Reality shows tend to cater to viewers who enjoy watching drama and conflict between real-life people. In the early days of reality television programming, shows were real. Gradually, reality programs used scripted segments and scenes were “pushed” into a direction that producers felt made the most impact. Cut to today where it’s difficult to ascertain what's "real" and fake in reality TV.
No matter which way a show goes, some of them air longer than necessary. It seems after a reality program its that they’ve manufactured their content, it increases their viewership. It’s okay to it you watch a certain reality show simply to see what ridiculousness is going to come next.
On the other hand, there are some current reality TV shows that should no longer be on. They’ve run their course, rehashing the same type of drama season after season. Just because the show moves to a different city doesn’t mean you’ll witness different conflicts, interactions, and story ines.
Most reality shows barely make it past one or two seasons, but some on this list made it a decade or more. Others are still on the air. There are also some recent programs that provide no value to the current television landscape, so they need to go.
Here are 10 Reality Shows That Went On Too Long (And 5 That Need To Go).
Too Long - The Apprentice
The Apprentice was the ultimate “job interview” TV show. Each season, about sixteen participants competed in business-related contests. Hopefully, well enough to make it to the next round. The final prize? A job in the Trump Corporation, running one of his companies. The show ran in different varieties for 15 seasons and spawned Donald Trump’s famous catchphrase, “You’re fired!”
Spin-offs included The Celebrity Apprentice, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, and more recently, The New Celebrity Apprentice hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Like many of the shows on this list, The Apprentice slowly became trite and the same each season, relying on drama to propel its ratings. Many of the contestants in later seasons seemed to try too hard and were over-the-top.
Plus, the winners never really got a job as outlined by the show: they became PR representatives. So, what was the purpose of the show?
Too Long - American Chopper
For 6 seasons, the team of Paul Teutful Senior and Paul Teutful Junior (known as Paulie) created custom chopper-like motorcycles for consumers and celebrities, including NBA star Shaquille O’Neal. But the number of legal issues and one particular argument didn’t immediately end the show.
Legal problems stemmed from two sources. First, Justin Barnes, an artist, filed a suit claiming his original designs were used on merchandise without his permission.
After Cody Connelly left the show in 2007, he sued the Paul Sr. For “misappropriation of likeness, breach of contract, and fraud.” The show used his likeness in posters and other merchandise, and never received the promised “old school chopper” that Paul Sr. told Connelly would be his.
In 2008, Paul Jr. Was fired from the show for an explosive argument between him and his father. It makes us wonder if building those motorcycles was worth it.
Needs To Go - The Bachelor/The Bachelorette
It’s time to stage an intervention with The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and any more future spin-offs. The two base shows have been on for 22 and 13 seasons respectively. Other related shows include Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, and Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise.
At first, The Bachelor offered a unique method in selecting a significant other, but now it’s time for The Bachelor/Bachelorette to go. 2009 should have been the end after participants revealed some behind-the-scenes “magic.”
Contestant Megan Parris stated the producers edited footage to create fake story lines and “bullied” contestants into saying certain things to the camera. One Bachelor said in an interview the producers told him they “need their fair share of villains every season.” Even the latest season seems more about promoting Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s professional racing brand.
Too Long - Jon & Kate Plus 8
It’s easy to criticize a show like Jon & Kate Plus 8 for airing even one episode. The mere idea for the show - following around a married couple with sets of multiples - is wrought with potential family problems. And that’s eventually why the show ended.
One of the main issues viewers had with the show is the children’s involvement.
They appeared to be pawns for Jon and Kate to further each others personal interests. When Jon left Kate (which turned the show’s name to Kate Plus 8), the children were put in the middle of an intense custody and marital battle. There are plenty of rumors that claimed Kate wanted to have sets of multiples to get a show and become famous.
Currently, there are intermittent seasons of varying length, which hopefully means the show is on its way out.
