27 Reality Shows From The 2000s And The 2010s That Would Never — And I Mean NEVER – Air Today
A bit ago, Reddit user u/lilac_cup asked which TV shows have aged like milk, and there were a lot of reality series I'd forgotten about. Here are 27 wild reality shows from the 2000s and 2010s that are genuinely shocking — and sometimes, really, REALLY problematic.
1.How Gay Are You? (2004)
"I seem to remember there being a show on Sky One (UK) in the early 2000s called How Gay Are You. And one of the thongs that made you 'gay' was using an MP3 player. I was 16ish then and used to make gay jokes. But after watching the show once, something clicked and made me realize its a load of old shit and I cleaned up my act. Really weird show."
2.Kid Nation (2007)
"Does anyone remember a show about a bunch of kids being thrown in the middle of nowhere, with no supervision, to create their own society? I know it sounds scripted, but it was a reality. And some kids were younger than 10. That was absolutely wild."
"I remember they had to slaughter their own animals and some of the kids desperately tried to hide chickens. Like I know the whole point is the kids are self-sufficient but that seemed a little much."
3.There's Something About Miriam (2004)
Suggested by u/mankindmatt5
There's Something About Miriam was a show where six guys dated 21-year-old model Miriam Rivera. At the very end of the show, Rivera revealed that she was transgender. The contestants ended up suing for defamation, personal injury, and conspiracy to commit sexual assault, and later settled.
4.Are You Hot? (2003)
Suggested by amytaylor1968
The show starts by taking care to mention that absolutely nothing matters in this contest but looks. They then parade a bunch of attractive people onstage, all thin and mostly in their twenties and white...before narrowing down the group and nit-picking "flaws" on each and every contestant. It's genuinely disgusting to watch the judges pick up apart "issues" like "too much jiggle" on people that are already insecure enough to go on a reality show about hotness, and it makes viewers feel even worse about themselves by nitpicking people who, to us, seem to already embody an unattainable level of conventional attractiveness.
5.Black. White. (2006)
"There was a reality show on FX called Black. White. where they put a white family in blackface and a Black family in whiteface. Just reading about it, it turns out the white family wasn't even a real family. They were unrelated actors."
"That show was WILD. I remember the white dad in black face absolutely giddy about throwing the n-word around liberally because he was 'black. 😒"
6.Joe Schmo (2003–2004)
Suggested by pattington98
In the wake of Jury Duty, perhaps a show where a regular guy thinks he's filming a reality show when in actuality everyone else is a paid actor orchestrating humorous situations doesn't sound that bad. But Jury Duty takes pains to make sure Ronald wasn't overly exploited that Joe Schmo just...did not, especially after the first season. The second season in particular felt messed up because it was a fake dating show, so feelings and romantic/sexual situations were involved. One contestant even figured out what was going on, but decided to continue and help out with the deception...which itself feels kind of messed up.
7.The Swan (2004)
"The Swan was two women who are considered 'ugly ducklings' participating in a pageant against each other after undergoing a three-month transformative process; aka having heaps of plastic surgery."
"Right?! How were they allowed to do so many procedures in such a short time while completely isolating these women from their families? Making them diet and exercise while healing from a tummy tuck, breast implants, and veneers?! The 'therapy' sessions were a joke and were just for show while these poor women with low self-esteem were preyed upon for entertainment. Just out of a safety and medical perspective…wow."
"The whole point of The Swan was that they competed in a beauty pageant at the end of the season. So, like 20 of these women who had been through tons of plastic surgery and pain were again told they were not good enough, while one woman 'won' to become the 'Swan.'"
8.Bridalplasty (2010)
"The contestants compete to have plastic surgeries ticked off their wish list, and the winner has all their surgeries and their wedding paid for. But the contestants win challenges and get the surgery during the show, week by week. It’s absolute madness."
9.Extreme Makeover (2002–2007)
"I remember watching this show as a kid, and being like, 'Oh wow, they’re fixing all these ugly people with plastic surgery and making them happy.' I just think that caused a whole generation to think they could change their body with money. Show lasted, like, four seasons. Couldn’t imagine that show today."
