28 Best Reality Movies to Watch (Page 2)

Even within the first two episodes of the Japanese reality series Is She the Wolf? (a spin-off of parent show Who Is the Wolf?), it admittedly isn't very clear how the premise works. At least one female contestant in this pool of 22- to 32-year-olds—all of whom happen to be performers of some kind—has been told that they ultimately cannot reciprocate when somebody chooses them by the end, though they don't seem to be told what they win if they comply. And with the reveal of who one wolf is during the first episode, the twist starts to feel more cruel than intended, with the chosen woman feeling genuinely heartbroken about not being able to get closer to the man she's interested in.

But it sure makes for good TV. With this layer of suspicion and heightened emotional stakes, even watching the supposedly regular contestants becomes more engrossing: are they sincere, or are they using their performance backgrounds to good use? And despite the central twist, there's still something calming about Is She the Wolf?, as all of the contestants are refreshingly polite and soft-spoken—avoiding the kind of trashy behavior that often makes American dating shows equal parts exciting and irritating. These are just well-adjusted adults with jobs exercising caution as they get to know one another.

Genre: Reality, Romance

This competition series is a tribute to the art of artsy baking, while not being as over the top saccharine as something like a Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge. I can’t put my finger on why, but the contestants stumbling and bumbling around feels on brand for this show specifically. Perhaps the show just does a great job taking itself as seriously as it needs to: the talking heads are bubbly, along with contestants and judges’ commentary, making the show feel pleasant and focused as a result. Still, it’s a baking competition, and there’s only so much you can do with the genre. Like any dessert, it can probably be inviting in moderation.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Bill Yosses, Bryan Ford, Jason Biggs, Sandra Lee

Rating: TV-PG

The presentation is high energy and aggressive (in a fun way), conveying both the competitive and communal nature of a barbecue cook-off show. But something about it is just anxiety triggering. Some challenges and time limits feel arbitrary, falling back on “well, it’s a challenge” to justify itself. The huge cash prize is a given, but it just feels more high stress than it needs to be, like grade schoolers trying to impress the principal. Of course, none of that is on the participants who are a joy to watch; and it’s fair to argue that over-dramatic flair is a staple of competition shows, but there are also many others that have utilized it much more pleasantly.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Kevin Bludso, Melissa Cookston

Rating: TV-PG

These women put on a mask, are tasked to make people happy, and aren’t doing it for the money because of how little it pays. It’s a striking resemblance to the life of an independent wrestler or a circus freak. And the latter is pretty much how these women are seen by cold and callous higher-ups who seem to only see a bunch of boxes to tick, with admittedly not a lot of specifics to their recruitment process. The insights from talking heads reveal some character from both what’s said and unsaid, and prep time and dance performances get their fair share of the spotlight. So, we can’t say there is no journey to follow—it's a frustrating one—but it’s tough to maintain an extended interest given the ceiling of substance here.

Genre: Documentary, Reality

Actor: Judy Trammell, Kelli Finglass

Rating: TV-14

There are maybe 3 likable, level-headed cast members in a sea of instigators and neutrals in this trashy reality show. Combustible elements everywhere, fighting in front of the guests on episode 1, egos and exes trying to work together, and of course the most insecure and inept ones get the most TV time. They tell you that working for Lisa is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and while she provides order to the chaos with her caring principal energy, they don’t really bother to fill you in on who she is. Within the confines of the show, she's an accomplished professional trying to run a business, so she hired staff through a reality show full of copy-paste people who are nothing without conflict.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Andre Mitchell, Anthony Bar, Caroline Byl, Emily Kovacs, Eric Funderwhite, Lisa Vanderpump, Marciano Brunette, Stephen Alsvig

Rating: TV-14

While the identity of the post-Daniel Craig James Bond hangs in limbo, the franchise is branching out into TV with this mid-octane game show, which riffs on tried-and-tested reality TV competitions: its multiple choice questions and climb-the-ladder approach to prize money are evidently borrowed from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, while its globetrotting recalls The Amazing Race.

