The Best Reality TV Shows to Watch Right Now, According to Your Favorite Celebrities
Why do so many people dismiss the best reality TV shows—including The Bachelor and Real Housewives—as “guilty pleasures”? Just because you keep up with the Kardashians or add Cupcake Wars to your queue doesn’t mean you suddenly cut important, critically beloved dramas out of your life. When it comes to TV watching, you can have it all—and most people do.
Because after a long day of work, doesn’t it feel so good to sit in your sweatpants, pour yourself a glass of wine, and scream at that Chopped contestant who forgot the last basket ingredient? If you know, you know.
Even celebrated singers and actors who have starred on some of TV’s most prestige, Emmy-winning series watch reality programs. We know this because we asked them. Below are 24 of the best reality TV shows, according to some of your favorite stars. If you haven’t watched any of these yet, we recommend adding them to your queue ASAP.
—reporting by Jessica Radloff, Anna Moeslein, Caitlin Brody, and Bella Cacciatore
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Rick Rowell1/24The Bachelor
“I watch my wife watching The Bachelor, and it’s the greatest thing ever. She gets so wound up about these things. It’s hard not to get into it because it’s so addicting. It’s entertaining, for sure.” —Justin Hartley (This Is Us)
“I’m having a lot of fun with The Bachelor. I was never upset about Colton being the lead. I was like, ‘It’s fine. It’s going to be, what, nine weeks of dealing with this hot man working out?’ And there are a lot of good comedians on his season, like Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Billy Eichner.” —Jessica Williams (2 Dope Queens)
Bravo/Getty Images2/24The Real Housewives of Atlanta
“There are many reality shows I love, but The Real Housewives of Atlanta is my favorite. NeNe Leakes is such a businesswoman, but she’s also very funny. On and offscreen, that’s the real her. I love watching her—and all the other women. They have great personalities. They have their moments, but they always come back together.” —Mj Rodriguez (Pose)
“I definitely watch a lot of the Housewives. I’ll check out whatever’s airing—I don’t discriminate—but I’ve been liking Atlanta as of late because I love NeNe Leakes.” —Zoe Perry (Young Sheldon)
“I’m really into The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Those women will often break out in rhyme while they’re giving shade at the same time, and anyone who can do that is a queen.” —Debra Messing (Will & Grace)
E!3/24Botched
“Botched is like watching a train wreck, but I can’t look away.” —Rumer Willis (The Masked Singer)
Food Network4/24Cupcake Wars
“I’m a big fan of Cupcake Wars. Love it! I’m just so mesmerized by baking shows.” —Shay Mitchell (You)
“I love a good cooking show, like Cupcake Wars, because I can’t cook but love to eat.” —Miriam Shor (Younger)
MTV5/24Ex on the Beach
“I had a friend on Ex on the Beach on MTV. It’s pretty funny. I think I would die if my ex just showed up and I was on this island. Like, you can’t do anything. It’s nuts.” —Paris Berelc (Alexa & Katie)
Paul Hebert6/24The Bachelorette
“I love trashy, trashy television. I love it. The Bachelorette is my favorite because I love watching all these guys fight over a woman. I get really invested. I really do care! That’s the thing: I know we all do.” —Lana Condor (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Deadly Class)
“I can’t watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette alone, but with friends it’s so much fun. Our favorite season has been Kaitlyn Bristowe’s. If anyone talks while we’re watching, we rewind because we have to hear everything. My roommates are crazy about that. I just like to watch and talk and have fun, but they take it very seriously.” —Danielle Macdonald (Dumplin’)
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection7/24Love Is Blind
“Love Is Blind! I’m not big on shows that are super intense or dramatic. I really like shows that are going to make me forget about what’s happening in the world. So I try to go to reality TV—and kind of trash TV—to get my daily dose of drama.” —Kelsea Ballerini (singer, Kelsea)
“At the moment, it’s Love Is Blind, along with everyone else in the world. It’s just so ridiculous; I sit there in awe. I haven’t finished it yet—I’ve started 10 shows these days. I need to finish them and quit starting new ones.” —Lucy Hale (Katy Keene)
TLC8/24Hoarders
“I watch Hoarders to remind myself not to become one. I recently moved, and I was like, Why do I have a newspaper from high school from 1997? I wasn’t even in it—it was just in the back of my closet. I also started watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.” —Nico Santos (Superstore)
ITV9/24Love Island
“I love Love Island, but the U.K. version that is usually on every summer. It’s about a bunch of Brits abroad in a house and they all get together. It’s highly entertaining.” —Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (About Face)
“I love Love Island. I’ve seen almost every episode. I’m obsessed with it, because I love watching British people be a mess. That’s really fun to see.” —Jessica Williams (2 Dope Queens)
“Love Island UK is literally the biggest thing in my life—it’s the best television show of all time. I think British reality television shows are very much a cut above the rest.” —Alana Haim (singer, Women in Music Pt. III)
FOX10/24MasterChef Junior
