Summary
Reality TV has become a consistently changing medium, and withNetflix bringing its own brand of reality to its streaming platform, they’ve produced some incredible showsthat are well worth watching. As streaming platforms have risen in popularity, the way that viewers have been watching TV and consuming content has changed drastically. Netflix, which began as a mail-in style video service, has become the most well-known streaming service, creating high-quality content in nearly every genre of TV.Tackling reality TV after yearsof making scripted content, there’s a ton to watch on the service.
While some were skeptical of the way that Netflix would create reality TV,many of the early shows on the platform were in more of a documentary, film-esque style. Showing off the intricacies of a profession or divulging in a true crime case,Netflix’s early reality TVwas a far cry from what it looks like now. After a few years of creating more stylistic content, Netflix developed some reality TV series of its own, expanding the types of content available on the platform.
With theadditions ofLove Is Blind, Too Hot To Handle,andSelling Sunset,the platform became well-versed in the unscripted drama style of reality TV. Though many weren’t sure if Netflix’s style, which at the time saw full seasons of shows dropped all at once, was going to work for reality TV, viewers still tuned in for the shows they wanted to watch. Gaining traction quickly,Netflix’s reality TV shows became popular with audiences all over the worldand they began putting out even more content.
Competition series joined the dating and docu-series style shows, leading toseries likeFloor Is LavaandSquid Game: The Challenge,which showed off the competitive side of some viewers’ favorite stars.With a few competition series on the map, the Netflix reality TV family grew larger, pulling in more viewers and garnering more interest all over the world. As a platform with a global audience, the shows were able to reach more people and bring contestants in from all over the world, which made Netflix’s show stand out from the pack.
Now, as the Netflix reality TV universe has expanded to include dating shows, competition shows, strategy shows, and docu-series style shows,there’s something for everyone when they log into their account. With so many options to choose from, finding the right programming for your mood can be difficult, but Netflix’s reality TV offerings truly have something for everyone. Here are the 20 best Netflix reality TV shows.
20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now
Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.
20Love Is Blind
6 Seasons
Love Is Blindhas becomeone of Netflix’s most popular shows throughout all of its programming, not just reality TV. The series, which is created by the same production company behindMarried At First Sight, has a simple premise that was shocking when it originally aired. Singles in different cities are brought into pods where they can speak freely, but can’t see each other as they try to form emotional bonds that will last a lifetime.Once couples are engaged, they can see each other face-to-faceand try to build a physical connection that matches their emotional one.
Love Is Blindhas produced some successful marriages throughout its run, though its failure rate is much higher than its success. Despite dealing with some lawsuits in the last year that have made fans wary of the show,Love Is Blindhas been an exciting experience for the majority of its participants. With six seasons available of the US version and several international versions, as well,Love Is Blindis a must-watch.
Love Is Blind
Cast
Love Is Blind is a reality series where participants date and become engaged without seeing each other. The experiment examines whether emotional connections can outweigh physical appearances as couples decide if they will marry after meeting face-to-face for the first time.
19Selling Sunset
7 Seasons
Following the lives and drama of a group of the Oppenheim Group’s Los Angeles real estate agents,Selling Sunsethas launched a fascinating branch of reality TV that focuses on the real estate industryin several different forms.Selling Sunsetfocuses on agents in residential real estate, both selling to buyers and representing developers. The series, which has beenfocused around Chrishell Stausethroughout its run, shows off the luxe real estate of the area while delving into the interpersonal issues between the agents.
With seven seasons and another on the way,Selling Sunsethas been a major hit for Netflix and changed the lives of the women who appear on the series. Following Chrishell through a tumultuous divorce, Mary Fitzgerald Bonnet through a harrowing miscarriage, and Amanza Smith through some mysterious illnesses, the series has touched audiences with its emotional nature.Selling Sunsetis the first of its kind.
Selling Sunset
The reality TV series Selling Sunset showcases the operations of the Oppenheim Group as they navigate the high-end, high-stakes real estate game of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Newport Beach. The show explores both the personal and professional lives of the real estate agents as they buy and sell properties worth millions of dollars.
