Top 10 Worst Reality Shows of the Century
We know the century is still young, but we really hope reality shows don't get any worse than this. For this list, we’ll be looking at the weirdest, most disturbing supposedly unscripted series that have aired since the year 2000.
Transcript
00:00I feel like I've seen enough pictures in my life of Harry and I don't think it is him.
00:06I'd like it to be.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10
00:12worst reality shows of the century.
00:15I'm feeling very, um, shocked, you know, to say the least, really. Um, just very shocked.
00:23For this list, we'll be looking at the weirdest, most disturbing, supposedly unscripted series
00:28that have aired since the year 2000. What's the worst reality show you've ever seen?
00:34Let us know in the comments.
00:37Number 10. Paris Hilton's My New BFF.
00:40My world, my rules. Game on, bitches.
00:44Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton was a staple of reality TV in the early aughts,
00:49namely thanks to The Simple Life. That paved the way for My New BFF,
00:53where hopeful fans competed to become her bestie. When we think of lifelong bonds,
00:58we don't exactly picture a competition where people are getting eliminated.
01:01Natasha, I like you very much, and I love that we got to spend time together,
01:07and I'd love for us to stay in touch, and I'd love to be friends, but not best friends. TTYN.
01:15Season 1 winner Brittany Flickinger has since framed her persona on the show as a character,
01:21explaining that what makes it to air is not reality.
01:24You know, reality shows are for entertainment purposes, and everyone thinks it's real,
01:29so I'm kind of getting a lot of shit for that.
01:31Paris Hilton went on to make another season of the series, which was followed by a UK version
01:36called Paris Hilton's British Best Friend. That tells you everything you need to know.
01:41Number 9. Married by America.
01:44Can arranged marriages work? Welcome to Married by America.
01:50Before there was Married at first sight, there was Married by America. This 2003 Fox show saw
01:57five people putting their romantic lives in others' hands for reasons we will never understand.
02:03Indeed, the premise saw single folk being matched up with total strangers.
02:08What do you want? You want me to lose 30 pounds and wear six-year gloves?
02:11You were going to be awesome, weren't you? Yeah, sure.
02:15So what the f*** is the problem?
02:16There wasn't that gut feeling, like, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
02:20And who they were told to spend their lives with depended on the public's votes.
02:24Afterward, the newly formed couples dutifully became engaged.
02:28They then spent another period getting better acquainted and facing elimination.
02:33Predictably, nobody tied the knot. So despite what the title claimed,
02:37no couples were actually married by America.
02:40It's probably a good thing considering what a horrible premise this was.
02:44I have to go.
02:52What a loser!
02:53Number 8. Top Dog Model.
02:56This short-lived UK series definitely seemed to borrow its premise from America's next top model,
03:02replacing human contestants with those of the canine variety.
03:06The dogs were put through their paces in a range of different challenges and photo shoots.
03:10They then came up in front of a judging panel who critiqued their skills.
03:14She's got a great body, and I don't mean that in a pervy way.
03:18No, that is so important with a model. She's got a great body.
03:20She really does, yeah.
03:21Tensions and emotions ran kind of high considering this was a show about dog models.
03:26It might have been a good time,
03:28but the series took itself so seriously that it was impossible to enjoy.
03:32Lucky is so small, and his colorings are really difficult to bring out in a photo.
03:39But he does always pull it out of the bag.
03:41The owners in particular seemed far too invested,
03:45though it was sometimes more difficult to get the required emotion from the stars of the show.
03:49And this was like the worst way to go, so I'm absolutely gutted.
03:54Number 7. The Moment of Truth.
03:57Have you ever regretted marrying your husband?
04:02You seem a little shocked, David. Was there anything you want to say?
04:11The Moment of Truth had a simple premise.
04:13Contestants faced a lie detector test before answering some of those questions once more,
04:18this time with a studio audience watching.
04:21Naturally, the topics that came up got more and more intrusive as the game progressed.
04:26If I wanted to get back together with you, would you leave your husband?
04:33If they made it through by answering truthfully until the very end, they got $500,000.
04:38But is the money really worth the potential destruction of marriages,
04:42family ties, and future career prospects?
04:44Sure, some of the questions were only mildly embarrassing.
04:47Did you ever wake up in bed with a man whose name you could not remember?
04:57But others had the capacity to turn people's lives upside down.
05:02The show was pretty dark and uncomfortable, which explains its short lifespan.
05:06I need to walk out.
05:11So embarrassing.
05:12Number 6. The Pickup Artist.
05:14You are the pickup artist.
05:19Self-proclaimed pickup artist Mystery acted as a dating guru in this morally
05:24dubious reality series from 2007. The supposedly undateable contestants
05:29believed he had the answers to their romantic woes, which was probably part of the problem.
05:34If a girl's interested, she will sub-communicate her interest by lowering her hands.
05:39It's called compliance. It's physical compliance.
05:41They were taught various tips to help them pick up women,
05:44though the goal never really seemed to be finding a life partner.
05:47These methods were then put to the test in weekly challenges, and the tactics,
05:52which were touted as valuable lessons, were often demeaning and problematic.
05:57The only thing this questionable series made us want to pick up was the remote
06:01so that we could turn the TV off.
06:03Some people shoot themselves in their own foot.
06:05Number 5. I Wanna Marry Harry.
06:08The year is 2014. Meghan Markle is still starring in suits,
06:12but 12 of her country women are attempting to win Prince Harry's heart.
06:17Well, it's actually lookalike Matthew Hicks, who bears a passing resemblance to the royal.
06:22I have to convince them I'm Prince Harry, but the goal
06:25is for them to like me for who I am. This is my chance to find a girl who I connect with.