“My favorite reality show right now is MasterChef Junior because I love cooking, I love kids, and I love how gentle and sweet the judges are with the kids. They’re like eight years old and really accomplished. If someone can kick ass at eight, then at 34 I should be able to kick ass too.” —Phoebe Robinson (2 Dope Queens)
“MasterChef Junior. Oh, my God, those kids are so supportive of one another, it makes me cry every single time. They’re like, ‘You’ve got it, Jamie, don’t worry!’ It’s the sweetest. I can’t. It breaks my heart every time.” —Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart, Lady Bird)
E!11/24Keeping Up With the Kardashians
“I watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians, for sure. It’s just so foreign to me, because I’m from Scotland. I’m like, This is insane.” —Gayle Rankin (GLOW)
Netflix12/24The Great British Bake Off
“I love The Great British Bake Off because they’re so kind and supportive of each other. It’s one I watch with my girls at night.” —Jennifer Garner (Camping)
NBC13/24Making It
“I think what Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman did with Making It is so beautiful and positive, which is what we need right now.” —Kayli Carter (Godless)
VH114/24RuPaul’s Drag Race
“RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favorite reality show, come on. I was on seasons six and seven as the guest pianist before I transitioned to writing. I’m a classical pianist—I accompanied Lady Gaga when she was at NYU [and was still known as] Stefani. I learned the ropes of show business by playing the piano for stars; then one day I was like, I’m going to try that out, and began writing. And here I am.” —Our Lady J (Pose)
“I don’t watch much reality TV, but RuPaul’s Drag Race is a lot of fun.” —Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones)
Bravo15/24The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
“I love any Housewives franchise, but particularly New York and Beverly Hills. I’d love to meet all of them. It’d be fun to go to Lisa Rinna’s or Erika Jayne’s house.” —Julia Garner (Ozark, Dirty John)
“I was obsessed with The Real Housewives for a very long time, especially Beverly Hills, New York, and Orange County. I just like the idea of people who know they are on television and still behave like this. It’s really bizarre. I feel gross about it, but it’s really fascinating.” —Christina Ricci (Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story)
FOX16/24MasterChef
“I love to binge-watch cooking shows like MasterChef. If I wasn’t an actress, I’d go to culinary school.” —Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time)
Netflix17/24Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
“Tidying Up With Marie Kondo feels therapeutic. Although, instead of getting rid of things, I just have girlfriends come over and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’ll have that!’ We’re all contributing to our own mess by giving each other the things we’re trying to get rid of.” —Emily Osment (The Kominsky Method)
Netflix18/24Yummy Mummies
“I found this new show on Netflix called Yummy Mummies, and it’s so genius. It’s like The Real Housewives, but it’s about pregnant women from Australia. There’s one who only has all designer clothing, even for the baby. The baby’s bottle is designer, the pacifiers are designer. I can’t stop watching.” —Rumer Willis (The Masked Singer)
Discovery Channel19/24Treasure Quest
“I watch this show called Treasure Quest on Discovery Channel. These guys find some crazy stuff with metal detectors. I don’t know if it’s real or just set up, but it looks real to me. The thing is, they find so much stuff, but then you look it up online, and no one is announcing that they found some treasure from the 1500s…. If they really found it, wouldn’t that be national or international news? I don’t know. Maybe someone can get to the bottom of this.” —Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
NBC20/24The Titan Games
“I’m obsessed with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, so I feel like The Titan Games will be my new reality TV thing. I think The Rock is what this country needs. He’s all about hard work and drive.” —Christina Ricci (Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story)
FOX21/24So You Think You Can Dance
“I grew up a dancer, so I was always in awe of the people on So You Think You Can Dance. It’s so fun to see people of that caliber onstage. It’s amazing.” —Nathan Parsons (Roswell, New Mexico)
Available to watch on Fox
Eric McCandless22/24Wheel of Fortune
“I’m a Wheel of Fortune junkie. I know that isn’t as hip as watching a bunch of women fighting or something, but I really love it. I was actually chosen to be on the show when I was younger, but I got a job in television the same year, so I never got to appear. True, little-known story. I was on The Price Is Right when I was 18. It was the first time I was ever on TV, and I won a gas fireplace. I had it for a very long time, until I lost it in a storage unit facility fire.” —Linda Cardellini (Green Book)
Check your local listings
CBS Photo Archive23/24Survivor
“I had a period a few years ago where I was really obsessed with Survivor. It’s a fun escape!” —Shira Haas (Unorthodox)
©Bravo TV/Courtesy Everett Collection24/24Below Deck
“Below Deck. Sometimes I just need to turn off by turning on shows that bring some relief from the usual daily stresses and have nothing to do with my own daily life. If I don’t, I find myself gravitating toward television that is intense and thought-provoking, which keeps my emotions lingering for long periods of time. Sometimes you just need to have a laugh and give your brain a break.” —Shania Twain (singer, I Still Believe)