While shows like Survivor and The Bachelor seem to be evergreen examples of reality TV that grow and change with the times, some shows wouldn’t fly in today’s climate. Some series are cringe-inducing, while others are so problematic that it was a miracle they ever aired in the first place.
From nightmarish makeover shows like The Swan, to infuriating character pieces like The Simple Life, many reality shows of the past failed for good reason. A lot of reality shows have rabid fanbases, but the worst examples of old reality TV don’t stand up to modern scrutiny.
Parental Control (2006-2010)
After drifting away from the music video format, MTV very quickly found success in the burgeoning reality TV market of the early 2000s. Parental Control featured weekly contestants who would go on dates that were prearranged by their parents, in hopes of wooing them away from their unlikable significant others.
Far from being one of MTV’s best reality shows, Parental Control nevertheless hung on for several seasons. The biggest problem with the show is that it encouraged unhealthy relationships between parents and their mostly adult-aged children. On top of that, it was usually very creepy watching parents ogle their prospective date choices, and it reinforced sexist body image standards.
I Want A Famous Face (2004-2005)
Obsession with celebrity culture is one of the driving forces behind reality TV, but few shows brought that to the forefront quite like I Want A Famous Face. The show featured subjects who wanted nothing more than to closely resemble their favorite celebrities. To achieve this, they are willing to go through extensive plastic surgery.
Plastic surgery shows have continued all the way up to today, but there seems to be an emphasis on ethics, especially compared to the early 2000s. While it could be argued that the subjects on the show are pursuing their cosmetic choices willingly, it is hard to separate them from the fact that they are also doing it to be on TV.
The Simple Life (2003-2007)
Car crash TV has its appeals, and shows like The Simple Life hoped to entertain the audience by making a fool of their privileged subjects. The show follows socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as they strike out in the real world to experience how regular people live their lives.
While there is some humor to be derived from the program, there is also a fair amount of cringe to be found as well. The audience slowly comes to the realization that they are the butt of the joke, and the duo of Hilton and Richie are merely trying on a working-class existence for fun. The Simple Life was extremely popular, but was quickly forgotten after it ended.
Average Joe (2003-2005)
Women weren’t the only ones facing a body image-obsessed public in the early 2000s, and Average Joe treated its male subjects with just as much vitriol. Following the classic dating competition format, a female contestant narrows down her choices from a group of “normal-looking” fellows. However, she is presented with the option to leave with a more conventionally handsome man if she wants.
If the show was attempting to make a statement about the way society views body standards, it failed miserably. The contestant almost always picked the more handsome man, and the entire premise of the series fell flat. In the end, the titular average Joes were merely fodder for a cruel extended joke.
Bridalplasty (2010)
Hitting on the extremely popular plastic surgery sub-genre of reality TV, Bridalplasty continued some of the worst trends into the 2010s. The competition pitted several would-be brides against one another as they compete to win plastic surgery procedures that they have on their wishlist. The winner of the competition receives a lavish wedding that is paid for by the show.
Treating elective surgeries like gifts sends a terrible message to viewers, and severely downplayed the dangerous nature of any procedure. On top of that, the show reinforced horrible body image standards for the women on the show, and was generally sexist in nature. Reminiscent of the uncharted early days of reality TV, Bridalplasty felt dated even during its brief run in 2010.
Are You Hot? (2003)
It is no secret that many people are judged by their looks, especially in show business, but Are You Hot? hoped to cut through the pretense and exclusively focus on appearance alone. The series mimics shows like American Idol, and has contestants appear in front of a panel of judges to determine whether they are “hot”. In the end, the show hoped to crown the sexiest man and woman in America.
Shameless in its presentation, Are You Hot? was not only embarrassing, but it was extremely boring and many viewers simply tuned out before the series ended. Though it didn’t last long, the series represented a negative trend in reality TV and was the precursor to many shows that would also be judgmental, and impose strict image ideals on an unsuspecting public.
Playing It Straight (2004)
Sexuality wasn’t handled very kindly in the old days of reality TV, and Playing It Straight represented some problematic ideas about orientation. In the show, a woman lives on a ranch with a group of men whom she dates in order to discern which ones are straight and which ones are gay. Each week she is tasked with eliminating a contestant she believes to be gay.
Playing It Straight fell back on hurtful stereotypes about gay men, and portrayed them as deceitful. The contestant often flexed her own homophobic beliefs as she attempted to suss out which men were not conforming to her own ideas of masculinity. No one came away from the short-lived series looking good, and thankfully it was never brought back for more seasons.
The Swan (2004-2005)
2004 was a legendarily bad year for reality TV, and one of the worst perpetrators was the competition series The Swan. The show found several women who were deemed to be “ugly”, and put them through a rigorous extreme makeover in which they were judged on their work ethic. In the end, contestants participated in a beauty pageant to crown “the Swan”.
Right off the bat, the show is problematic in nature. First, the show’s ideals of what makes someone ugly are ridiculous and unfair, and second, the show’s ideals of what makes someone beautiful are entirely subjective. Pressuring people into modifying their appearance to please others is the foundation of the show, and it all culminates in a beauty pageant which is stuffed with its own problematic elements.
He’s A Lady (2004)
Some shows have an interesting premise but fall apart in execution, but shows like He’s A Lady are rotten from the outset. Several men compete to see who can pass most convincingly as a woman by wearing “women’s” clothing and attempting to act in a traditionally feminine manner.
Unfortunately for many marginalized groups, the clothing was often used for comedic effect, and society has only recently seen the problematic nature of such jokes. However, He’s A Lady manages to be not only transphobic, but also sexist in its depiction of what it believes femininity to be. The show is only good for one thing, and that is showing modern viewers how far things have come in the past two decades.
Black.White (2006)
Stepping into another person’s shoes to understand their lives is an ambitious and forward-thinking idea. However, Black.White. went about its noble idea in the absolute worst way possible. The show follows two families, one Black and the other white, as they swap places and attempt to live as the other family’s race.
Generally considered one of the worst reality shows of all time, Black.White. pushed things too far by putting its subjects in blackface and whiteface for their strange social experiment. The controversial idea of blackface taboo for decades, and it was a problematic concept even in 2006. Despite the fact that it had strong backing from a network, and figures like Ice Cube, Black.White. had absolutely nothing of value to say about racism or society as a whole.
