20 former reality shows you probably forgot about

This early 2000s MTV show was especially unique since it featured rapper Xzibit taking cars in poor condition and flipping them into something completely dope. Have you ever seen a Chevy with butterfly doors? Now you have.

You may have forgotten about The Ashlee Simpson Show, but we didn’t! It ran from 2004 to 2005 and followed the singer’s life as she recorded and released her first studio album. 

Ashton Kutcher really had us in a chokehold when he hosted the popular reality show Punk’d. It featured Ashton behind the scenes orchestrating outrageous pranks on A-List celebrities, including Beyoncé , Hilary Duff, and Halle Berry. 

TLC has always produced exciting shows, and this one is no different. It followed the lives of several young people attempting to break away from their Amish traditions and explore a different life together in New York City. There’s drama, scandals, and tons of internal conflict — enough to captivate you. 

Even if this show featured a ton of physical fights between women, it gave us some pretty iconic moments we’ll never stop talking about. 

My favorite scenes from this show always involved the wife telling off their pretend husband during intense showdowns. 

Whether you believe in mediums or not, Theresa Caputo always kept my attention during her TLC show Long Island Medium. Despite scientific skeptics claiming Caputo’s services were a scam, the series ran from 2011 to 2019 and produced over 175 episodes. 

Unfortunately, this iteration of The Real Housewives only aired one season before being canceled by the network. However, The Real Housewives of Potomac, which follows a group of women in the DMV area, has been airing on Bravo since 2016 and has quickly claimed the throne as one of the best Housewives versions ever. 

After eight seasons, a near-death experience, and several controversies later, canceling Dog the Bounty Hunter was probably for the best. 

Who could forget about the series that would eventually launch the pop culture phenomenon The Hills? Certainly not me. 

The American version of this show, which featured a cast of celebrities living in a jungle with few “creature comforts,” didn’t have nearly the same success as the British version, which is still airing. However, with today’s new crop of influencers and reality stars willing to do almost anything, surely, a network could whip something together with a few willing participants. 

If you thought The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Jersey Shore were interesting productions, I’m sure you loved Jerseylicious. Like the others, this show faced similar backlash regarding their portrayal of the Jersey stereotype, but that didn’t stop fans from indulging. The show ran from 2010 to 2017 and produced 112 episodes. 

Who would’ve thought that a few preacher’s daughters would be fighting and throwing drinks at each other on reality television? Not us, but we tuned in during its initial run in 2013. 

Whether the employees were fighting with customers over fake diamonds or each other over family issues, Hardcore Pawn brought us enough drama to keep us entertained. And hey, scripted or not, it’s one show we miss deeply. 

Even if we were side-eyeing some of the parents on this TLC show, we can’t deny its influence on pop culture. It launched the careers of Honey Boo Boo, Mama June, and birthed a million memes. 

Fear Factor has always encouraged my inner delusion. Would I let producers trap me underwater or in a casket with cockroaches? No. Would I stand in front of the TV like a dad with my arms folded and shake my head when someone quit? You better believe it.

Like Laguna Beach and The Hills, there’d be no Challenge franchise without Road Rules. 

MTV always created shows their audience wanted to see, and True Life was one of them. It aired from 1998 to 2017 and covered over 140 topics, including drug use, coming out, and weight loss. 

Without The Real World, we wouldn’t have half of the shows we do today, including The Bachelor, Big Brother, and Love Island. The series was a hit among watchers and launched many careers, including Basketball Wives star Tami Roman and television host Karamo. 

Silent Library kept watchers laughing from 2009 to 2011 when cast members would sit around a table in a library and perform ridiculous punishment challenges for money. It ran for four seasons and 89 episodes before being axed by MTV.