Five of the Most Unreal Reality Shows Ever

Temptation Island 
What better way to test the strength of your relationship than by heading to a tropical island swarming with singles? Taking notes from the Dutch series Blind Vertrouwen (Blind Faith), Temptation Island has become a global phenomenon, with more than 20 countries filming their own versions (yes, even Australia).

‘What happens on the island stays on the island’ one of the contestants muses in the introduction to season 2 (you do know they’re filming this, right?), looming as a forewarning of all the bad decisions and rampant infidelity about to be explored. 

Plus, there’s more than enough foot-in-mouth to keep you going for hours and hours here. 

I Wanna Marry "Harry"
One of the more duplicitous reality TV show concepts of all time, 2014 I Wanna Marry "Harry" duped 12 women into believing they were competing for the affection of Prince Harry (in reality, the man was in fact Matthew Hicks – a 24-year-old environmental consultant). 

In some ways similar in deceit to Joe Millionaire (in which female suitors competed for the attention of a fake millionaire), I Wanna Marry "Harry" ran for just four episodes before Fox dumped the show citing bad ratings – never mind the guilty conscience. 

Flavor of Love 
Co-founder of ‘Public Enemy’, hype man and devoted human time-keeper Flavor Flav has plenty of strings to his bow. But in 2006, Flavor started looking for a companion to his heart, linking-up with VH1 for Flavor of Love, where 20 lucky contestants were invited to a luxurious hotel in Encino, California. 

With plenty of sage advice from his entourage, the ‘clock ceremonies’ (where contestants invited to stay at the mansion were given gold clocks to wear around their necks) were nevertheless a colossal waste of time, Flavor Flav choosing not to marry or even date any of the women across the show’s three seasons. 

Yikes – even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day. 

Cheaters 
The concept was simple: catch cheaters in the act. What could possibly go wrong? (Host Joey Greco was reportedly attacked when boarding a cheating man’s boat). A logical successor to shows like Jerry Springer, Cheaters is armed with a surveillance team, and 21 seasons in the vault, while still boasting a viewership of millions.

Spearheaded by the impenetrable ‘Cheaters Detective Agency’, the show proves there will forever be an insatiable appetite for revenge fantasy. 

Dating Naked 
As Jerry espouses in the Seinfeld episode ‘The Apology’, there are two kinds of naked: good naked, and bad naked.

Unfortunately, for viewers of Dating Naked, this series was almost entirely bad naked. Filmed in locations like Panama and Bora Bora, the contestants engage in a range of ill-advised physical activities and romantic dates sans clothing. 

Aerial yoga? Bad naked. Flying fox? Very bad naked. 

For those looking to entertain the idea of celibacy, Paramount+ announced a Dating Naked revival in 2021. 

Hooray!