The Best Reality TV Shows Ever
This is a list of the best reality TV shows on television, the most (often shamefully) addictive reality TV series. From guilty pleasures to shows that really do teach us how to live our lives a little bit better, this list contains only TV shows you would openly recommend to good friends of yours - the best of the best reality shows. Reality fans will also be interested in these juicy reality TV scandals and secrets from the sets of reality TV shows. You can vote, or even make your own list to impact this CrowdRanking of the top reality TV shows of all time!
Good reality TV shows come in every style of reality - from competition to cooking, quasi-educational to quite weird - and this list has them all. You can vote for fashion competitions like RuPaul's Drag Race, obstacle course shows like Wipeout, food travelogues like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and of course the classics like Big Brother.
What are the top reality TV shows? From Top Chef to The Biggest Loser, this list contains only the best and actually-watchable in reality television. Time to vote: what are the best reality shows ever?
- Jeff Probst
- Premiered: May 31, 2000
- Network: CBS
- Phil Keoghan
- Premiered: September 5, 2001
- Network: CBS
- Jon Lung, Brian Louden
- Premiered: January 23, 2003
- Network: Discovery Channel
- Matt Iseman, Jenn Brown, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
- Premiered: December 12, 2009
- Network: 18179, NBC
- Marino Monferrato, Andi Van Willigan, James Avery
- Premiered: May 30, 2005
- Network: FOX
- 6Gordon Ramsay
- Premiered: September 19, 2007
- Network: FOX
- Christian Siriano, Tim Gunn
- Premiered: December 1, 2004
- Network: Bravo, Lifetime
- John Henson, John Anderson, Jill Wagner
- Premiered: June 24, 2008
- Network: ABC
- Anthony Bourdain
- Premiered: April 14, 2013
- Network: CNN
- 10Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich
- Premiered: July 27, 2010
- Network: FOX
- Gordon Ramsay, Neil Farrell, Daniela Bayfield
- Premiered: May 31, 2005
- Network: Channel 4
- Mark Keller
- Premiered: February 7, 2010
- Network: CBS
- Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John
- Premiered: August 9, 2009
- Network: ABC
- Guy Fieri, Duff Goldman, Michael Symon
- Premiered: April 23, 2007
- Network: Food Network, Discovery+
- RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Santino Rice
- Premiered: February 2, 2009
- Network: Logo, VH1
- Julie Chen, Phil Proctor, Clayton Halsey
- Premiered: July 6, 2000
- Network: CBS
- Adrianne Curry, Yoanna House, Tyra Banks
- Premiered: May 20, 2003
- Network: UPN, CW, VH1
- 18Ben Bailey, Beth Melewski
- Premiered: 2005
- Network: Discovery Channel, ITV,
- Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Carson Daly
- Premiered: April 26, 2011
- Network: NBC
- Emeril Lagasse, Gail Simmons, Padma Lakshmi
- Premiered: March 8, 2006
- Network: Bravo
- Jay Mohr, Ralphie May, Kathleen Madigan
- Premiered: June 10, 2003
- Network: NBC
- Mike Rowe, David M. Barsky, Doug Glover
- Premiered: November 7, 2003
- Network: Discovery Channel
- Ted Allen, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy
- Premiered: January 13, 2009
- Network: Food Network
- Judy Sheindlin, Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Jerry Bishop
- Premiered: September 16, 1996
- Network: TALK
- Andrew Fincher, Joe Guay, Wayne Anderson
- Premiered: March 11, 1989
- Network: FOX, Paramount Network