Brew Review // Morning Brew // Update

EDITOR’S NOTE

Good morning. Today’s newsletter is not here to make friends. Instead, we’ll be looking at the business of reality TV, from the state of the genre, to the behind-the-scenes drama, to the shows Brew writers don’t want to miss. While we can’t promise all the fireworks of a Real Housewives dinner party, it’ll still be a fun read.

THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN

Is reality TV washed?

MTV, ABC, Bravo

After a decadeslong boom, reality TV is hitting a low like when Snooki was arrested for public intoxication at the beach.

The industry is downsizing harder than a star on Extreme Weight Loss: The number of new unscripted shows in the US took a nosedive last year, falling 15%. That means it’s a third below its 2022 level, according to data from research firm Luminate reported by the New York Times.

Coming to terms: “Unscripted” is a broad category that encompasses all TV shows without a traditional script. But unscripted doesn’t mean unstructured: Cooking shows, home improvement shows, and even game shows all travel under the unscripted umbrella. Reality TV is a subset of unscripted that focuses on relationships and their baggage. It has a reputation for being heavily edited and even manipulated to maximize viewers’ emotional investment in it.

Both cable and streaming are slimming down their unscripted and reality offerings:

Unscripted powerhouse networks like HGTV released episodes of only 35 shows in 2025, compared to 78 in 2019. Meanwhile, the Food Network produced just half as many shows as it did in 2019.
Streaming platforms and linear TV combined ordered 31% fewer reality series in 2025 than the previous year.

Meanwhile, the shows that are being greenlit are produced on smaller budgets, leaving fewer jobs—not only for people who don’t mind having a drunken fight on camera, but also for production professionals.

Economic reality

Times have changed from when networks fell in love with reality shows for their ability to get everyone rooting for Kim to get her diamond ring back on a modest budget. While unscripted shows got a boost from a 2007 writers strike, which made reality TV’s (often) nonunionized casts and crews look more attractive to studios, the Hollywood strike of 2023 delivered no such windfall.

Industry consolidation left fewer studios as buyers of reality TV content. And the streaming wars of the late 2010s and early 2020s, during which platforms like Netflix and Hulu cranked up content production to win subscribers, have wound down in recent years. The ratings of once-iconic brands like The Bachelor and The Real Housewives are on the decline, even as their budgets have swelled.

But…audiences aren’t voting reality TV off the island entirely. Love Island USA was the most-watched original streaming show last year, with 18 billion minutes streamed on Peacock, according to Luminate.—SK

Living the stream

Livestreaming has also supplanted the more voyeuristic aspects of reality TV. And, like VH1’s run of reality shows in the 2000s, even celebrities are getting in on the action. Per Axios:

Livestreaming platform Twitch has more than 21 million active streamers.
Year over year, athlete and celebrity streams are up by nearly 20%.

Social studies: Social media and the influencer economy are carrying on the spirit of reality TV. Audiences used to watch strangers cook, lose weight, and find love on 30- or 60-minute episodes. Now, that’s five minutes on Instagram.

Politics has had a distinctly reality-TV flavor, too: Lawmakers have firmly joined in the influencer space, starting podcasts and getting major exposure through short, fiery clips, sufficiently Jersey Shore-ifying our social feeds. And, back in 2017, the New York Times reported that President Trump (himself a former reality TV star thanks to The Apprentice) instructed aides to think of each day as an episode of a TV show.—BC

DIRTY JOB

The biggest reality TV drama is behind the scenes

Chris Fusco from ‘Love is Blind.’ Netflix

Forget about who kissed who, or which housewife snubbed another at her philanthropy event. In the industry that pushes its stars to produce drama, there’s been no shortage of real-life crises this year.

The Bachelorette: Just three days before its March premiere, ABC parent company Disney made the unprecedented move to indefinitely postpone its much-hyped season starring Taylor Frankie Paul—a cast member on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives—after TMZ released a video appearing to show her throwing metal bar stools in 2023 at her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen (whom Paul has also accused of domestic violence), one of which seemed to strike her daughter and make the child cry. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reportedly halted work on its fifth season amid an investigation into Paul and Mortensen, though filming may resume soon.

Love is Blind: One of the biggest upstarts in reality TV has already faced exploitation allegations and lawsuits dating back to 2022, and its reputation continued to tank this year after its latest season (No. 10) drew manosphere accusations. One male contestant compared himself to alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate, while another is suing a woman (not from the show) who accused him of sexual assault. Some women contestants also said producers cut conversations in which they told men that having voted for President Trump in 2024 was a dealbreaker for them.

Documentary fallout: America’s Next Top Model has long been the poster child for reality TV’s 2000s-era psychological warfare. The show’s controversy is back in the limelight with a recent Netflix documentary featuring the show’s creator and host, Tyra Banks, who’s now being criticized for expressing a lack of accountability for the show’s poor treatment of contestants. Months earlier, a documentary about The Biggest Loser, another popular but controversial reality show from the 2000s, raised fresh allegations of physical and emotional harm by trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper, which they deny.