For all its snazzy backdrops, though, this still feels like a half-hearted effort. The editing is partly to blame: in the first two episodes, for example, we only meet four of the nine pairs, and we’re constantly jumping back to the opening challenge in the Scottish Highlands for their introductions. There’s also zero interaction between any of the duos: they never meet or even acknowledge each other's existence, which dulls the drama and leaves you to suspect their scenes were all shot entirely in isolation. (You get the same impression from Brian Cox, who plays the mysterious mastermind behind the challenges and whose vague commentary is clearly designed so editors can slot it in wherever.) While there are plenty of Easter eggs for eagle-eyed Bond fans to spot, the show is definitively of the background-watch kind of TV: moderately interesting, but never as gripping as the movies whose coattails it’s plainly riding.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Reality

Actor: Brian Cox

More a recounting of the matches and key moments of the 2023 Six Nations season (albeit from a more personal point of view) than a more analytical documentary series, Full Contact nevertheless delivers where it matters most. By never privileging one team's experience over another, the series establishes a different set of stakes for every match, and helps even non-rugby fans get the gist of what each national team was working towards or against during their respective runs. This is still a show that should hold more value for rugby diehards than casual viewers, of course, but it should be a reasonable enough diversion for anybody curious.

Genre: Documentary, Reality

Actor: Dan Biggar, Ellis Genge, Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith, Stephen Varney

Rating: TV-MA

At its core, The Trust is everything you expect from American reality TV, complete with several highly irritating contestants and drama that just never hits as hard as it tries to. So it's good that the central game mechanics are simple yet designed to have the players sow as much discord among themselves as possible. With the constant temptation of higher individual shares dangled in front of them, and each contestant having the power to send somebody home with a single, anonymous, uncontested vote, the paranoia runs rampant fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the players themselves aren't the most interesting bunch to watch, and their strategies are decent at best, completely illogical at worst. There's still lots of excitement surrounding every voting session, but getting to know the players becomes a slog.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Brooke Baldwin

Rating: TV-MA

As a sort of cooking-themed game show, Wildcard Kitchen doesn't have enough to it by way of game mechanics and strategy to make it truly engaging. The cards that each chef is dealt hold all the power, which does make the show more similar to simply watching people gamble, but it also means the players don't really get to play against each other. And the fact that each chef is betting with their own money, for their own personal benefit, reduces the stakes considerably. Still, as a quick fix for foodies, Wildcard Kitchen is an entertaining way to learn about multitasking in the kitchen and using different ingredients in unexpected ways. The show obviously isn't meant to reflect practical situations but it should still provide some culinary inspiration.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Eric Adjepong

Alongside its Thai counterpart, Comedy Island Thailand, this blend of game show, reality program, and fantasy series remains thoroughly unpredictable in terms of which parts of itself are partially scripted or not at all. It's fun to watch these actors try to keep a straight face precisely because the show doesn't take itself seriously at all. Unfortunately despite its originality, the actors who've been assembled for Comedy Island Philippines still seem restricted by how basic the challenges are that they have to accomplish (at least in the first two episodes watched for this review). It becomes clear in the segments between the actual challenges that this cast is at their best when they're riffing to each other or as a group—something that the series doesn't take full advantage of. There's a rigidity to the show's idea of improv; ironically, as enthusiastic as these actors are, the show itself doesn't say "yes, and."

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Reality

Actor: Andrea Brillantes, Awra Briguela, Carlo Aquino, Drew Arellano, Rufa Mae Quinto

Structurally, the show is very clear and intentional, spelling out the stories by giving us the who, the why, and the how behind the pranks. It's fun to think of them as revenge stories, where the payoffs and tricks can be entertaining—but the level of slapstick payoffs we get does not warrant the hefty, hefty setup at all. It fancies itself like a home renovation or baking reality show; difference is we're not really here for the process because we don't need to know how to stage these things, and we're not dying to hear 3 segments of brainstorming banter. It's a lot of sneak peeks and filler and bloat to get to the half decent stuff, but there is some half-decent stuff.

Genre: Comedy, Reality

Actor: Justin Willman, Kimberly Congdon, Kyle Marlett, Simon Taylor

In school, we all wrote essays when we weren’t feeling it, and churned out vomit onto paper to make it seem like there was something there. But we didn’t do that all the time, there is a limit, or so we thought. Every interaction on this series is hollow, self-aggrandizing, a wink to the cameras, an excuse to abuse abstract words. And they have the gall to blue ball you by gifting you with all these punchable people, then only give you passive aggressiveness in episode 1 like it’s some selling point to get you to stay? But that’s the luxury business, you know. It’s not what you know; it’s the (ugh) “relationships you nurture.”

Genre: Reality

Actor: Daniel Daggers

Rating: TV-14