It’s somehow time to look back on the past year, which has disappeared faster than the laundry on Below Deck Med, more rapidly than Disney and Warner Bros. can cancel shows to make themselves even richer, quicker than Tyler Henry can conjure a ghost out of scribbles, more briskly than Dr. Pol can slide his arm inside a cow.
While Internet law mandates that I declare this the absolute best-of list (and continue to capitalize Internet), the list that follows is ultimately more of a “best reality TV shows I watched this year” list.
I certainly have not watched every single show; I am not sure that’s humanly possible. There are shows I feel guilty about not having watched, but want to, such as Couples Therapy season four (such a great series) and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (which I’ll get to early in the year, as it’ll be re-airing on ABC). And there are plenty I have no intention of watching, mostly because I know what I’ll be getting.
It was a mixed year, with the impact of Hollywood’s collapse starting to show later in the year, like with Amazon’s cheap game shows, and also some high drama on everything from The Traitors to Survivor.
Barriers were broken, like on The Golden Bachelor and Bachelorette, where old people proved they’re far more interesting than young people, even if their stories end in similar ways.
In the lists below, I highlight the shows that for me represent the best of the genre. They have outstanding craft, storytelling, and drama that comes from their casts of real people, who may be in extraordinary circumstances or real-life situations.
There are competitions and documentary-style shows, and all doing something with real-life entertainment that’s worth watching.
I look forward to your thoughts—and to hearing the shows you loved!
Before we get to the lists, a quick note about fictional TV. While I write mostly about reality TV, there were plenty of scripted shows I turned to for escape and loved, so a shout-out to some of my favorites:
- What We Do in the Shadows, FX/Hulu
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Amazon Prime Video
- Black Doves, Netflix
- Agatha All Along, Disney+
- Abbott Elementary, ABC
- Ghosts, CBS
- Hacks, Max
- Girls5eva, Netflix/Peacock
Honorable mentions
- Kristen Kish, who, as new Top Chef host, was the absolute best part of Top Chef Wisconsin, a weak season overall
- The Amazing Race 36, which had the misfortune of going back in time, and also having extremely dominant winners, which was great for them and less-great for thrilling TV
- The Mole, Netflix. New host Ari Shapiro was terrific, and the games improved, but both the editing and exemption offers made for a rather imbalanced season
- Olympic Gold Zone, Peacock. Neither a show nor reality TV, but a thrilling way to watch the Olympics
- The Magic Prank Show, Netflix. Made me laugh!
- Wayne Brady: The Family Remix, Freeform. Contrived but fascinating celebrity reality TV.
- OMG Fashun, E!. A fun vibe and some creative work.
Andy’s best reality TV of 2024
The second seasons of The Traitors were both terrific television—form Dan being outplayed by a Housewives star to "Oh my Lord, sweet baby, Jesus, not Ekin-Su!"—but it was the UK season that had the best arc.
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show is a well-crafted a confession that's as vulnerable as it is awkward, and the most authentic reality TV I watched this year.
The Great British Bake-Off offered some refreshed challenges, and a cast of bakers who were both ludicrously charming and extremely talented. Just a great season overall, even if the judges were stale.
Tituss Burgess chewing scenery was the icing on this competition, which really excelled because of the challenge it presented to its contestants.
Survivor has been absent from this list for years, and for good reason: the new era has been a huge step backwards. Some great players, moves, and moments, and producing that drags everything down.
This year, from the season-long farce that was Survivor 46 to Survivor 47’s Operation: Italy, the show's given us some terrific characters, surprising game play, and editing that presents
If you need a dash of romance reality TV in between seasons of The Bachelor and Love is Blind, try Netflix's The Boyfriend. It's great—and far more grounded in reality than most dating shows.
In a year of game shows that really struggled to with both the game and the show part, The Floor stood out for format: just two people trying to identify images before their time runs out. When the contestants are evenly matched, it's thrilling.
Food Network's best show got even better, with an extended qualifying round and intense battles that lead to the show's first two-time champion.
The Summit started and ended strong; some of the questionable decisions along the way were wrapped up nicely. Like most first seasons, it had its stumbling blocks. What really made the show stand out for me, though—besides the gorgeous cinematography—was watching a group of people try to figure out how to a new, unknown game.
This is more of an appreciation for all of the Below Deck universe, streamable on Peacock, though two of this year's three seasons (the mothership and Below Deck Med) were a lot of fun.
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Andy Dehnart is a writer and TV critic who created reality blurred in 2000. His writing and reporting here has won an Excellence in Journalism award from NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists and an L.A. Press Club National A&E Journalism Award.
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