18Cheer
2 Seasons
More of a docu-series style show,Cheerdoes a deep dive into the world of competitive collegiate cheerleading,following the team at Corsicana, Texas' Navarro College. The junior college is home to some of the most talented cheerleaders in the country, who go there to learn and compete on a collegiate level. Working under the leadership of multi-year championship-winning coach Monica Aldama, the Navarro cheer team is a complicated bunch.
Originally,Cheerwas meant to be a one-season docu-series that followed the college through a season of cheerleading that ended at the annual Daytona Beach, Florida NCA College Nationals. After the first season was a tremendous success and some scandal came from the cheerleaders on the team,the series picked back up for a second season to examine another season while discussing the aftermath of the show. A portrait of what reality TV fame can do to change a team, the second season is just as compelling as the first.
Cheer
Cheer is a Netflix docuseries that premiered in January 2020. The first six episodes chronicle the rise of the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team in Corsicana, Texas. Cheer was extended for a second and final season which focused on Navarro’s pop culture fame while expanding on their rivals at Trinity Valley Community College.
17The Mole
A competition series that was rebooted nearly two decades after its end,The Moleis one of Netflix’s standoutreality TV competition shows. Bringing together a group of competitors who are looking to put money into a communal prize pot, one player is anonymously chosen as the mole.The mole of the group’s job is to sabotage as many competitions as possibleand limit the amount of money put into the prize pot.
Each episode ofThe Moleis a high-intensity, dramatic look at the way a team functions when they know one of their own is at fault for their losses. Creating doubt and pushing cast members to look at each other with judgment, suspicion, and sometimes irritation,The Molekeeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The series has recently released its second season and hopefully moves on to have a third.
The Mole
A reboot of the 2001 original adventure/reality game show, the Mole sees twelve contestants vying for a massive cash prize as they compete in increasingly tricky “missions” with one problem - one of them is the Mole. It’s the Mole’s mission to sabotage the players' efforts to win the pool for themselves eventually - but if they’re discovered, they’ll lose the game. Players will be eliminated each week based on a knowledge test given to them by the production staff - whoever reveals themself to know the least about the Mole will be forced off of the show.
16Too Hot To Handle
5 Seasons
One of Netflix’s original reality TV dating shows,Too Hot To Handlebrings togethera group of singles who have notoriously bad reputations, only to try and push them to build emotional connections. The first few seasons of the series featured cast members who had no idea what experience they were walking into, which made for a major shock when they learned they would be giving up all sexual contact for the foreseeable future. Whilethings have changed in the series for the upcomingToo Hot To Handleseason 6, the show has been able to create a steady conversation.
WhileToo Hot To Handleasks the competitors to look inward and takes away the elements of reality TV dating that many are typically looking for in a series, the competitive element of the show is a major plus.Contestants are given the tools to build emotionally stable relationshipsand asked to look inward to heal themselves, which is rarely seen on reality TV.Too Hot To Handleis one of Netflix’s sleeper successes.
Too Hot To Handle
Stuffed in a house with attractive singles, ten adults are invited to participate in Too Hot to Handle, a reality dating competition television series. Hosted by a virtual assistant known as “Lana,” the contestants are individuals with difficulty committing to relationships. Stuck in paradise, the contestants must resist temptation entirely if they want a chance at a $100,000 grand prize with a twist—every time a rule is broken, the prize pool is diminished.
15The Circle
The Circleis one of Netflix’s earliestreality TV competition shows, and the premise is one that got the streaming platform major attention when it began airing. Beginning in January 2020, right before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the series was able to bring isolation to the table by way of an exciting social media competition.Contestants onThe Circleare asked to play a game of popularity through a screen, using theCirclesystem, Netflix’s own brand of social media.
The competitors are asked to set up a profile and communicate with one another, playing as themselves or as a catfish, and then work their way through a series of relationships. Every few days, players are asked to rank each other, which leads to some players being Influencers at the top of the ranking, and at risk for being blocked at the bottom of the ranking.The series has created one of the most interesting reality TV competitionsand introduced some incredible twists.