06:31Did the contestants truly believe he was the real deal? It seems so.
06:36It is him.
06:38It's gonna be one woman with Prince Harry, the ultimate Prince Charming,
06:43and I hope to be that girl.
06:44Apparently, they were originally told they were joining a show called Dream Date.
06:48They were then tricked into thinking that the prince was searching for love.
06:52Normally, these girls would be out of my league, and so I think I've walked straight into heaven.
06:59The show reportedly went all out to sell the ruse,
07:02actually sending a fake therapist to persuade the cynics.
07:06That's pretty messed up, even for reality TV.
07:09And couldn't they have found a better lookalike?
07:11There's one more thing you should know.
07:13Oh no.
07:15What?
07:20I'm not Prince Harry.
07:22Number four, Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People.
07:27Take the standard talent show format of the Simon Cowell era,
07:30remove the word talent, and you're left with Are You Hot?
07:34As the name implies, this shallow reality series aimed to find the best-looking people in America.
07:40Contestants appeared before a panel of obnoxious judges who categorized them as hot or not.
07:48What's it gonna be?
07:52Not!
07:55Then each hopeful's personal appearance was critiqued and scored.
07:59And the judges' comments were harsh enough to make even the most confident person doubt themselves.
08:04You got a 9.5 on the body for me, because at some point between the hip and the knee,
08:08your legs have to touch. There's just too big of a gap in there.
08:12Of course, viewer voting was also involved.
08:14The show relied on a lack of depth, but it shouldn't have.
08:18Why anyone would subject themselves to this torture is unclear, and it was unwatchable.
08:24Close up on the teeth, right side.
08:28Wider, wider, wider, wider, wider, wider.
08:37Open your mouth. I need to see the teeth.
08:41Oh, you got a good face, but you need to get your teeth fixed.
08:45Number three, Boy Meets Boy.
08:47In a world where gay is the norm and straight men must stay in the closet.
08:52There were a lot of dating shows that relied on bad gimmicks,
08:55but perhaps none were as problematic as this 2003 series.
08:59It followed James Getzlaff, a gay man who believed he was simply searching for love.
09:04But what he didn't know until later was that
09:07approximately half of the contestants were only pretending to be gay.
09:11It's not like that. I came here on your side.
09:15I'm not here to infiltrate. I'm not here to expose. I'm here to show we're all alike.
09:22I hope your mission will help.
09:26If James picked a straight person in the end,
09:28the chosen man would win $25,000 while he would leave empty-handed.
09:33As a gay dating show in the early 2000s,
09:36Boy Meets Boy could have created something groundbreaking.
09:39When I found out the guys that I thought, you know, were gay were actually straight.
09:44At first you feel deceived, you feel angry, but then you realize, you know what?
09:47They're good people. What's changed? Just their sexuality.
09:50And that's the lesson I hope everyone gets from this.
09:52Instead, its twist took it in the opposite direction
09:55and was unnecessary, exploitative, and downright wrong.
10:00Number 2. Who's Your Daddy?
10:02Why? Why did you guys have to give me up for adoption?
10:05It was a very turbulent time.
10:10Complaints came flooding in before the show even began airing, and for good reason.
10:15Who's Your Daddy was such a flop that it was taken off the air after just one special episode.
10:21The premiere saw T.J. Myers, a woman who had been adopted at birth,
10:25searching for her biological father. This being the early aughts, they found a way
10:30to ruin a potentially sweet concept by making her pick out her real dad from a lineup.
10:35Of course, there was a cash prize on the line.
10:38And it's not hard to see why the show sparked outrage,
10:41with critics reportedly calling it voyeuristic and insensitive, among other things.
10:46There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you and regret what we did.
10:51Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.
10:56Taking on Tyson. Mike Tyson tried competitive pigeon racing.
11:01Tommy Lee goes to college.
11:10The Motley Crue drummer got the University of Nebraska experience.
11:25There's something about Miriam. The men competing to date Miriam had no clue she was transgender.
11:30I will never, never forget this moment.
11:36I tried to be honest with all of you as much as I can.
11:41Next, a dating show where contestants yelled the title if they got bored of their date.
11:46Do you like to shop too?
11:47I do like shopping.
11:48Oh, good.
11:49But I don't know if I like shopping as much as you.
11:53That's fine. Everybody has their own hobbies.
11:54It might be a little much. I'm gonna have to say next.
11:58Don't worry. I'm tough.
12:01Kid Nation. 40 unsupervised kids were left to run their own town.
12:06First of all, we're doing, we're trying to cook dinner for all you guys.
12:10And if you guys don't appreciate that, then what do you guys want us to do?
12:14We're cooking the dinner and you're blaming us for the dishes.
12:17Guys, guys, guys. Come here.
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12:36Number one, bridalplasty.
12:38Every bride wants to look perfect on her wedding day, but some may need some extra help.
12:45We understand wanting to put your best foot forward for your wedding,
12:48but whoever had the bright idea for bridalplasty should be ashamed of themselves.
12:53This reality show had brides competing in weekly challenges
12:57to earn cosmetic procedures in the lead-up to their big day.
13:00I'm nervous about the bath because I just know what's most important to me. Nice, squishy breast.
13:08Each woman came prepared with a wish list of things she wanted to change,
13:12and only the winner got all their wishes granted.
13:15Would their husbands recognize them when they reached the altar? We're not sure,
13:19but they'd be perfect in the eyes of the plastic surgeon.
13:22The Swan shared a similarly horrid concept, transforming so-called ugly ducklings through
13:28surgery. Striving for perfection has never been more depressing.
13:33My heart broke at that moment. I totally understand what you're saying. I'm sorry.
13:39That was, that was definitely, like, wrong on my part.
13:42Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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