10 Unhinged Reality Shows to Add to Your Summer Binge List
As much as we all love the summer classics, like Love Island and Bachelor in Paradise, it’s refreshing to watch something new once in-a-while. When everyone is melting in the heat and wishing they still had a summer break from school that didn’t involve an internship and part-time job combo (if you do, I’m jealous), it’s the perfect time to turn to the reliable reality TV to make life a little bit more exciting.
If you’re already grieving the end of Love Island USA Season 7 — the finale premiered on Sunday, July 13 — and you’re getting bored of the same love-centered reality shows, where everyone is accusing each other of being on the show for “the wrong reasons” and seeking brand deals instead of romance, then maybe consider adding some of these new shows to your list.
This summer, there are reality shows premiering that feature a little bit of everything, from sharks to plastic surgery. Whether you’re looking to learn some new fun facts or devour juicy drama, here are 10 reality TV shows to spice up your summer.
My Lottery Dream Home and Zillow Gone Wild
HGTV is double-premiering these adventurous home shows on Friday, July 18, at 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c. First up is Season 18 of My Lottery Dream Home, where host David Bromstad travels across the country to help recent lottery winners use their new fortune to find the perfect home. This season will feature lottery winners fulfilling their dreams in Florida, Las Vegas, Arizona, and New Jersey.
Immediately after My Lottery Dream Home is the Season 2 premiere of Zillow Gone Wild, hosted by Jack McBrayer. After scouring the internet and social media for the wildest homes he can find, McBrayer will visit them in-person and meet the creatives behind the out-of-the-box properties. This season features a Lego castle in Orlando, Florida, and an old western town owned by a family in Colorado.
All the Sharks
Netflix loves its reality competition shows, and this one’s a catch. The show recently premiered on July 4 and ranked at No. 2 in Kids TV Shows Today for the Netflix Top 10 upon its release. Four teams of shark experts must compete to find and photograph as many sharks as possible within an allotted timeframe. The prize is a $50,000 donation to a marine charity of their choice. The experts must face the depths of the Pacific Ocean and coming face-to-face with some of the most feared animals in the world. It’s just as much reality TV as it is a nature documentary, so if you’re feeling fishy, consider diving in.
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Season 13
This show has been consistently running on MTV for 12 seasons, and it’s still one of the most unique reality shows on television. On July 8, Season 13 premiered of Love + Hip Hop: Atlanta at 8/7c on MTV. The show follows rappers and hip-hop artists in Atlanta who strive for stardom amidst the challenges of their personal lives and the challenges of the ever-competitive music industry. The show focuses on the wives of the hip-hop stars, namely Rasheeda Frost and Spice. If you’ve never heard of this show before and you want to catch up before watching the new season, you can stream all the episodes on Paramount+. Or, if you want to embrace the chaos of reality TV, just jump right into the new season.
The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys Season 2
If you love following the dramatic turns of strangers’ relationships, but you’re not really into the city life or the music industry, then maybe you’ll find yourself enamored by the McBee dynasty. They’re a family of farmers in rural Missouri who started off the first season in high spirits — with the right decisions, they could have easily turned their family farm into a billion-dollar business. But with family struggles and a shocking affair between Steve McBee, the patriarch of the family, and the CFO of his company, Galyna, drama and chaos quickly flowed instead of cash. Their trials only get more interesting in Season 2, which premiered on June 28, on Peacock.
Trainwreck
Poop cruises, Astroworld, and fashion cults — these are the topics of three new documentaries in the Trainwreck anthology on Netflix. The documentaries are released weekly and each feature a new bizarre headline or disaster that, at some point in recent history, captured the world’s shock and attention. The first, The Astroworld Tragedy, is currently available to stream, and centers the Travis Scott Astroworld music festival in Houston that went incredibly wrong. The episodes are released weekly, with the next one (July 15) called Balloon Boy. It follows a wild story of a Colorado man who built a UFO in 2009 that escaped from his backyard while carrying his son inside.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2
Let’s head over to Utah and meet some of the ladies on MomTok, a side of TikTok where Mormon moms make videos for other mothers in the community. It might sound like a wholesome situation – mothers make videos together to share advice and anecdotes about their lives — but this reality series on Hulu exposes the shocking scandals that go on behind-the-scenes. On July 1, the Season 2 reunion special came out, hosted by Nick Viall. It’s the first reunion that the show has done, and with all the sneaky secrets the moms have been hiding, it’s an addicting watch.
Bachelor in Paradise Season 10
Sometimes, you just need to go with a classic. It’s great to fill up your summer watchlist with new shows, but there are some days where you need to kick back, relax, and turn on a familiar favorite. Bachelor in Paradise, the group-dating show featuring past contestants from previous seasons of shows in the Bachelor franchise, is back for another steamy season this summer. The first episode of Season 10 premiered on July 7, and will air weekly on ABC, every Monday until September. It’s also available for streaming on Hulu.
The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 2
What do you do when you want to get married, but your partner doesn’t? Well, obviously, you audition for a Netflix show! In the second season of The Ultimatum: Queer Love, six couples face the decision to get married or end their relationships. One person wants to get married, while the other doesn’t. Hosted by JoAnna Garcia Swisher, this dating experiment allows the couples to explore new connections with other people who have the same ultimatum for eight weeks. They enter a temporary trial marriage with someone new, and after the trial period is up, decide if they want to get back together with the person they came with, or walk off into the sunset with their new partner. The entire season is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind
Two doctors, nine celebrities, lots of plastic surgery. What could go wrong? Hosted by the incredible Michelle Visage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, this show seeks to weigh the pros and cons of plastic surgery with contestants who love it and doctors who are interested in reversing it. The celebrities have to decide whether or not they want to keep their facial changes, or go back to their natural features. If you’re interested in all things celebrity and beauty — or all things hosted by Visage — then this show might be perfect for you. And if you don’t like it, you can always change it. The first episode premiered on July 8 and is available to stream on Prime Video and Peacock (starting July 16), or available to watch live on NBC on Wednesdays at 10/9c.
Furry Detectives: Unmasking a Monster
If you’re chronically online, then you’re probably familiar with the furry community. If you have a life outside of the internet, however, then let me explain. Furries are people who enjoy dressing up in animal costumes and cosplaying as animals. They have art, their own side of the internet, and even conventions. Now, they have their own reality TV show. This show focuses on the darker side of the furry fandom, where animal abuse runs rampant. To protect their community from these violent members, a group of furries teamed up in 2018 to find the culprit and protect their animal-loving members. This is probably one of the most unique reality shows currently available, so if you’re really looking for something different, then look no further than furries. The show premieres on Thursday, July 17, at 10/9c on Sundance Now and available to stream on AMC+.
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