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A Reality TV Round-Up
Happy Thursday. We mentioned last week that we may be be updating our weekly content due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. We are not members of either union, and entertainment journalists and critics have been officially OK’d to continue writing, but we are still determining what we’re comfortable with.
Not only are we in the midst of that, but Jenni is also on vacation (in Hawaii!!! I’m jealous). Since she’s not around to bounce ideas off of, I decided to go rogue and write about my favorite reality TV shows. Enjoy!
In today’s edition:
Jess’s favorite reality TV shows
— Jess Spoll
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A calming, happy food competition: The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Bake Off is a competition show in which amateur bakers in England compete in a series of baking challenges to win a cake stand. No, really, that’s the entire grand prize. The contestants are competing for the title of GBBO Winner, and in a country that’s devoted to the show, that’s no small thing.
Perhaps the lack of cash incentive is the cause of this being the cheeriest, most feel-good competition show in existence. Rather than having the “mean judge” scream at contestants (looking at you, Ramsay), the strictest of the judges, Paul Hollywood, is a man of few words. When he does approve of a contestant’s creation, he shakes their hand; recipients of the Hollywood Handshake act like they’ve just been knighted by the Queen. Not only are the judges kinder, but there isn’t any of the usual trumped up drama between the contestants, either. They become friends, supporting each other emotionally and occasionally even assisting with each other’s bakes.
This is my go-to feel-good show. Between the pleasant background music, the soothing narration of the hosts, and the heartfelt moments of friendship and camaraderie between the bakers, The Great British Bake Off will brighten your day, even if you just have it on in the background.
Watch on: Netflix
A dating game show for people who like puzzles: Are You The One?
There are hundreds of dating shows out there, but none quite like Are You The One?, which combines the concept of romantic chemistry with game theory. 20 contestants live together in a vacation home and are told that their perfect match resides with them, and that they need to find out who that person is. The matches have been predetermined by a “matchmaking algorithm”, which is, presumably, producers using interviews, questionnaires, talking to friends and family, and so on.
My enjoyment of this show comes primarily from attempting to solve the game: who belongs in each of the 10 pairs? It becomes a logic puzzle. At the end of each episode, the contestants match up, and they get their accuracy score. But they don’t know which pairs are accurate, just how many of the pairs are correct. Once per episode they get the chance to send a pair into the “truth booth” to learn if they are a match. As the viewer, you can keep track of the information they obtain throughout the season, and you might be able to solve it before the show ends. Of course, if you’re not a huge fan of logic puzzles, the show still provides the typical drama and absurdity of a dating show in which 20 young people all live together and try to form relationships.
Watch on: Paramount+ / Hulu
A behind-the-scenes show with messy drama: Below Deck
Below Deck is a reality series that started in 2013, following the lives of crew members aboard a super-yacht during a charter season. The crew remains the same for the duration of a season, while the luxuriously wealthy passengers rotate every few episodes in accordance with their 3-4 day vacations. The original Below Deck has aired 10 seasons, and has spawned 4 spin-offs: Mediterranean, Sailing Yacht, Down Under, and Adventure.
These shows are so popular because they tap into our need for escapism and our love for voyeurism. We get to watch a bunch of rich people going on vacation in beautiful parts of the world on the biggest, fanciest yachts we could dream up. And we see what it would be like if we left our desk jobs and sailed the world for work instead. Of course, there is plenty of drama— it is Bravo after all. The guests are often entitled and rude, sometimes to comical effect. Tension between the crew members is heightened because they live in tiny quarters with only each other for company, and they consistently work ~18 hour days with minimal time off. I would be a miserable brat in those circumstances too, probably.
If you’re new to the franchise and don’t know where to start, queue up Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2. Trust me.
Watch on: Bravo / Peacock
A cooking show with heightened emotion: MasterChef
There are so many styles of cooking competition shows— some feature professional chefs, some showcase home cooks, some are legit, and some are gimmicky. MasterChef sees a group of amateur chefs duke it out in a series of cooking challenges for a $250k prize, with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay as their head judge.
For me, this is the elite cooking show. It has all the elements that I need: fierce competition amongst genuinely skilled contestants, the promise of an underdog story, inflated drama, and the unpredictability of the volatile Ramsay. Even though I’m aware that the producers are manipulating me, I still get sucked into the interpersonal drama and contrived sentimentality. There are cooking competitions out there that are more serious and buttoned up, but I do love to see people flying off the handle every once in a while.
Watch on: Hulu
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