Stuck in isolation, binging crazy reality TV shows has become less of a guilty pleasure and more of a ritual – and the big networks are more than happy to deliver.
Just this week we were shocked and amazed to learn about FOX’s latest reality offering Labor of Love, a show that sees 15 men compete to impregnate one woman.
It might seem like a crazy concept, but it’s not the first completely cooked reality show to exist. Here are some of the most bizarre and shocking reality shows we still can’t believe were allowed on TV:
There’s Something About Miriam
There’s Something About Miriam was a 2004 British reality TV show that followed six men hoping to win the heart of 21-year-old Mexican model Miriam Rivera. What the contestants didn’t know until the final episode is that Rivera was transgender. While the final episode of the show attracted high ratings, it was also slammed for reinforcing negative stereotypes about trans people. Tragically, Miriam Rivera passed away in 2019 at just 38 years old.
I Wanna Marry “Harry”
I Wanna Marry “Harry” was a 2014 reality show based on a similar premise to the equally-as-bizarre Joe Millionaire. The show followed 12 American women who are led to believe they’re competing to win the heart of Prince Harry. Plot twist: the ‘bachelor’ is actually a Prince Harry lookalike called Matthew Hicks. Sadly, the show was cancelled after just four episodes.
Speaking of the dark side of reality TV, hear about Love Island’s reality check below:
Vanilla Ice Goes Amish
As it says on the tin, in this truly strange 2013 reality series rapper Vanilla Ice visits Amish country in Ohio in an attempt to learn their master craftsmanship methods and renovate homes for Amish families in need. The weirdest part is, there are so many Amish reality TV shows. There’s Breaking Amish, Amish Mafia, Return to Amish and Amish in the City.
Who’s Your Daddy
On the more controversial end of the reality TV spectrum was the 2005 show Who’s Your Daddy. The show saw TJ Myers, who had been adopted as an infant, placed in a room with 25 men – one of whom was her biological father. If she correctly picked her father, she’d win $100,000. But if she guessed incorrectly, the person they selected would get $100,000 – although she would still be reunited with her birth father. The show stirred up major controversy from adoption rights organisations and ended up airing as a 90-minute special, rather than a series.
Kid Nation
Kid Nation, an American reality TV show that aired in 2007, saw 40 children aged between eight and 15 try to create a functioning society and government with minimal adult help and supervision. It was likened to William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies and raised questions about the appropriate minimum age of reality TV show contestants. A mother of one of the child contestants even filed a complaint, calling for an investigation into “abusive acts to minors and possible violations of child labor laws.” Yikes.
Whether they were so bad they were good, an awful reflection of society, or just plain batsh*t crazy, these shows prove that the boundaries of reality TV are clearly going to continue being pushed.
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