Intelligent, thought-provoking television is a good way to stimulate your brain while engaging in a passive activity. But let’s be honest: sometimes, after a long day, we just want to turn our brains off for an hour. That’s where reality shows come in. These guilty pleasures are fun, exciting, and sometimes ridiculous. Some are more enthralling than others, and not every show features dating, elaborate obstacle courses, or silly competitions. Some reality shows are actually heartwarming and inspirational.
Netflix has plenty of content in this genre, and we have looked through its library and spent hours watching to bring you this comprehensive list of the best reality shows streaming on Netflix right now. The selection represents many reality shows, from intense racing and surving in the wilderness to testing the human body and finding love.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on Max, and best shows on Disney+.
Alone (2015)
Forget Survivor. Alone is the real test of internal fortitude, strength, and resilience. The survival competition series from History sends 10 people into the wilderness, where they are left to survive with limited equipment. There are medical check-ins, of course, and players can decide to tap out if they can’t hack it. Beyond that, they are completely isolated.
Alone is basically a battle of endurance and survival abilities, because the last person standing wins the half-million-dollar prize. Each season is filmed in a different location. Season 10 occurs in Reindeer Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada, where players are dropped off in mid-September as the chilly fall weather begins. Marvel at the tremendous skills and mental strength the competitors show throughout the journey as they battle everything from starvation to trouble building shelter, loneliness, and inclement weather. Feel a sense of relief that you’re watching from the comfort of your couch. But you could totally do it, right?
Hyperdrive (2019)
Although it lasted a single season, Hyperdrive, an auto racing reality series from Charlize Theron, is a wild ride, quite literally. Twenty-eight elite race car drivers from around the world congregate to compete in one of the biggest automotive Hyperdrive drifting courses. They not only have to be fast; they also have to navigate challenging obstacles along the way that test their abilities, reflexes, and incredible maneuvering skills.
The competition in Hyperdrive continues through 10 episodes until six drivers are left, at which point, they compete in a literal race to the finish in a difficult nine-obstacle course. With a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, albeit only from a handful of ratings, Hyperdrive is one of those Netflix reality show hidden gems. “It’s beautiful and an electric rush,” describes Andy Dehnart of Reality Blurred while Samuel Fishwick of London Evening Standard calls it “gloriously full-throttle.”
Love Is Blind (2020)
The unconventional dating show that took the streaming world by storm, Love is Blind, features singles who meet in pods to have conversations and never see each other’s face. They are encouraged to work on building emotional connections instead of focusing on physical features. If they decide they have found a soulmate, in a completely backward twist, they can propose and meet in person. From there, they begin a whirlwind engagement with a vacation, then live in a shared apartment back home, where they plan their pending nuptials.
It all culminates in a final episode each season, where couples who make it to the aisle either say “I do” or “I don’t.” The experiment has worked, with nine successful marriages through six seasons. There have also been several failed marriages and relationships. There is plenty of drama to keep you entertained, but also heartwarming stories of people who have found their special someone “sight unseen,” as the show’s tagline reads. Love is Blind is the kind of show that will make you rush to text friends after watching a batch of episodes to hash out the most unbelievably shocking moments. Powered through all seven seasons to date? Check out the inaugural season of Love is Blind: UK, which is just as good, if not better, than the American version.
The Circle (2020)
Described as Catfish meets Big Brother, players in The Circle are in separate apartments where they chat with one another using a large monitor and voice assistant called “Circle.” Fans watch as players audibly dictate their messages, emojis and all, and interact with one another in groups or one-on-one. All they share is a profile with basic information and a single pic. The twist: some people are presenting as who they are and others are “catfishing,” or pretending to be someone else. As the competition proceeds, popular players are voted in as “influencers” (or strategically downvoted since they’re viewed as threats) and one person is voted out until only the last five remain. They cast their final rankings as if in Black Mirror‘s Nosedive episode, then meet in person for a reveal of the winner.
Yes, at times The Circle can seem downright boring and monotonous. But once you get into a season and invested in the players and everything going on, you can’t turn it off. What’s more, unlike other competition shows where backstabbing is par for the course, the players on The Circle tend to be supportive of one another instead. It’s all about being liked, right? People who would never likely become friends outside of the game form tight bonds. Some share hardships and personal struggles. It’s refreshing to see a game with young players that highlights the “don’t judge a book by its cover” premise. It’s also tons of fun to see older men playing a younger woman or women playing as their husbands or fathers. In one case, a young man fooled everyone into thinking he was a middle-aged mom. There have even been two Spice Girls (yes, the real ones).
Physical: 100 (2023)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But this South Korean reality competition series sets out to find the person who possesses the ideal human physique, based on societal conventions. This means a person in peak physical condition, able to withstand every possible test thrown at them. Quests challenge their strength, balance, agility, endurance, willpower, and strategy, and the person who comes out on top in Physical: 100 must pass them all and be better than everyone else.
With two seasons under its belt, Physical is a large-scale competition similar to Squid Game, (without all the killing, of course). There are 100 competitors to start, including both men and women. These individuals are slowly whittled down to one incredible human specimen who is crowned the winner. Romey Norton of Ready Steady Cut describes Physical: 100 as “gripping and intense” as it “pushes the physical body to the extreme.”
