Sometimes, we want to watch a TV show that challenges us. We want to sit down and fully focus on a show that makes us think, with complicated characters and densely layered plots filled with twists and turns. And sometimes we just want to watch hot idiots fight with one another while we fold laundry.
In our world, both of those choices are totally valid! We're not really into the concept of guilty pleasures these days. We think people should watch things that they enjoy and not feel embarrassed about it, so there is no judgment here about loving reality TV.
That being said, not all reality TV shows are created equal, and these days there are so many options between network TV, cable, and all the streaming services. It can be hard to figure out which shows are worth the time and will deliver the goods and which ones are just contrived, boring, or too mean-spirited to be fun. We're into the bad shows that make good with big personalities, interesting locations, or competitions, and the kind of juicy gossip (hello, Tom and Raquel cheating drama on Vanderpump Rules?!) that we'll want to text our friends about the next day.
We've rounded up 16 of our favorite so-bad-they-circle-around-to-being-good reality shows, perfect for binge watching the next time we have to tackle a mountain of dishes or just want a little brain candy to relax.
'FBoy Island'
We're pretty sure most people can figure out what the premise of this HBO show is from the title, but just in case someone isn't familiar with the concept of an "fboy," this series is a dating competition setup where women try to figure out who the nice guys are and who are the guys just looking for sex. So basically real life before we got married? This show was recently canceled by HBO (how dare they!), but it lives on in our hearts and in the existing seasons still available for streaming.
'Below Deck Caribbean'
This show has it all: beautiful locations, a gorgeous luxury yacht that makes us wish we were rich, a young, fit crew with plenty of drama, and enough drunk rich people acting like jerks to make us reconsider whether we want to be rich after all! Below Deck Caribbean is part of the multipart Below Deck franchise, so there are always more seasons of sailing shows to look forward to.
'The Kardashians'
The Kardashians is the OG for bad reality shows that we just can't help but watch. While the amount of "reality" in the show is about equivalent to the amount of "natural beauty" favored by the various sisters, it is still fairly hard to quit the habit of watching the most famous reality family.
'Physical 100'
Physical 100 is a newer reality competition show on Netflix that claims to be dedicated to finding the prime example of peak physical perfection through a variety of intense athletic competitions. We've got some doubts about how that can actually be proved, but there is some amazing eye candy on the show, so we'll take it.
'The Circle'
The Circle is the perfect reality show for anyone whose ever creeped on someone on social media and tried to figure out if they are real or a fake profile. The stakes on this show are pretty low (although the winner does get about $150,000) and the in-show competitions are pretty silly, so this is perfect to watch with half a brain.
'90 Day Fiancé'
We have two competing interests when it comes to watching love on reality TV. We both want people to find a genuine human connection and happiness (we're not monsters, after all) and we want to totally dissect dysfunctional relationships for sport. 90 Day Fiancé, with its odd pairings and hyper-fast timeline for couples to figure out if they can make love work, is the perfect combo of both interests.
'Married at First Sight'
We love shows that try to make themselves sound more serious than they are by claiming to be "a social experiment." Come on, now. We all know that Married at First Sight is just juicy to watch as we try to figure out if any of the couples will actually even like each other or predict who is secretly kind of crazy. There is always at least one who is a hot mess, and we love that about reality TV.
'Love Is Blind'
We have watched all the seasons of Love Is Blind (including the international versions) and we are always entertained. We are also always glad to have the realization that we will never, ever have to be a contestant on a show like this, where people have totally cringe conversations and convince themselves they are in love after like five days of knowing someone.
'Love Island'
Officially, the premise of Love Island is that "singles come together in a tropical location to look for love, with one couple winning a cash prize." Real watchers know the actual point is to see hot people act like ding dongs while not wearing much clothing. We'll happily watch the show while also actively hoping to raise kids who would never, ever appear on such a show.
'Real Housewives'
It doesn't really matter which flavor of Real Housewives (SLC? NYC? Miami? Beverly Hills?) someone prefers — they are all basically the same. Cameras follow rich (or rich-ish) women who love to start drama while wearing designer clothes, all for our amusement and dissection afterward. It is the comfort watch of so-bad-it's-good reality TV.
'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles'
When it comes to bingeable reality shows, there's more than just love and fighting housewives to enjoy. There are also real estate shows where there's always drama aplenty plus some amazing home tours that are basically porn for all of us who scroll on Zillow too much. Bravo's Million Dollar Listing, starring the dueling Joshes (that's Flagg and Altman), is the OG in this category.
'Selling Sunset'
The newer kid on the so-bad-it's-good reality real estate block is Netflix's Selling Sunset. Although the show didn't debut until 2019, it has already had five seasons worth of short skirts, high heels, and catfight drama. Netflix has confirmed there will be at least two more seasons, so we can't wait to see what happens next!
'The Traitors'
Come for the gorgeous Scottish scenery, stay for host Alan Cummings' amazing wardrobe and the way he milks every second out of saying the word "traitors!" This competition show has a mixture of regular folks and "stars" from other reality shows and it's full of fun backstabbing on the way to the big prize at the end.
'Nailed It!'
Sometimes we need a break from catfights and real estate drama and just want to watch something silly. Nailed It is the perfect choice. We adore host Nicole Byer, and it can be super entertaining to watch other people screw up a baking project while we are munching on chips from the comfort of our couch.
'Floor Is Lava'
If the idea of an entire show based around the childhood game of "the Floor Is Lava" sounds stupid, don't worry. It is totally stupid. But it is also surprisingly entertaining, especially when watching with bigger kids who will have all sorts of theories on how'd they'd handle the crazy courses on the show. This is streaming on Netflix now.
'The Bachelor'
The Bachelor has been on TV for an astounding 27 seasons. Since 2002, it has been all about "the journey" and weeding out the people who are "here for the wrong reasons" in an attempt to help one generically handsome guy find the love of his life. While the show has so far only resulted in less than a handful of marriages, we still can't help but watch this delicious trash every single season.
