Ironic, no? The television that is meant to depict “reality” is often the television we turn to to help us take our minds off, well, reality. Reality television has long had a reputation of being silly and lacking substance but has really proven itself to be the unsung hero of 2020, providing thousands of millions of people a break from the madness. As longtime lovers of reality TV, we’ve rounded up the best of the worst best reality TV available now to indulge in from Netflix and Hulu.
The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart (Hulu)
This show is doing a lot. Inspired by A Star Is Born, The Bachelor franchise combined the bachelor mansion, the rules of Bachelor in Paradise, and a singing competition in this Frankenstein mash-up show that we can’t help but watch. It’s equal parts cringy and addicting. If you’ve never watched any of The Bachelor franchises, this may be a good place to start because all of the talent is new (not carried over from a previous season), and it’s happening in real time (only five episodes have aired). This’ll give you something to look forward to on Monday and the episodes are quite long, so you can plan to zone out for a solid two hours.
The Circle (Netflix)
This show was isolating before isolating was a thing. Basically, a bunch of strangers move into an apartment complex and have to stay isolated in their rooms. The only way they interact is through the social network known as “The Circle.” Contestants compete in a social experiment to, more or less, become the most popular person in the building based on nothing more than their social profiles and chat room interactions. Oh, and there’s catfish. It’s surprisingly heartwarming and unsurprisingly binge worthy.
Next in Fashion (Netflix)
This show is actually awesome. Tan France of Queer Eye and Alexa Chung co-host this Project Runway revamp as they send extremely talented designers through various challenges to find the one designer who is “Next in Fashion.” France and Chung play off of each other seamlessly and you’ll wish you were their best friend. The clothes are enviable, the contestants are relatable, and it’s all around a feel-good fashion show.
America’s Next Top Model (Hulu)
On the other end of the fashion spectrum, 22 drama filled seasons of America’s Next Top Model are available to stream on Hulu. Even if you watched this show back in the day, the re-watch alone is well worth your time. Plus, with 22 seasons, this could entertain you for weeks on end.
Too Hot to Handle (Netflix)
Wow…what to say about Too Hot to Handle. First, we don’t recommend this show for a family night of television. This is definitely a show made to be for guilty pleasure. Basically, a lot of really attractive people get sent to an island for the summer and, in order to win $100,000, must keep their interactions G rated (spoiler alert: they don’t). It’s lowbrow content for high level entertainment. If none of these are your style, there’s an infinite number of reality TV shows streaming in different genres from cooking to true crime documentaries to sports. Pick your favorite, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the mind-melt.