10.Dance Moms (2011-2019)
"[It] used to be entertaining; now, all I can see is the psychological effects it must’ve had on those girls."
"Abby Lee is batshit. ... Plus, those themes she chooses for the dances? I think there was one about [showgirls], and all the girls were, like, 10? And then, the actual moms…it’s so entertaining, but I do fear for the mental health of everyone on the show."
11.My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé (2004)
Suggested by TasteSensation
My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé was not only offensive to its only real contestant and her family, but extremely fatphobic. Basically, schoolteacher Randi had to convince her family she was actually going to marry someone who was "fat and obnoxious," who (unbeknownst to her) was actually an actor trying to sabotage her.
12.Playing It Straight (2004)
"One girl has to couple up with one out of 10 or 15 guys, half of which are gay. If she picks a straight [man], they split the money and ride off into the sunset. If a gay [man] could convince her they were straight, they’d win all the money."
13.And similarly, Boy Meets Boy (2003)
The dating series followed James Getzlaff, a gay man, on his quest to find love — except many of the contestants were actually straight men pretending to be gay. Besides this concept just being manipulative and mean to Getzlaff, it also prompted gay caricatures from the "straight" contestants, and laughs based purely on the fact that a straight man had to pretend to be gay.
14.I Wanna Marry "Harry" (2014)
Here's one more show where women were misled — this time, into thinking they were dating Prince Harry. While this may seem laughable, as the above lookalike is obviously not Harry, the contestants were essentially subject to gaslighting and what the winner called "brainwashing," which included having production team members whisper that the Royal family wasn't happy with the show while the girls were supposed to be asleep (but production knew they weren't from the microphones/cameras), and having a "therapist" (who was actually just another member of the production staff) speak to the women who were in doubt and tell them, “You have to learn how to trust your mind. I understand that you’re in a different country, and you don’t know what’s going on, but you have to trust the people here. It’s not good for you to keep questioning.”
15.Supersize Vs Superskinny (2008–2014)
"For those unfamiliar, it took a bunch of...obese people and a bunch of dangerously thin people and made them swap diets for several days. I used to watch it religiously to motivate myself at the gym, but actually, it's incredibly harmful when you think about it. Let's take a bunch of people with problematic eating, and scare and bully them into doing better."
"Supersize vs Superskinny fueled my eating disorder several years ago -- I would watch to see what the skinny people ate and actively ate less than them since I knew the calories and could actually see what it was. Without the show I think I still would have had an ED, but Supersize vs Superskinny made it 10x worse."
16....and Supersize Vs Superskinny Kids (2011)
"They did a KIDS edition of Supersize Vs Superskinny. I watched it. My Lord, talk about practically handing your kid an eating disorder on a platter..."
17.More to Love (2009)
"Basically, it was The Bachelor, but with fat people. And don’t get me wrong, a Bachelor show that was body positive sounds great. This wasn’t that. It was a mediocre man and 30 women with rock-bottom self esteem, convinced that if they don’t win on this show, they will die alone.
It was condescending and exploitive as fuck, centered around how enlightened this heavyset man was for deigning to date a fat girl, and how grateful they should all be for this opportunity they’ll never have again."
18.America's Next Top Model (2003–2018)
"I remember going nuts over it when it first came out, and now looking back, that show is rife with gross body image — not to mention literally putting models in blackface for a shoot."
"I can recall, at least TWICE, girls finding out someone close to them back home died…and the photoshoot the next day is at a cemetery, or death themed. The one with Kahlen having to play Wrath in a coffin that was lowered into the ground stands out to me. She did great, but did they need to psychologically play with her like that to get the emotion they wanted?
"Also see: Saying you’ve been growing out your hair for 5+ years was a kiss of death in that show. Guaranteed, Tyra would give you a 'Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby' if she heard that you loved your long hair."
