The 35 Best Reality Shows of All Time

We were rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!

Reality shows
(Image credit: Getty Images / Viacom)

Ah, reality television. A stellar way to ignore the state of the world and focus on what's important: other people's drama. The genre has been around since the '70s, but didn't get popular until the '90s when MTV gifted us the powerhouse that was and forever will be The Real World. After that, we saw a boom of reality TV content. From Bunnies revealing what it's really like to live in the Playboy Mansion to belting your heart out for a golden ticket to Hollywood, networks couldn't get enough of the stuff.

And while reality TV is great and all, there's also a lot of it. From The Bachelor to Top Chef, we've got a wide variety of shows on this list for pretty much every person on earth. Without further ado, these are the best reality shows of all time—not in chronological order, don't yell at us if you think this is a ranking!—and where to find them. Some of them are lost in the abyss that is YouTube. Others just require a Hulu subscription. Either way, you're about to be entertained for hours on end. 

Amanda Mitchell

Amanda Mitchell is a writer and podcaster with bylines at Marie Claire, OprahMag, Allure, Byrdie, Stylecaster, Bon Appetit, and more. Her work exists at the apex of beauty, pop culture, and absurdity. A human Funfetti cake, she watches too much television, and her favorite season is awards season. You can read more of her work at amandaelizabethmitchell.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter @lochnessmanda.