28 Best Reality Movies to Watch

Genre: Comedy, Documentary, Reality

Actor: Nathan Fielder

Rating: TV-14

As the first game (a Werewolf-esque social deduction game) is introduced, the tone is set for the series as a long political game of alliances and betrayal. The 12-person cast can be a lot to follow, especially in the exposition stages. More importantly, all the game teaches can be a little overwhelming for many, especially when they’re starting with a game like that. But when you get past some of these initial hurdles and just watch the drama play out, you see quickly how fun of a concept this show is. The politics within the rewards systems is inventive and juicy, there’s always a chance for healthy confrontation, and the series is great at elevating tension without making your head spin. At the cost of a few hurdles, the payoff is worth it.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Ha Seok-jin, Lee Hye-seong, Lee Si-won, Seungkwan, Suh Dong-joo

Director: Choi Yoon-hee, Jeong Jong-yeon, Kim Ah-ra, Kim Seo-goo, Lee Soo-jin

Rating: TV-14

Fresh and fast-paced, Searching for Soul Food is a love letter to the titular cuisine. Known as one of America’s cuisines, soul food has been brought and developed around the world as a means for their own survival and the preservation of their cultures. Chef Alisa Reynolds enthusiastically introduces the viewers to the cuisine, digging deep (sometimes literally) into its roots and the resulting dishes. While the show sometimes gives speedy infodumps about the food, Reynolds infuses some sense of warmth and liveliness that makes the facts highly engaging. It’s clear that Reynolds and the team serve each episode with sincere love and respect for the cultures presented here.

Genre: Documentary, Reality

Director: Rodney Lucas

Rating: TV-14

This docuseries follows six couples from Japan, the U.S., Spain, Brazil, and India, as they share their stories of a lifelong partnership.

It might sound like any other Netflix Original, but there are no twists or turns, and it never feels forced or aimed at a trend. Instead, it’s a mirror of the peacefulness that the couples have built together: a tender and simple existence that’s impossible not to aspire to.

The first episode follows a couple in Vermont who maintained the last farm in their area until passing it on to their son. Once high-school sweethearts, Ginger and David went on to have six children, and stay married for 60 years.

This life of quiet doesn’t necessarily mean an easy life, especially as the two have to pick between expenses like affording care or getting their grandchildren birthday gifts. Their biggest concern at this point is making it easy for their children after their passing, which carries its own weight.

Genre: Documentary, Reality, Romance

Director: Carolina Sá, Chico Pereira, Deepti Kakkar, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Fahad Mustafa, Hikaru Toda, Jin Mo-young

Rating: TV-PG

In Move to Heaven, a man and his son clean up after the dead—specifically, the dead who have no one else to look out for them. Believing that no one should be robbed of a respectable farewell, they piece together the deceased’s possessions and celebrate them postmortem. It’s a noble job, but its existence is threatened when the father passes away. It’s now up to the ruffian uncle with a heart of gold to continue the business and bond with his nephew, who himself struggles with Asperger's. 

It’s easy for Move to Heaven to feel weighed down by all the important stories it tries to tackle; represented here are disabled people, depressed people, queer people, overworked people. But it breathes so much life into these stories that they hardly feel like the drag other shows and movies make them out to be. Tragedy here is expertly blended with humanity, and the result is a moving and compassionate series that stands out even in the saturated content space that is Netflix. 

Genre: Drama, Family, Reality

Actor: Hong Seung-hee, Im Won-hee, Jeong Seok-yong, Ji Jin-hee, Jung Ae-yeun, Jung Young-joo, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Je-hoon, Lee Moon-sik, Tang Jun-sang

Director: Kim Sung-ho

Rating: Not Rated

An underrated sign of a good TV show (especially a reality show) is if you start imagining yourself in its world, wanting to explore, wanting to feel what its people are feeling. Watching this series is like going on a fun, over-the-top immersive activity with friends. Its participants are pleasant and capable, saving you the headaches and scream-fests with your TV. Sometimes, puzzle-solving leaves them in the dark for quite a while and we just have to ride out the confusion, but frankly this show’s down periods are more interesting and stressful than most other reality shows at their peak.

Genre: Reality

Actor: John Park, Karina, Kim Do-hoon, Lee Eun-ji, Lee Hye-ri, Lee Yong-jin

Director: Choi Yoon-hee, Jeong Jong-yeon, Kim Ah-ra, Kim Seo-goo, 채송이

We Own This City is a six-part miniseries following the ins and outs of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force. Hailed by critics as the “spiritual successor to The Wire” (both shows were developed by David Simon), the gritty crime drama works as a smart and gripping exposé not just of the Baltimore police department, but of big and flawed institutions, in general, and the seeming inherence of corruption. The series is based on the book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Reality

Actor: Dagmara Domińczyk, Darrell Britt-Gibson, David Corenswet, Delaney Williams, Don Harvey, Jamie Hector, Jon Bernthal, Josh Charles, Larry Mitchell, Lucas Van Engen, McKinley Belcher III, Rob Brown, Wunmi Mosaku

Rating: TV-MA

Genre: Reality

Actor: Eric Higgins

Rating: TV-MA

The easy thing to do would be to give this a 7 and move on; say automotive and makeover reality TV fans will eat this up; say once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. But Resurrecting Rides does stand out as lighthearted and accessible for people who may not be its primary audience. It feels like bantering with old friends and funny without forcing any bits and weird editing decisions. Crucially, it also makes use of satisfying visuals in the planning and side-by-side phases, and nothing too stupid happens to the cars. Just a satisfying and rewarding watch overall, whether you take interest in the niche or in Pimp My Ride nostalgia.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Chris Redd

Director: Mike Odair

Rating: TV-14

It’s refreshing to watch stories about queer people in the Global South unfold with this much joy and love and excitement. Many films and TV shows will have you believe that it’s all tragedy, and while the queer experience is certainly without its struggles, it seems unfair to hyperfocus on that aspect alone when there’s a lot of tenderness to go around. Rainbow Rishta finds the perfect balance between realism and romance, between strife and pride, in delivering the stories of its subjects. In doing so, it deepens our understanding of the global LGBTQ community. 

Genre: Drama, Reality

Actor: Ayushmaan AIshwarya, Daniella Mendonca, Sadam Hanjabam, Soham Sengupta, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju

Director: Hridaye Nagpal, Jaydeep Sarkar, Shubhra Chaterjee

If the rules to The Traitors sound familiar, it’s because they’re premised on the schoolyard game Mafia (or Werewolf), which itself is based on trickery and deceit. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much, but once you raise the stakes to a quarter of a million dollars, as the show does, then it becomes a test of morality: how far are you willing to go to win some cash? And when it comes down to it, will you be able to choose between money and friends?

Mix this with typical reality drama, Survivor-like tournaments, and compelling backstories, then you have yourself an addictive watch, as entertaining as it is over the top. It’s not prestige TV, but it’s an enjoyable way to spend your time, especially if you’re a fan of competition shows.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Alan Cumming

Rating: TV-14