reality television - The Atlantic

reality television

What America’s Next Top Model Was Really Selling

March 6, 2026

Still from 'Reality Check'

When Hulk Hogan Turned Heel

August 2025 Issue

Trump Is Breaking the Fourth Wall

March 6, 2025

A grid of TV screenshots of Donald Trump

A Surprising Window Into the Growing Pains of Older Adults

October 31, 2024

Contestants on “The Golden Bachelorette”

A Hot New Bombshell Is Taking Over Reality TV

August 7, 2024

A paired up couple on “Love Island USA”

The Atlantic Daily

A Compelling Made-For-TV Reality Season

May 19, 2024

Season 33 of Survivor, showing people walking on a beach

Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show Goes Too Far

May 7, 2024

Jerrod Carmichael stands in front of a mirror next to a microphone.

The Most Believable Reality TV Is Set on Mars

August 28, 2023

Two 'Stars on Mars' contestants, dressed in orange-and-white spacesuits, interact in the Mars-esque Australian desert

A Strikingly Honest Reality Show About Sex, Money, and Health

June 28, 2023

Eight adults walking toward a house in Japan

Call of the Wild

June 2023 Issue

A photo-illustration of an eye peering over snow-capped mountains

What Reality TV Reveals About Motherhood

Danielle Lindemann

February 13, 2022

Jo Frost holds a child on "Supernanny"

The Atlantic Daily: Trump Made Content Moderation Into Reality TV

Caroline Mimbs Nyce

May 5, 2021

Red 'A' on an envelope

Reality Shows Don’t Have to Be Cruel

February 20, 2020