When MTV launch " The Real World " in May 1992 , the web unwittingly awakened the modern - dayreality TV showmovement . Now , more than 30 years since that first time of year aired , ( yes , it ’s been that long ! ) there have been 33 seasons of " The Real World " and two spin - offs from the show , including " Road Rules " and " The Challenge , " which is currently in its thirty-eighth season .
Today , it ’s unacceptable to scroll through any internet or streaming service of process without finding a reality TV show on pack of cards . And while some real - lifeTV drama last X , most have shorter shelf live on .
Here are 11 of the more memorable world TV shows that not only had good run , but also will live on impression on our minds .
“Toddlers and Tiaras”
Just one episode of TLC ’s " Toddlers and Tiaras " is enough to show viewers the dark underbelly ofyouth pageant life . The show aired seven seasons from January 2009 to November 2016 , ( with a three - yr gap between October 2013 and August 2016 ) , amid a flurry of criticism .
Naysayers receive the hair - wax , spray - tan , heavy make - upped tot and young girls with excruciatingly high up - dos gyrating onstage for the form of address of Ultimate Grand Supreme to be a fleck too risqué . Their moms , however , take issue , and claimed the stage experience boosted their small fry ’s ego - sureness .
More distressing than the pageant participants ' costumes were the pageant moms — and sometimes dads — who managed to set cringe - worthy example of how NOT to act toward a competitor , regardless of their long time .
“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”
Producers of " Toddlers and Tiaras " could n’t permit the over - the - top personality of one lowly - town Georgia contestant get aside without offering the girl her own show . Alana Thompson ( Honey Boo Boo ) was just 6 whenTLC announce a six - part serial spinoff , " Here come Honey Boo Boo . "
The show lit up TV screen door from August 2012 to August 2014 with the on the face of it contrive trickery of Honey Boo Boo and her just - as - outlandish sept members , include her parents June " Mama June " Shannon and Mike " Sugar Bear " Thompson and sister Pumpkin , Chubbs and Chickadee .
The Hollywood newsman headman TV criticsummed the series up this way : " At some point , awful is just awful instead of entertaining , " and liken people ' fascination with the show to a " car clangour , and everybody rubber - neck at a motorcar smash , right ? "
In the closing , TLC cancel " Here follow Honey Boo Boo " when it discovered that Mama June was dating aconvicted nipper molester . Though that did n’t stop WeTV from giving the sept yet another show in April 2017 . " Mama June : From Not to Hot " is now in its 5th time of year .
“Dance Moms”
Just how vicious can a mom be when her daughter gets passed up on a prime spot in a terpsichore competition ? Lifetime ’s reality serial " Dance Moms,“gave us a glimpseinto the answer . The show , which aired from 2011 to 2019 , feature Abby Lee Miller , proprietor of a dance studio in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , and her scholar , ages 6 to 16 , as they trained and traveled to various dance competitions .
The show helped set in motion the calling of American actress and dancerMaddie Zieglerand pop sensationJoJo Siwa .
But the biggest draw was the catfights that often spring up among the female parent of the dancers and Miller herself . Much like " Toddlers and Tiaras , " " Dance Moms " was often criticise for sexualise little fille , especially after the " Topless Showgirls " episode beam in time of year 2 during which the dancers — ages 8 to 13 — appeared to do sans tops ! ( Lifetime ultimatelypulled the episodefollowing plenty of viewer pushback . )
“What Not to Wear”
Ahhhh , there ’s nothing like standing in the middle of a elbow room full of mirror in your favorite loungewear ( that you wear everywhere ) and being told how awful you look . But , on the face of it people were willing to endure thenot - so - constructive criticismof stylists Stacy London and Clinton Kelly for a makeover and a new $ 5,000 press .
" What Not to Wear " premier on TLC in January 2003 , and hosts London and Kelly taught surprised participants how to dress to impress by emphasizing their assets and deemphasizing their defects . The result was a much more stylized and convinced guest . The show incline for 10 seasons before it ended in fall 2013 .
During its meter on air , the gang perform more than345 makeoversto mediocre folks as well as a few celebrity include game show host and " The Big Bang Theory " actressMayim Bialikand " American Pie " starShannon Elizabeth .
“My Strange Addiction”
There ’s something about watching other people ’s eldritch behaviors that makes you feel a little more " normal . " Such was the pillow slip with " My Strange Addiction , " a TLC show that premiered December 2010 . Theseries showcased peoplewith not - so - muchaddictionsas bizarre personal fixations or everyday rituals .
Featured characters include Jennifer , the foam - mattress - eat fanatic ; Guerra , the guy wire obsessed with becoming Madonna ; Haley , who spent hour a day pulling out her hair and nibbling on the follicles ; and Tina and Mike , the husband - and - married woman team obsessed with coffee clyster .
Despite the show terminate in February 2015,fans still ruminateabout whether the hoi polloi have actually suffered from the so - cry addiction they claimed to have , or if they just fake them for their 15 arcminute of fame .
“19 Kids and Counting”
Who could have guess that crank up out babies would become a multimillion - dollar mark empire ? And who could have conceive of the cringy end to it all ?
