The Reality TV Renaissance Is Happening RN—And You Can Stream It All
- 1/11
1) Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Where to begin? I, like many other Bravo fans, will admit I was skeptical when I heard about the latest Real Housewives franchise at Bravocon in 2019. Who wants another season of white ladies arguing over who does or doesn't drink? (Reality TV afficiendos have already suffered enough with The Real Housewives of Orange County, amiright?)
But I'll be the first to say that I was wrong and pray for forgiveness at the altar of Ms. Mary M. Cosby. Not only does RHOSLC feature one of Bravo’s most diverse casts, but learning about the Mormon church through the lens of Lisa Barlow is everything I didn’t know I needed. Grab a meatball on a stick, and tune in for a truly fire first season.
- 2/11
2) Real Housewives of New Jersey
As a Jersey girl myself, I see the premiere of a new season of RHONJ as a sort of homecoming. The accents! The leopard print! The clothing, bedazzled to the Gods! The complete confusion over a basic analogy! I can almost smell my grandmother’s sauce cooking as I turn up the volume for another 60 minutes of Teresa Guidice-branded chaos.
- 3/11
3) Marriage or Mortgage
If the last year of isolation has left you with some serious wedding FOMO and/or a new habit of scrolling through Zillow (@me), you'll love living vicariously through the engaged couples on Netflix's newest reality TV.
Based in the Nashville area, each pair teams up with a wedding planner and real estate agent who try to convince them to tie the knot now or invest in a home for their future. The couples only have the budget for one, so tough decisions must be made...
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- 4/11
4) Selling Sunset
Want to watch TV, while also getting a primer in high-end Los Angeles real estate you'll probably never be able to afford? I give you: Selling Sunset.
Season four of the hit reality show is slated to begin filming in the spring, and—fingers crossed!—it will be released to the masses by the end of the year. While the Oppenheim brothers continue to confuse and frighten me, I will be tuning in to see if any other $40 million homes are on the market. A girl can dream!
- 5/11
5) Bling Empire
The world of reality TV has not—and, dare I say, will never again—see a woman quite like Anna Shay. I mean, she’s literally tearing down the walls of her closet in a full ball gown in the first episode. What’s not to love? Any woman who can say, "I don’t get impressed by things, but people, who they are," in one breath and argue with a friend over wearing the same $140,000 Louis Vuitton necklace in the next is my kind of gal.
Netflix's real-life response to Crazy Rich Asians, Bling Empire follows a group of wealthy Asian socialites in Los Angeles (and their hot friend Kevin) for a delicious eight episodes that you won't want to miss. Think Selling Sunset, but with fewer women traversing construction sites in Louboutins.
- 6/11
6) Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Allow me to remove my mourning cap to speak on the sure-to-be epic final season of KUWTK. Yes, after 20 seasons, my girls have taken their little E! bag and traded up for a more lucrative contract at Hulu. (I do not blame them, but I will still cry about it.)
If you have also watched all 210 episodes of this saga (along with the rest of the KarJenner Cinematic Universe: Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, New York, The Life of Kylie, I Am Cait, Flip it Like Disick, etc.), then you know this final installment is a must-watch. With the KimYe divorce in the news, audiences are in for an excellent season of salad shaking and intense phone calls.
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- 7/11
7) The Circle
I can hardly believe that the first season of The Circle aired in January 2020, but this is what the internet tells me! Looking back, this show was the quarantine crash course no one knew they would desperately need.
ICYMI, here's the gist: Contestants are isolated in their own apartments (sound familiar?) and can only speak with other participants through an app called The Circle. The twist? Contestants can present themselves however they want on screen, in an attempt to win their fellow castmates over for a $100,000 prize. Think Big Brother meets Catfish. Two new seasons were reportedly filmed in the fall of 2020, per Parade, so here's hoping they drop on Netflix ASAP.
- 8/11
8) The Real World Homecoming: New York
It’s baaaaack—the reality show to start (and maybe end?) them all! The seven original Real World roommates return to their loft apartment to find out what happens "when people stop being polite...and start being real," or so says the trailer. I thought that question was answered back in 1992 when this sevensome got together the first time around, but I digress.
This Paramount + exclusive will surely be dramatic—and likely educational to younger millennials and Gen Z who missed the OG version. I will pay homage to our reality TV ancestors and tune in, as should you.
- 9/11
9) Floribama Shore
For season four, these beautiful lunatics are taking their talents from the Florida panhandle to the big open skies of Montana. What could go wrong? I am greatly looking forward to watching Aimee and Nilsa terrorizing some cowboys.
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- 10/11
10) She’s The Boss
New to the USA Network is Nicole Walters and her family, and after watching the trailer—color me intrigued. Nicole pitches herself as a "a former top-selling corporate exec who quit her six-figure sales job in front of 10,000 people, took what she knew and built a million-dollar business in one short year." Well, okay then! She’s got a nerdy husband, three adopted daughters, and an "over the top" manny, a.k.a. reality TV magic.
- 11/11
11) RuPaul's Drag Race: Corona Can't Keep a Good Queen Down
Tbh, the title of this season was enough to pull me right in. And when queen Rosé drops this line in her confessional, "To be around other human bodies is absolutely a gift we take for granted," it did bring a tear to my eye.
RuPaul’s Drag Race always delivers—and even amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this season will be no different.
Finally, a good reason not to leave your house!
