Recently, I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of early 2000’s reality TV shows and I can honestly say I’ve found a gold mine. Taking the “reality” part of the show with a grain of salt, the shows are so entertaining. The early 2000’s had absolutely no rules when it came to what was allowed to air and I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad. That being said, here’s a handful of said weird reality TV shows. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
- Beauty and the Geek
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Beauty and the Geek is a show that follows 7 beautiful women and 7 nerdy men in a house for a season as they navigate challenges. The show refers to itself as a “social experiment” and is not meant to be a dating show. The women are meant to turn the men into “social superstars” and the men are supposed to help the women be “more than just a pretty face.” The contestants choose a partner to compete in challenges with throughout the season. At the end of the season, the last team standing wins $250,000.
Some of the men were so awkward and shy it was honestly so sweet. As for the women, their confidence was admirable and I truly wonder what it would be like to get by on just looks—if I could I probably wouldn’t be a STEM major. I thought this show might be scripted but one of the men got so nervous about dancing with his partner that he got a bloody nose, and then again when they were dancing, and I’m not really sure if any reality TV actor is that good.
The show’s motto was “don’t judge a book by its cover” and that’s how I felt watching the show. I would highly recommend it.
- Hot or Not
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Hot or Not was about judges that scouted contestants across America to judge them based on their physical attractiveness. This may come as a big surprise but this show only had one season and six episodes before it was cancelled for low ratings.
Of all the shows on this list, this one is by far the most bewildering despite the titles of the other shows. This show was unapologetically superficial and while I admire their boldness, I felt uncomfortable watching. It was mostly due to the fact that the judges were unhinged and said whatever they wanted, usually making inappropriate comments.
- Parental Control
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In this show, parents sent their children on blind dates with two people they chose in hopes that they dump their current problematic significant other. While their children are on the dates, the parents and the current significant other get to watch the date from home. At the end, the child picks whether they want to date one of the blind dates or continue dating their current significant other.
This show has the amazing delivery of lines that is classic to reality TV which makes it all the more entertaining. The parents interview a group of contestants and some of the contestants are so bizarre it’s hilarious. Another great highlight is the “jealousy” the current significant other displays while watching the date and the banter between them and the parents.
- Next
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Next was a play on speed dating in which a contestant would be given 5 people to sequentially speed date and the date would end at any point if the contestant called, “next!” The 5 singles would stay in the “Next Bus” and wait for their turn to go on the date. The longer the date lasted the more money the singles would make.
This show wasn’t super entertaining but the most redeeming parts of the show was when the contestant would say “next” the moment they saw a contestant as well as the running timer on the bottom of the screen. It’s brutal but also very funny.
- Date My Mom
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Even just reading the name of this show threw me for a loop. But I can assure you that even by just watching one episode, I was hooked. The show is about an eligible bachelor/bachelorette that goes on dates with three moms as they try to convince them to date their child. Something about watching mothers interact with people 30 years their junior is so entertaining and wholesome. The way that each person delivers their lines just makes it all the more entertaining. Do yourself a favor and watch these two episodes.
There are so many more reality shows from this era; I’ve only scratched the surface. I think one of my new pastimes is finding the most eclectic reality shows I can find. I will also be spending my weekend binging the first season of Beauty and the Geek.