The Circle
The Circle is a reality competition show initially conceived as a British series until this American adaptation launched on Netflix in 2020. In The Circle, players live in temporary apartments separate from one another. They must communicate through a custom-made social media platform for the game show to win $100,000. Players can lie and present themselves however they wish, allowing them to cheat the rankings to be rated higher by other contestants. If a contestant is “blocked,” they are removed from the game. Once eliminated, the true identity of a player will be revealed to the remaining contestants.
14Squid Game: The Challenge
1 Season
A re-imagining of the seminal hitSquid Gamein reality TV competition form,Squid Game: The Challengebrought the intensely dark scripted series to life. Removing the murderous aspect ofSquid Game,the reality TV version was able to bring the show into the reality competition space by using many of the competitions from the series and recreating the overall vibe. By bringing the sets, characters, and looming sense of doom to life,Squid Game: The Challengewas able to be high-stakes in the same way the original series was.
While there was only one person who could win the grand prize on the show,Squid Game: The Challengewas able to create some incredible characters from the contestants that played the game. Bringing personality and backstory into the competition,Squid Game: The Challengehad one factor that helped it to stand out tremendously. With a grand prize that outdid every Netflix reality show in the past,Squid Game: The Challengegave away $4.56 million to its winner.
Squid Game: The Challenge
Squid Game: The Challenge is a reality competition show where 456 contestants compete for a life-changing $4.56 million prize, inspired by the popular narrative of the original series. The show tests participants' skills in a series of challenging games inspired by the fictional storyline.
13Physical 100
Another reality TV competition that brought incredibly strong players to the screen isPhysical 100,which currently has two seasons available on Netflix.Physical 100brings 100 competitors into the gameand asks them to show their true strength. Searching for the most capable phsyical competitor, the series offers a cash prize and bragging rights, which may be more appealing to the competitors than the money.
WithPhysical 100’s competitors doing their bestto work together in team tasks while competing individually in others, the social dynamics built within the series is an interesting mix for the competitors. Though the majority ofPhysical 100’s cast are used to simply competing, some of the social dynamics of the game impact the choices they have to make. Overall,Physical 100is a great show for those who enjoy a solid competition.
12Selling The OC
3 Seasons
A spin-off ofSelling Sunset,Selling The OCtakes a similar concept with an entirely different cast of real estate agents in a different city.Selling The OCfollows the Oppenheim Group’s Orange County, California office where a different group of glamorous agents work on buying, selling, and finding gorgeous new homes. With cast members like Alex Hall, Alexandra Jarvis, and Tyler Stanaland having graced theOCoffices,Selling The OCis known for its drama.
WhileSelling Sunsetfocuses on the agents’ interpersonal relationships with each other, there’s not as much of a romantic element on the show.Selling The OCstruck gold in the form of Tyler and Alex, who have been friends since their youth and wound up in a tumultuous situationship after his marriage to actress Brittany Snow collapsed. Overflowing with drama,Selling The OCis a must-watch.
Selling The OC
Selling the OC follows a new group of real estate agents as they vie for dominance at The Oppenheim Group’s second office on the Orange County coast, navigating the challenges of a competitive market in pursuit of career success and recognition.
11Chef’s Table
A Netflix show that has captivated audiences throughout its run,Chef’s Tableis a documentary-style series thatbrings its viewers on a journey through specific culinary landscapes. While some seasons ofChef’s Tablefocus on a specific cuisine, each episode delves into one chef and explains how they got where they currently are. Doing deep dives on some of the most world-renowned chefs in the industry, the series explores with intensity and depth.
A visually stunning series,Chef’s Tableis known for its intimate storytelling and its focus on the food that’s being made by each individual chef. Sharing some of the background for some of the most famous chefs in the world,Chef’s Tabletakes the enigmatic world of cooking and gives it a personal spin. The series has been able to tap into one of the more private industries in the world, giving it beautiful public appreciation.
Chef’s Table
Chef’s Table is a Netflix documentary series released in 2015 that features renowned chefs from around the globe. The series delves into their culinary philosophy, craftsmanship, and the unique stories that shape their groundbreaking approaches to haute cuisine, offering viewers an intimate look at their creative processes and diverse backgrounds.