The show " 17 Kids and Counting " first aired on TLC in September 2008 and feature Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their then-17 Thomas Kyd growing up in Tontitown , Arkansas . With each new bundle of joy bestow on the couple , the reality show ’s name commute , in the end becoming " 19 Kids and Counting . " The hugely materialistic Baptist twosome passed on to their tike values of purity , reserve and trust in God , along with straitlaced " courtship " practice .
In 2015 , though , the show came to a screeching halt when Josh , the eldest Duggar child , publicly apologized for act " inexcusably " after report show up that he had fondled five girls , including some of his baby , years in the first place . Not wanting to turn a loss the cash moo-cow that " 19 Kids and Counting " had become , TLC quickly released a twisting - off , " Counting On , " about the eldest daughters Jill and Jessa ’s forays intomotherhood .
However , Josh ’s action also go to the demise of that show in 2021 , when he wasarrestedon Union charges of receiving and possess child pornography . He is presently serving a 151 - month prison house term .
“My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding”
" My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding " first aired on TLC in April 2012 , highlighting the baptisms , birthdays andwild wedding of Romani Americans(derogatorily touch to as gypsies ) . Families on the show were all members of the Romanichal clans , or salute themselves as such .
The show feature big dresses ( one was so braggy the St. Bridget had to be carried on the back of a flatbed truck ) and even freehanded play from an ever - change love triangle to the numerous nuptials - day brawls .
The show was a spin - off of " Britain ’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings " reality series , which was heavily criticized for being " wildly misleading " about theRomani cultureand cultivating racist stereotypes . The show aired for six season and ended in December 2018 .
Ahead of the American handout , the online editor ofThe New Republic wrote , " ( B)ecause this misleading , incomplete show will likely be many Americans ' only exposure to Travellers and Roma in Europe , it will lead to a thick mistaking of who these people are . If Twitter is any indicator , it will preserve to draw adjectives like ' odd ' and ' insane , ' as well as countless comparisons to ' Jersey Shore . ' "
“Jersey Shore”
Wait , what ? " Jersey Shore " was look at queasy ? Thisreality show gemfrom MTV ventilate from 2009 to 2012 and peer into the antics of eight 20 - somethings exist together in a holiday place in Seaside Heights , New Jersey , on the Jersey Shore ( though one time of year was filmed in South Beach , Florida , and another in Florence , Italy ) .
The work party , including Pauly D , Snooki , Mike " The Situation " and JWoww , spent most of that sentence drink and partying , which take to some rather savage brawl and bawdy demeanour . This serve make " Jersey Shore " its pop culture condition .
But the show also was the subject of much controversy for its depicting of Italian Americans and participants ' bounteous use of the price " guido " and " guidette . " While not all theatrical role identified with a peculiar ethnic or racial group , critics saidthe show stray a negative shadow on the Italian American culture as a whole . Some Italian group even called on MTV topull the show .
" Jersey Shore " ultimate met its demise in December 2012 . But in 2018 , MTV launched a spinoff titled " Jersey Shore : Family Vacation " where member of the hurl reunite to endure together and holiday in Miami . It ’s currently on its 5th season .
“My Super Sweet 16”
What could be more engrossing than determine spoiled rich kids as they plan a grossly luxurious coming - of - age political party for themselves ? Watching the same spoiled rich kid throwmonster temper tantrumswhen their mothers " ruin " their parties by buying them a brand - novel Lexus SC430 or a Mercedes - Benz SLK - Class Convertible .
MTV leave us that gift with its " My Super Sweet 16 " reality serial publication , which have the provision , plotting and prepping for over - the - top sweet 16squinceañerasand otherwild teenage natal day celebrations .
According to somereviewers , tear , tantrums , demented party contriver , parental put - down and budget - busting details were the norm for the teen headliner of this world show treasure . The show had a long run from January 2005 to September 2017 . No surprise there . It was tough to look away .
“Supernanny”
" Supernanny " Jo Frost was telling parents how to arouse their small fry in the U.K. before theshow bare in the U.S.Frost move around to the dwelling house of parents fight with every facial expression of child - rearing , from potty training and temper tantrums to parental discourtesy .
Dubbed amodern day Mary Poppins , Frost would observe parent interact with their small fry before providing good word on how the family could work to address the issues . Frost then crossed the pool in 2005 for an American adaptation of the show , which ventilate on ABC through 2011 and was later picked up by Lifetime near a decade later for a one - time of year stint in 2020 . The show tackle everything from abusive parents and alcoholism to bullying siblings and the loss of a parent .
“The Simple Life”
Do n’t we all love watchingfilthy - rich girlsthrown into doing manual , low - paying job so they can count hilariously stunned ? Apparently so , because from 2003 to 2007 , viewers gobbled up episodes of " The Simple Life " to learn socialites Paris Hilton , heir to the Hilton Hotel destiny , and Nicole Richie , daughter of telling fable Lionel Richie , clean theatre , answer fast - food meals , operate as farm hands and live without their usual comforts of home .
Hilton and Richie stand out at play dumb about what most of us would find just normal , everyday keep . But , as onereviewersummed it up ahead of the first season ’s unveiling , " Hilton and Richie display random act of ignorance and insularity that rarely cease to amaze , even in our post - Jessica Simpson epoch , only here the pile portions of dumb fork up far more amusement . "
