Streaming giant Netflix has been turning up the heat by releasing a slew of new reality shows, including its latest sleeper hit, The Ultimatum. More and more, viewers aren’t just using the remote to binge scripted series, and Netflix has stepped up with a variety of real-life depictions of the stress of getting organized, regret of hooking up with strangers, nasty break-ups, and social experiments gone terribly wrong.
The drama ranges from soft feels to full-blown meltdowns that keep viewers up late into the night to see which couples accept the ultimatum, which families can successfully clear the clutter, and which marriages will stick together, sometimes in a single setting.
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo quietly enters messy homes, issuing a seemingly simple, nearly inaudible command – get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy. Then using her KonMari Method, the tiny powerhouse helps struggling families de-clutter and compartmentalize.
Tidying Up gets to the root of why it’s so hard for people to let go of things they haven’t even touched in years — it’s difficult to let go of personal history. Witnessing family after family tearfully getting rid of things they love but don’t need, or Kondo assisting a widow sort through her deceased husband’s belongings is a poignant reminder that the same thing can – and eventually will, happen to anyone. And it may just inspire viewers to get their own homes in order.
Cheer
The first season followed the Navarro College cheer squad as they battled for the coveted championship title at Daytona nationals. But before season 2 could film, the global pandemic and arrest of breakout star Jerry Harris on sexual misconduct allegations completely shifted the previously lightweight, sports-centric show into something much heavier.
Cheer is supposed to be about cheering, but there’s no way around addressing the heart-wrenching fallout from Jerry’s arrest. Viewers literally felt betrayed by the cheerleader they saw as their best friend. Coach Aldama and the team not only had to deal with rebuilding the squad but their hearts, as well. Watching is far more intense than audiences initially bargained for.
Are You The One?
Twenty singles paired together by an algorithm move into a house to uncover the identity of their perfect match. If all 10 couples correctly guess their ideal mate, the cast splits one million dollars.
The episodes run in a repetitive cycle: the cast gets drunk, then fist-fight over each other (even when it’s proven the person they’re fighting for is not a match), and constantly switch up partners for the sake of switching, not exactly winning the money. This one’s mainly for those who prefer their drama fluffy because it’s petty, childish, and doesn’t get too deep, which makes it totally entertaining.
Bling Empire
The gorgeous, all-Asian cast isn’t afraid to flaunt their money or status. But beneath the bling, there’s pressure to please mates, fulfill family legacies and live up to the social standards they’ve set for themselves.
Bling’s mostly The Hills type conflict isn’t exactly heart-pounding, but it does have its unexpected jaw-dropping moments, like when 60-year-old Anna Shay demolishes her closet walls, draped in a red strapless dress and dripping in diamonds right before going out to a party. Not every episode is loud with drama, but there’s enough to keep watching.
Young, Famous & African
The streaming service’s first exclusively African reality show featuring a cast of notable, affluent superstars from the continent is a surprise entry on the list.
Young, Famous & African earned its here because each episode following its stars’ luxurious lives is more outrageous than the next. The lavish parties, love triangles, and infidelity provoke laughter and a few tears. It’s hard not to feel for Annie as she struggles with accepting her husband’s five children outside of their marriage, and the way viewers kept it in the top 10 when it was first released proves it’s the heavy drama viewers want.
Selling Sunset (Tampa)
This Selling Sunset spinoff features Sharelle Rosado and the first minority team of female realtors to dig their stilettos in Tampa territory. Off-screen, the Selling Tampa cast was dragged on social media for their Housewives-esque conflicts, which only boosted ratings.
It’s a shame there’s more attention on Sharelle’s team butting heads than on selling houses, especially considering how their minor scuffles pale in comparison to their predecessor. Still, it’s fun to watch. The subtle drama picks up the most at the end of the season when one agent decides to strike out on her own and a surprise pregnancy announcement takes center stage.
Selling Sunset
From its inception, this has never been a show about selling houses as much as it’s about the personal lives of the agents who sell them. Millionaire twins, Jason and Brett, own the Oppenheim Group, but for five seasons, it’s been their team of female realtors who keep the drama going.
Every episode’s packed with petty, mean, simplistic squabbles, but watching it all go down is oh-so-good. It’s intense and most of the sparring comes from the ladies trying to outsell each other for huge commissions. And now that it’s rumored Brett has left the group to start his own agency and villain Christine has bowed out, season 6 can’t get here soon enough.
The Ultimatum
New to the Netflix family, The Ultimatum keeps viewers glued to the screen with heart-pounding suspense. Six couples on the verge of either getting married or breaking up swap mates and decide whether or not to stay together at the end of three weeks.
All the events leading up to the final decisions are an emotional typhoon. Given how messy these relationships are going in, pretending to be married to someone else only makes matters worse. At least the couples could pretend to be married to the one they’re already with if they want to see if things will work out. But without the third-party intervention, The Ultimatum may not be as fun.
Married At First Sight (Season 10)
Originally airing on Lifetime, five couples paired together by relationship experts agree to get married the day they meet. The brides and grooms don’t see one another or learn each others’ names before they walk down the aisle.
The initial episodes introducing the husbands and wives are set up to get audiences rooting for them. But the honeymoon and subsequent episodes play out like a villain backstory. When it becomes clear that most – if not all Married at First Sight’s newlyweds aren’t going to make it past eight weeks, the high stakes result in an adrenaline rush that makes the drama impossible to stop watching.
Love Is Blind (Season 2)
Complete strangers “date” multiple prospects behind a wall to prove (or disprove) that it’s possible for people to fall in love with someone they’ve never seen. They get engaged behind the wall and eventually meet each other at the altar to possibly get married.
Sure it’s another relationship drama, but what makes Love Is Blind worth bingeing is that, with the exception of one Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee, the majority cast is likable and easy to root for. The first half of the season isn’t as pulsating as the latter episodes, but everything after the wedding scenes and the fiery reunion episode is nonstop drama.