Too Long - 19 Kids and Counting
19 Kids and Counting ran for 10 seasons before a scandal ended its run, which probably could have gone longer. The show was one of TLC’s top-viewed programs, but that doesn’t make it good.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are devout Baptists with 19 children - 9 girls and 10 boys. The show focused on their daily life and struggles with such a large family. At first, the idea for the show was intriguing, but not much changed from season to season, with the exception of the addition of 3 more children and 4 grandchildren. Many viewers got tired of their beliefs, often wondering if they practiced what they portrayed on television.
19 Kids and Counting was canceled following an apology from Josh Duggar on the report he was an ab.
Needs To Go - Teen Moms
Teen Moms began as a spin-off to 16 and Pregnant, where the girls featured in the latter show were the focus of the former. Teen Moms is currently in its seventh season, but how long is too long?
Now that cast are beyond their teen years, it make no sense to keep a show on the air originally meant to showcase teen moms. It’s clear that using most of the same cast of the original Teen Mom is meant to create the most drama. You can’t fault MTV for continuing to use teens that were the most popular and had the most issues both inside and outside their family.
But it’s time for the young women to move on and live somewhat normal lives, and to let the kids grow up and have a childhood.
Too Long - Ghosthunters
The SyFy version of Ghosthunters lasted 11 seasons from 2004 to 2016, plus special episodes. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson were paranormal investigators who staked out places purported to be haunted. Before the show, the two hosts were plumbers for Roto-Rooter. They moonlighted as paranormal hunters during off-hours.
Fans have enjoyed the combination of interpersonal drama and paranormal investigation, but many of the investigations has been highly criticized and debunked, especially in the usage of and data collected from the “paranormal” equipment the crew uses. The tools (like infrared thermometers)are not used correctly, and no actual evidence has ever been shown or given proving the existence of the events that happened in the show.
Wilson has said their contract “forbade them from faking evidence on the show.” Regardless, Ghosthunters went on for unbelievably long.
Too Long - Cheaters
Cheaters is a reality show like an accident on the side of the road. It’s hard not to see what’s going on.
The show takes the suspicions of a significant other and investigates the suspect like a detective would. The suspect is followed and taped - video and audio. When evidence of infidelity surfaces, the host confronts the cheater, and then mediates a interaction between the partner and suspect. The potential amount of drama and turmoil is obvious and hard to look away from.
This reality program has had its share of controversy, including some people on the show who were paid actors.
Other problems arose when some of the cast - the director and security guards - were charged with restraining a woman. And those are some of the tame issues!
Cheaters is pure entertainment - staged or real - that has remained on the air for far too much time.
Needs To Go - Big Brother
If there’s one show that has become too predictable in recent years, it’s Big Brother. Groups of contestants live in a house together and compete in physical and mental challenges to become the “last person standing.” The show has been on since 2000 and has spawned quite a few spin-offs. The franchise even has an exclusive CBS Access version that is essentially the same except for the shorter 10-week season.
Big Brother seems like it’s scripted to the point where viewers know who’s going to hook up with who, what people are going to have the most conflict, and who is returning to the house simply to cause problems. Also, the same people return seasons later. Shouldn’t fans get to know a new group each time?
Participants have reported incidents of harassment and bullying between them, but the show continues.
Too Long - Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore ran for 6 seasons, but that’s 5 seasons too many. The show focused on 8 roommates living on the Jersey Shore during the summer. In later seasons, they moved to different locations. The show’s cast was heavily stereotyped as Italian-Americans, despite a couple of the who were not Italian. Also, a few of the cast were not even from the Jersey Shore area. Right away, the show began on lies.
Each episode seemed to have more drama between the cast than it could handle.
Fights, vulgar language, and constant attempts to hookup drove the storylines for many seasons. Jersey Shore gave use household names in “Pauly D,” “JWoww,” and “Snooki,” but contributed nothing positive to the Italian-American community or television in general.
You can catch a reunion series, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, airing on MTV in April 2018.