The Best Reality TV Shows To Watch In 2023
From the Below Deck franchise to The Kardashians to My Super Sweet 16.
Reality TV has been taking over our screens for decades, but the streaming era has truly upped the ante. Netflix's focus on slick reality shows like Selling Sunset and Love Is Blind has proven that viewers are always ready to devour new episodes. Classic competition shows like Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race are still going strong, while romance continues to win big in series like The Bachelor and Love Island. Whether you're a fan of Real Housewives drama, or you live vicariously through the crew members on Below Deck, there's a reality TV show to satiate your needs.
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Netflix's Selling Sunset has changed the game when it comes to real estate reality shows. The series follows a group of impossibly attractive agents at The Oppenheim Group, as they list high-end real estate and wear ridiculously expensive clothing. Season 6 ushers in a new era for the show, sans Christine Quinn, and promises to be as dramatic as ever.
The Kardashian family has been on our screens since 2007, and it's hard to imagine life any other way. Hulu's The Kardashians gives fans an inside look at the latest exploits of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall, Kylie, and Kris. Keeping Up with the Kardashians remains a guilty pleasure for old school fans of the family.
Love Is Blind burst on to our screens in 2020, and life has never been the same again. Men and women date one another in custom-made pods, without ever seeing what the other person looks like. Contestants must then decide whether or not to get engaged, sight unseen. Only some of the couples make it to the altar, and there's always way too much drama along the way.
It's hard to believe that there have already been eleven U.S. iterations of the Real Housewives franchise, and there are bound to be more to come. The series follows a group of women, all of whom live lavish lifestyles, in various cities. International versions and spin-offs have also proven popular, and it's likely that the franchise will still be running long after we're all dead.
Love Island follows a group of contestants as they live together in a villa in an idyllic location. In order to stay in the competition and have a shot at winning the prize money, contestants must couple up. As the series progresses, some contestants switch partners, causing an inordinate amount of drama, while others choose to stay together.
Fifteen seasons in, RuPaul's Drag Race remains one of the most beloved reality shows of all time. The series follows a group of contestants as they compete against one another in a series of challenges, and present runway looks, on which they're judged for their "charisma, uniqueness, nerve. and talent."
The Circle is a reality show for the digital age. Contestants play a social media-based game, in which they can either be themselves or play as a catfish. To win the game, contestants must gain the trust of the other players, eliminating other people in the process. A huge cash prize awaits, but it takes true savvy to take advantage of social media with the cameras rolling.
Whether you're a fan of the original Below Deck featuring Captain Lee, or one of the show's many spin-offs, it's clear that the franchise is just getting started. Below Deck Sailing Yacht has viewers transfixed thanks to a surprising love triangle, and fans eagerly await a second season of Below Deck Down Under. We just can't get enough of the yachty lifestyle, it seems.
Vanderpump Rules started life as a spin-off from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, following employees at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurants. Now in its tenth season, Vanderpump Rules exploded in 2023 due to some shocking cheating drama between its cast members, and the world is transfixed.
Following Laguna Beach, MTV gave us The Hills, the perfect '00s reality show following a group of young adults in Los Angeles. We all watched in awe as Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, and Audrina Patridge followed their dreams and dated all the wrong men. A short-lived reboot tried to re-create the magic, but was sadly cancelled in 2022.
The Bachelor and its arguably more interesting spin-offs have remained a stalwart of reality TV for years. In both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, a group of people compete for the affections of the same person, hopefully leading to an engagement. Bachelor in Paradise puts a group of single people on a beach and waits for the romance and drama to unfold.
The premise of Netflix's Too Hot to Handle is not for the faint of heart. A group of singletons live in a villa together, but they're not allowed to engage in any sexual activity whatsoever. Anyone that breaks the rules causes a cash sum to be deducted from the prize fund. And, obviously, people break the rules again and again.
MTV's Are You the One? requires contestants to find their perfect matches, as defined by an algorithm. If all of the group's perfect matches are found before the end of the competition, they share in a huge prize fund. Catfish's Kamie Crawford took over hosting duties in 2019, and helped breathe new life into the series.
The American version of Big Brother first launched in 2000, and the series was recently renewed for its 25th season. On the show, a group of people are locked in a house without any access to the outside world. They must live together, complete challenges, and try to survive while having every moment broadcast on TV 24/7. Is there anything more terrifying?
Bravo's Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles launched in 2006, and has already been running for 14 seasons. A New York spin-off proved popular, thanks to the likes of Ryan Serhant and Fredrik Eklund. Arguably, without Million Dollar Listing there's no Selling Sunset, as the franchise showed that there is a hunger for shows about high-end real estate, and the agents behind the listings.
VH1's Love & Hip Hop: New York is the show that helped establish Cardi B as a future superstar. The series follows a group of artists working in hip hop and R&B as they develop their careers in the music industry. The successful show spawned spin-offs set in Miami, Hollywood, and Atlanta.
Since launching in 1992, The Real World has become one of the most influential reality TV shows of all time. The MTV series follows a group of young people as they move into a house in a new city, where they're filmed continuously. In recent years, former cast members have reunited for reunion seasons on Paramount+, proving that the format still works.
Netflix's Bling Empire has been a huge success for the streamer, and has already inspired the spin-off Bling Empire: New York. The original version follows a group of wealthy Asians and Asian Americans who all live lavish lifestyles in Los Angeles.
The iconic modelling competition was once a mainstay of reality TV, and it's easy to see why. Created by Tyra Banks, who also served as a judge, each season followed a new cohort of aspiring models. Every week, contestants would fight to keep their place on the show, vying for a chance to win a lucrative modelling contract in the finale.
Anglophiles are sure to adore Made in Chelsea, a reality show focusing on a group of wealthy young adults who live in London's most affluent areas, such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge. The series has also followed its cast members on vacation, and tracked the ups and downs of their turbulent love lives.
Netflix's reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has tugged on the heartstrings of viewers everywhere, and catapulted its hosts to stardom. The long-awaited seventh season of Queer Eye has finally arrived on the streaming service, and promises to be filled with unexpected transformations, both inside and out.
Another treat for Anglophiles, The Only Way Is Essex documents the lives of a group of people living in, you guessed it, Essex. From wild romances to friendship fallouts, the series continually amps up the drama, and Season 31 includes a trip to Thailand.
Created by Issa Rae, Sweet Life: Los Angeles follows a group of Black twenty-somethings living and working in South L.A., as they pursue their dreams. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled by HBO Max after just two seasons, much to the disappointment of fans everywhere.
The Great British Bake Off has been a smash hit since its inception, and people all over the world have fallen in love with the competition show. Each week, contestants must bake certain dishes, on which they're judged by a group of professionals. From perfect creations to kitchen disasters, there's nothing more satisfying than watching other people bake.
Bravo's Shahs of Sunset ran for nine seasons and followed a cast of Persian Americans living and working in Beverly Hills, as they juggled family commitments and their careers. The show was cancelled in 2022, but fans are hopeful that some spin-offs will materialise soon.
Project Runway remains a powerhouse of a reality television show, and its long-awaited twentieth season returns to our screens in 2023. The series follows a group of designers as they complete challenges, and showcase their creations to judges on a weekly basis.
This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US.