired for what he allowed those kids to do. However, they looked good and found a perfect niche on Saturday mornings and even bigger success in syndication.

"90210" touched on some important teen and young-adult issues that really had not been addressed on TV before, but the show lured fans of all ages in with its pretty characters and L.A. glitz and glamour. Even guys watched. It also had people whom any fan base could relate to: snobs, a wholesome family, the bookworm trying to fit in, class clown and, of course, the bad boy.  

Back in the early 1990s, CBS offered up some late-night crime drama, and this Rob Estes-Mitzi Kapture-vehicle was at the forefront. This was a basic detective show but with racier murders and victims. However, the growing mutual attraction between Chris (Estes) and Rita (Kapture) was worth rooting on. The show generated somewhat of a cult following when picked up by the USA Network.

We know it's the guilty pleasure of Jerry Seinfeld, so that should be good enough for anybody. It was like a 20-something version of "90210," at least when it started as part of that franchise. But the drama was way over the top with Jake, Billy, Alison, Michael and Co. We could not get enough, and it also became a haven where some of Hollywood's most notable mid-level names to stop by like Jack Wagner, Lisa Rinna and Daphne Zuniga.

Is it true one can spot a male, closeted "Sex and the City" viewer if he's swigging a cosmo at his neighborhood dive bar? Based on Candace Bushnell's popular book of the same name, this Sarah Jessica Parker-led hit highlighted empowered — and flawed — women at the forefront. However, guys, it was OK to admit we watched. It was creative and the characters were fun, even if a bit too pretentious at times. 

These good witches lasted eight seasons and have thrived in syndication, so the show had some staying power. But let's face it: A majority of the viewers tune in to catch a glimpse of attractive stars Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty and then Rose McGowan and even later, Kaley Cuoco. The males on the cast weren't too shabby either. Reportedly, it's a big hit with senior citizens.

Who would have thought that watching others go shopping for a new home can be so much fun. Perhaps the best part about putting off important things like chores or paying bills is getting the family together to make fun of these often-comical home buyers — like the wife who wants a big staircase for the prom photos of the kids she does not have yet or enough rooms to display her three Christmas trees. Also, apparently there's such a thing as "hate watching" "House Hunters" and its various spinoffs.

"SpongeBob" is not just for kids, and perhaps that's why it's one of the longest-running animated series in TV history. The antics of SpongeBob and pals are something viewers of any age can appreciate. And it's more than OK for the older sect to take time out of the day and plop down on the couch when looking for some mindless humor.

For a show that many rarely like to admit they watch on a consistent basis, the "Big Brother" franchise is still going strong. A more refined and Hollywood version of the "The Real World," "Brother" is like a bag of potato chips. We can't just eat one, and next thing we know the bag is empty — just like one episode turns into 19 seasons of devoted spying on the house guests.

It might be a stretch to include the "Gilmores" on this list because it blossomed into such a beloved show, It seemed to be good mother-daughter television, but there were plenty of reasons for us guys to watch: the witty banter, man's-man Luke, the antics of eccentric Kirk and the constantly clever pop culture references. It's also one of the best binge-worthy shows of all time. 

More reality eye-candy. It does not matter what version or installment of this franchise we're taking about, the ladies can't seem to get enough of that man or woman desperately searching to find a special someone. Yes, we know the guys are watching and might even be hosting their own viewing parties with a rose and plenty of tissues on hand.  

It's a case of a show that was so bad that it was actually fun to watch. And it's one of the biggest hits in MTV history. A whole new generation was turned on to the "Prince of Darkness" Ozzy Osbourne, not as a musician but as a bumbling reality television star who was reportedly stoned throughout most of the series' run. His bratty kids and overbearing wife made this the perfect car-wreck-watching TV. 

Here's one of the few "guys" guilty pleasures on this list. Though, plenty of females had no trouble looking at dreamy star Adrian Grenier and his hanger-on friends. It's also considered a guilty pleasure by some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports, who even made cameos (Scarlett Johansson, LeBron James) on the series. Whether we admit to watching or not, the HBO hit earned 26 Primetime Emmy nominations and produced a film.

The entire franchise, whether in Orange County (still the best), Atlanta or Dallas, and all the other places they've stopped, is fair game for guilty pleasure indulgence. It's perfect television to waste a day — or weekend — when looking to veg out. "The Housewives" offer plenty to ridicule and poke fun at. Of course, these reality stars are the ones laughing to the bank.

It's a like a car crash; we just can't look away. We should, but can't because this family is so self-absorbed and fame-hungry that it's become a twisted form of entertainment. For some audiences, it's gone beyond a guilty pleasure and into full-on fan obsession. It also says a lot about the shallow portion of our society when a socialite, reality TV family ranks up there with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Brides-to-be have plenty of stress in their lives, but this long-running TLC hit, and its spinoffs, provide an opportunity to realize that they are not alone in this craziness. Brides will do — and pay — anything for that dress. Those guys who claim not to be watching know it has the potential to be addictive whether in the market for a wife or not.

Based on the popular book series, "Gossip Girl" followed the lives of some privileged, Manhattan adolescents and was a major hit for the CW network. Critics also lauded the show for its writing and the work of actors Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley. So why a guilty pleasure? Maybe because teenage girls often had to the share the couch with mom — or dad — while viewing.

While the show was targeted at tweens mostly, parents were known to stay glued to Carly, Sam, Freddie and Spencer. This Nickelodeon hit was wholesome fun, and though the antics were crazy, the main characters were actually quite mature for their ages. Plus, the bits and stunts on the "iCarly" webcast could be quite creative. 

There's just something about watching contestants flirt with bodily harm while trying to get through an obstacle course that is entertaining to watch — for hours at a time. Think an adult, more grandiose, version of the "Double Dare" physical challenges or an organized, family-friendly take on "Jackass." Either way, watching folks potentially get hurt on oversized, padded apparatuses is hilarious.  

Compulsive hoarding is really no laughing matter, but for many, whether they are copping to it or not, it's a significant source of entertainment. It's gripping and has the potential to suck viewers in and keep them there to see how people can live their lives with this infliction. Various "update" versions of past people profiled have followed the original run.

This is another case where a group of no-names became stars via reality TV. However, the hard-bodied, too-tanned "Jersey Shore" gang can be quite entertaining, maybe, because they live the stereotype and have no problem taking it to the next level and beyond. Plus, how many high schools can boast  "Snooki" as one of their spokespeople when she didn't even go there.

One of the more recent entries on this list, this Darren Star creation is a critical hit and has the allure to entertain audiences of any age, even for tough guys who don't always want to buy into — or at least admit to liking — a funny female lead. That's what Sutton Foster delivers as a 40-something woman trying to fit in with the millennial crowd, both professionally and socially.