"There was always the 'topless' episode where everyone was pressured to be naked, which now just seems exploitative. I also remember instances of male models crossing the line with touching during photoshoots, and Tyra tells the girls that stopping the shoot is wrong, instead you should just flirt back and convince them to stop."
19.Joe Millionaire (2003)
Suggested by u/TasteSensation
Joe Millionaire misled women into believing they were dating a wealthy heir, only to reveal at the end that the bachelor was working-class. While this is certainly not the worst entry on this list, misleading women with the intention of making them look vain and materialistic on air is not a good look. A version of the show does still air today, called Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, where 20 women date two men — one of whom is a millionaire and one who isn't. So...I suppose we can't say it wouldn't air today, but at least the women in the new show know one of the men isn't rich.
20.Average Joe (2003)
Average Joe followed Miss Missouri USA in her search for a partner — but she was to choose between "average" men (which was not told to her prior to filming). Halfway through, "attractive" men were added — and one of them ended up winning. The whole thing was a mess, from lying to Melana to embarrassing the men, to the ultimate message that beauty does matter more in the end.
21.Rock of Love with Bret Michaels (2007–2009)
Suggested by skyleyl
Rock of Love was just one of many wild dating VH1 dating shows at the time, but it felt especially gross considering Bret was in his forties and just the nature of the challenges, such as the above challenge on dirty talk. Notably, the second season featured Megan Hauserman, who would memorably go on to her own reality show that ended up accidentally featuring a murderer.
22.The Pickup Artist (2007–2008)
"Short-lived MTV show from the '00s capitalizing on the popularity on the 'seduction community' and interest in pickup artist culture. Honestly, though, I remember seeing a few episodes back during its run and already thinking that it felt kinda ick and cringe at the time."
"Turned out the whole thing was staged (big surprise), and the nerdy contestants were all struggling actors."
23.Wife Swap (2004–2010)
"It's full of caricatures of both conservative and liberal families and is chockfull of the highest level of cringe gender roles and toxic masculinity plot lines."
"One of the strict Wife Swap families had a...tragic ending. A son from a strict family who was in a bluegrass band killed his brother and mother years later."
24.The Biggest Loser (2004–2016)
"We really enjoyed that show, and thought that they were doing great work to help people. Bob was the sweetest guy in the world, and Jillian was that butt-kicking tough girl that my wife thought was the best.
Whoops! Turns out they were basically encouraging the contestants to take ephedrine and overload caffeine, game the system with massive water weight swings, and created entirely unsustainable weight loss, so 90%+ of the contestants gained all their weight back. In the interim, they also suffered extreme mental anguish and potential organ damage. Not great, Bob!"
"Biggest Loser is hugely problematic! I used to be an out-patient at an eating disorder clinic and my therapist said so many of them ended up suffering from eating disorders post-production. It’s just not a healthy way to lose weight and keep it off."
25.What Not to Wear (2003–2013)
"Nothing like having your family secretly recording you when you look terrible and then gathering everyone you know to have a 'style intervention' to watch said footage while two strangers pick you apart. Then, they pressure you into throwing away all your clothes (I really hope they donated them) and then gave you enough money to buy, like, four outfits but only on their terms, and also, FUCK your personal preferences and sense of style. You have to dress like a boring adult. And I ate that shit up. Ick."
26.The Moment of Truth (2008–2009)
Suggested by TasteSensation
The Moment of Truth was a show where contestants answered 21 sensitive and personal questions, the truth of which had been proven or denied by a lie detector test. Several contestants answered questions that would clearly ruin their relationship with partners and family members, such as Lauren Cleri (above), who admitted to sleeping with at least one of her husband's friends.
27.And finally, Labor of Love (2020)
Suggested by ambam8813
In the most recent entry on this list (though I'm still counting it as it was filmed in the 2010s), Kristin Davis hosted a show about a woman looking for a man to be the father of her children...basically, the winner would impregnate her. Seeing as this aired in 2020, it unsurprisingly garnered criticism and didn't continue on, unlike most of the other shows on this list.
What reality show can you not believe aired? Let us know in the comments below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