Meanwhile…a lawsuit by a former star of The Real Housewives of New York City, which accuses Bravo and producer Andy Cohen of creating a hostile work environment, is proceeding in federal court.—ML

Sponsored By Morning Made

Summer just showed up in your mug. Morning Made’s new Mango Matcha is ceremonial-grade Japanese matcha meets ripe, juicy mango—and it tastes exactly like that sounds. Slow-release energy, natural L-theanine for focus, under 30mg of caffeine, and less than $1/serving. Meet your new morning.

OPENING ACT

Famous people who got a start in unscripted TV

Some former reality stars are desperately clinging to fame, charging $7 for a Cameo where they wish your dog a happy birthday. Others outgrew unscripted gigs and went on to win major awards, or even become royalty. Here are some celebrities and one government official (but not the one you think) who got their start on an unscripted show:

Cardi B (Love & Hip Hop: New York)
Beyoncé (Star Search)
Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood (American Idol)
Lady Gaga (Boiling Points)
Jon Hamm (The Big Date)
Tom Hardy (The Big Breakfast)
Chris Hemsworth (Australia’s Dancing With The Stars)
Kesha (The Simple Life)
Meghan Markle (Deal or No Deal)
Glen Powell (Endurance)
Emma Stone (In Search of the New Partridge Family)
Harry Styles, Camila Cabello (The X Factor)
Kristen Wiig (The Joe Schmo Show)
Theo Von (Road Rules)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (The Real World and Road Rules)

DEBATE CLUB

What’s the best reality TV series ever?

Bravo

Below Deck: It’s the Bravo show that takes hot people, makes them serve rich people on a yacht in a beautiful location, then plies them with alcohol to see who hooks up or throws punches at the end of every episode. And when they’re so bad at their jobs that a captain (preferably Sandy) loses it on them, that’s the stuff. Sometimes, a random famous person, like former Major League Baseball player Johnny Damon, rents the yacht just to keep viewers on their toes (see it here). They’ve really figured out the recipe for compelling television.—DL

Say Yes to the Dress: In an industry of reality shows broadcasting brides acting outrageously, TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress offers a heartwarming alternative. The roughly 20-minute episodes follow a few soon-to-be brides as they choose their wedding dress at the iconic Kleinfeld’s in Manhattan. Over the course of its 23 seasons, 337 episodes, and 20+ spinoffs, you’ll enjoy opinionated bridesmaids egging on broke brides lusting after Pnina Tornai ballgowns, and the divas who make magic happen (aka go into that little room to get a few thousand dollars knocked off the dress price). You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll vow to never try on a trumpet silhouette.—MM

Chopped: The Food Network show’s concept is simple: Chefs have limited time to make a dish from a basket of mystery ingredients, and judges pick a winner. But sometimes, the ingredients are Fun Dip and canned octopus. And contestants all have chef’s knife tattoos and there are pots of boiling water everywhere. One time, a judge who hated raw onions kept getting served raw onions. And there was a time when a chef cut their finger and tried to “cauterize” the open wound with lemon juice before hand-tossing a fresh salad. Sometimes children do the cooking—or everyone is on a desert island for some reason. And winners compete in a Tournament of All-Star Ultimate Master Champions. There you have it: all the ingredients for a perfect reality TV show.—BC

CHARTED TERRITORY

Designer: Jessica Russo

It might feel like The Real Housewives franchise has been screaming at you from Bravo for hundreds of years, but there’s a long list of unscripted shows that have offered up even more drama—at least based on the overall number of seasons, if not the quality of interpersonal dissing:

Despite its debut just 26 years ago, Survivor recently premiered its 50th season and has been renewed for at least two more.
A few of these shows have had nonconsecutive seasons, including America’s Most Wanted and American Idol.

Cops, which premiered in 1989, is the oldest reality show on the list. The show was permanently removed from Paramount Networks following nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020, but was picked up by Fox Nation in 2021.

BREW'S BEST

Drink: Sip wine and start fights with these glasses that seem to be all over reality TV.**

Watch: Revisit the weird ’90s game show for kids, Uh Oh!.

Buy: The best on-camera highlighter out there is Kryolan’s TV White Paint Stick.

Cancel: The case for getting rid of The Bachelor franchise altogether.

Assemble: Imagine a season of Survivor where all of the worst and unluckiest contestants are invited back to Fiji.

Your edge starts here: Founder Brew launches May 5. The pivots, trade-offs, and hard-won lessons that define great builders. Subscribe early.

^{**This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

SHARE THE BREW

Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag.

Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win.

Your referral count: 0

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=71df84e8

✢ A Note From Capital One Business

*No preset spending limit does not mean unlimited spending. The amount you can spend can change over time based on your spending behavior, payment history, credit profile, and other factors.

ADVERTISE // CAREERS // SHOP // FAQ

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe .
View our privacy policy .

Copyright © 2026 Morning Brew Inc. All rights reserved.
22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011

☕ Reality TV Brew