The Mole (2022)
Originally airing from 2001 to 2008 and initially hosted by Anderson Cooper, The Mole returned on Netflix in 2022, and it remains one of the more intelligent reality competition series available today. Players work in groups to add money to a pot, knowing that only one person will eventually emerge as the winner. One player, however, has a different agenda: They’re a secret Mole, tasked with slyly sabotaging the group’s efforts at making money. Players take multiple choice quizzes at the end of every episode, and the person who knows the least about the true identity of the Mole goes home. By the end, the last person standing wins.
The Mole can get intense with cliffhanger endings and tensions rising high as players get suspicious and accusatory of others. What’s particularly fun about The Mole is that unlike similar shows like Peacock’s The Traitors, viewers at home don’t know who The Mole is either, so you can play along, too.
Nailed It! (2018)
Nailed It! is not your typical baking show. Hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres show amateur bakers complicated dessert creations, which they have a set time to try to replicate. The twist? These bakers aren’t very good. If you’ve ever seen posts and memes online of people posting the image of a cake they were trying to make compared to their atrocious, sometimes even frightening version, that’s exactly what Nailed It! is about. In fact, it was this trend that inspired the show in the first place. How awfully can these bakers mess up the presentation? They aren’t trying to do it on purpose, but there’s a lot of skill and talent that goes into baking and decorating, and not everyone possesses it.
Nailed It! is good for a laugh, thanks to Byer’s hilarious commentary as host, which has earned her two well-deserved Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program. With seven seasons to date along with three holiday-themed special seasons, there’s a lot of botched baking to take a bite out of. Plus, you’ll feel better about your own failed attempts at a Cookie Monster cake for your kid’s birthday when you see what the terrifying concoction someone else has made. Thankfully, everyone approaches the bakes as good-natured fun and can have a laugh at their baking shortcomings.
Survivor (2000)
Survivor is a CBS show that streams on Paramount+. But did you know you can watch two seasons of the iconic reality competition series on Netflix, too? The available seasons include two popular ones. Survivor: Pearl Islands (season 7) features fan-favorite players Rupert Boneham and Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X (season 33), as the name implies, put two generations of players against one another. This season features controversies, players overcoming personal obstacles, fears, and insecurities, and the first full cast evacuation due to extreme weather.
In Survivor, which has been going strong for 46 seasons since 2000, players are left on a remote island to fend for themselves. Given a bag of rice, sometimes flint, and nothing more, they must build shelter, find food, and figure out how to get along. They compete in physically and mentally demanding challenges to win safety for their tribe, then vote one another out one by one until only three people (formerly two) are left to plead their cases to the jury as to why they deserve to win. “Outwit, outplay, outlast” is the show’s tagline, and every player interprets this in their own strategic way. The show has become about so much more, however, as everyone from older housewives to young introverts try their hand at the game and prove to themselves that they can overcome just about anything.
Squid Game: The Challenge (2023)
Developed following the tremendous success of the Korean drama Squid Game, Squid Game: The Challenge is a British reality show that isn’t as ominous as the violent and murderous show, but does challenge players to make tough decisions. Some of the same childhood games that appear in the series are replicated for the show (yes, that includes Red Light, Green Light), along with some new ones: think an oversized version of Battleship. While players aren’t actually killed when they’re eliminated, they fight to the paintball-like “death” for the grand prize of $4.56 million, the largest-ever single cash prize in the history of reality TV.
The first season introduced a mix of personalities with players you want to root for and others you can’t wait to see eliminated. The rounds are savage, some people being eliminated abruptly, others the result of someone else’s doing and not their own mistake. A complex social experiment, Squid Game: The Challenge teaches a lot about the human condition. A second season is in the works.
The Great British Bake Off (2017)
Also called The Great British Baking Show, this British series has been going strong since 2010. Amateur bakers gather to compete in challenges, hoping to impress the celebrity judges with their skills. Each week has a different theme and three challenges: there’s a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a showstopper. As the bakers furiously work to complete their delectable desserts, the hosts and judges observe and deliver colorful commentary. At the end of each episode, one baker is sent home until the last one standing is crowned the champion.
The series has gone through several hosts and celebrity judges over the last almost 25 years. But The Great British Bake Off remains innovative, tasking competitors with creating desserts with which they may not have had previous experience. They’re usually given minimal instructions for the technical bake, providing an opportunity to really show off their intuition and baking talents. The show is inspiring and filled with personality as competitors include everyone from young men with talents for baking to grandmas who are finally showing off their decades of home cooking experience outside of their own kitchens. In the latest season, fan favorites Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith return as judges.
Love on the Spectrum (2022)
I promise this will be one of the most uplifting shows you have ever watched. A reality dating series like no other, Love on the Spectrum originally hails from Australia. But following the original version’s success on Netflix, an American version was launched as well. The focus is on singles who are on the autism spectrum. While they have trouble in social situations and connecting with others, they seek companionship just like anyone else. Show creator and executive producer Cian O’Clery meets with these singles to help them find love. Through coaching, speed dating events (specifically designed for those on the spectrum), and blind dates, they practice their dating skills and hopefully find someone they would like to continue seeing.
You’ll learn a lot about the autism spectrum from the cast, include how diverse it is in how it presents in different people, as well as how other disabilities can play into the equation as well, from ADHD to dyslexia. The cast is endearing, sweet, and many of them wildly funny as well. While Love on the Spectrum: Australia is arguably the better of the two versions, you can stream the original on Netflix as well. In both cases, the concept is a satisfyingly different take on the cookie-cutter reality dating show, and as feel-good as they come.
