There’s a reason we call reality shows “trash TV.” A lot of it is terrible! Of course, the point of reality shows isn’t to be “good” — you won’t find any Sopranos-level drama on Vanderpump Rules or Real Housewives. The joy of reality television is that it is garbage, and all the more entertaining for it. Still, not all reality shows are created equal. Some are a whole lot worse than others.

When we’re talking about shows that give the very concept of reality TV a bad name, there are plenty that spring to mind. Most of these (but not all) were blessedly short-lived attempts to shock and amaze their viewers with whatever depraved notions their creators could imagine and convince multiple groups of people to play along with. At this point, whatever ill-conceived dating show or exploitative docuseries you can think up has probably been cast, filmed, and broadcast on one of many cable networks already, and we can only be thankful that the worst are no longer around.

Gone but not forgotten — certainly not forgotten by the likes of us. No, there’s nothing we love more than digging through the grime of all that entertainment has to offer and plucking out the truly bad eggs, which is exactly what we’ve done here. You’ll find everything from rudely executed hotness competitions to race-swapping families to dating shows with gross twists, and even one where they marooned a bunch of children in an empty town and told them all to figure it out for themselves. Welcome to the slop zone. Swim at own risk.

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