The Top 5 Reality TV Shows in 2023

In 2007, one of the issues that pushed the Writers Guild of America to go on strike was a desire to see writers earn better pay for their work on reality shows. The WGA didn’t end up getting this demand, with Hollywood studios successfully maintaining their position that, because reality shows are largely “unscripted,” they don’t require writers. Now, with the WGA on the picket line once more, the studios are using this concession from the previous strike to their advantage: without writers to generate new content, networks are relying on legally writer-free reality television to pad their schedules.

But as this latest strike demonstrates, the TV landscape has changed dramatically since American Idol and Survivor dominated the ratings. Those shows are still popular, but with streamers either developing their own content, like Netflix has with Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum, or licensing it through mergers, as HBO has through its merger with Discovery, there’s bound to be plenty of healthy competition in a newly revitalized reality TV market.

So what are the most popular reality TV shows today? We’re finding one answer to that question by checking out the Top 5 shows on The Best Reality TV Shows Of 2023 (2K votes). Let’s take a look at what the five highest-ranked shows are and where they’re streaming to get a sense of who’s best positioned for the new reality television boom.

#1: 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way

Discovery subsidiary TLC exploded onto the reality market with hits like Jon & Kate Plus 8, Little People, Big World, and 17 Kids and Counting. But more recently, the network’s big winner has been the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, which chronicles the “trials” of couples living in different countries, who must decide at the end of a 90-day trial whether or not they want to get married. Though the original show features suitors vying for American citizenship, spinoff The Other Way has Americans traveling abroad to be with their significant others.

After the merger of Discovery and HBO, the #1 show on this list belongs to Max. But interestingly enough, Watchworthy data tells us that fans of this show aren’t necessarily drawn to other TLC reality programs. Fans of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way are 9X more likely to love Bravo’s docu-soap monster Real Housewives franchise, and they’re 8X more likely to love USA’s romance reboot Temptation Island. Another favorite of these fans is Netflix’s recent reality hit Love Is Blind, which they’re 8X more likely to love.

#2: Next Level Chef

One of the many, many cooking shows starring chef Gordon Ramsay, Next Level Chef centers on young culinary prospects who work under the supervision of master chefs Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais. The contestants rely on the help of these professionals to compete in challenges and win both a cash prize and a yearlong mentorship under all three chefs. The competition is built around a gauntlet made up of three levels, with each successive level featuring less and lower-quality cooking equipment.

Having premiered in 2022, Next Level Chef is the newest show in the Top 5 — a testament to the enduring popularity of Chef Ramsay as a TV personality, as well as to the continued importance of broadcast television to this genre. Fans of the show are naturally drawn to other cooking shows that feature Ramsay, including MasterChef, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, and Hell’s Kitchen, which they’re 10X, 7X, and 5X more likely to love, respectively. That said, there’s also room in their hearts for shows without the British culinary giant, including Top Chef, Chopped, and Beat Bobby Flay.

#3: The Masked Singer

The American version of this South Korean hit competition show puts celebrities in elaborate costumes that conceal their identities. Judges are tasked not just with deciding who among the pool of contestants is best at singing, but also with guessing the identity of each singer. The show’s novel format, dazzling costumes, and use of celebrity contestants and judges have created a unique appeal for audiences, giving The Masked Singer sky-high Nielsen ratings, 10 seasons, and several spinoffs since its premiere in 2019. It’s also earned a #8 spot on our list of The Best Talent Shows Ever On TV (13K votes). The show is a prime-time broadcast staple, but those who choose to stream it can do so on Hulu.

Watchworthy data says that fans of The Masked Singer tend to gravitate toward other prime-time reality contest shows like The Voice and America’s Got Talent, both of which this audience is 3X more likely to love. Beyond that, they’re not generally reality TV fanatics, enjoying sitcoms like The Goldbergs and police procedurals like Law & Order: SVU. However, they’re also 2X more likely to love Netflix’s baking contest show Nailed It!, suggesting that streamers developing and promoting their own reality content might have an avenue to today’s reality fans.

#4: Crikey! It’s the Irwins

The late conservationist and reality TV star Steve Irwin’s family carry on his legacy in this Animal Planet series. The lives of Steve’s wife Terri, daughter Bindi, son Robert, and a cast of family members and co-workers are observed at home and at work running the Australia Zoo. The show is among Animal Planet’s most popular original series, and because the cable network is under Discovery’s brand umbrella, it’s available to stream on Max.

Unlike fans of The Masked Singer, those who love Crikey! It’s the Irwins tend to be reality fans through and through. The shows they’re most likely to love include Secrets of the Whales, a National Geographic nature documentary narrated by Sigourney Weaver; Ghost Nation, a series documenting the adventures of a traveling paranormal investigatory group; and I Can See Your Voice, a Masked Singer spinoff judged by Ken Jeong.

#5: Nailed It!

The first show on our Top 5 to be produced by a streamer rather than a broadcast or cable network, Nailed It! is a Netflix original show that sets itself apart from other baking competition series by featuring contestants with little to nothing in the way of technical skills. The show was inspired by an online fad where amateur confectioners attempted to bake elaborate cakes they saw on the internet. Judged by comedian Nicole Byer, the contestant who comes closest to re-creating a professional masterpiece is awarded a cash prize of $10,000.

The fact that Nailed It! is the only Netflix show on this Top 5, despite the streamer’s investment in titles like The Ultimatum and The Circle, is a signal that reality may be a stronger strike salve for traditional TV networks than for streamers. Still, the fact that Nailed It! fans are 4X more likely to upvote The Circle and 2X more likely to upvote Queer Eye on our list of The Best Reality Shows Ever (206K votes) suggests that an audience is developing here within Netflix’s subscriber base, one that could theoretically be grown during the ongoing Hollywood strikes.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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