tv on, brain off

12 Netflix Reality TV Shows You Haven’t Seen Yet, When You’re Ready For Your Next Binge Watch

Million Dollar Secret’s Lydia is my new role model.

by Katie McPherson

Listen, I enjoy a new season of Love Is Blind as much as the next person. The Ultimatum is always an interesting watch, and yeah, The Circle has its charms. But if you ask me, some of Netflix’s very best reality TV shows are the ones that somehow get absolutely no hype. So, here are some of the best Netflix reality TV shows you haven’t heard of yet, but won’t be able to stop watching once you start.

Netflix’s romance and dating shows seem to get the most buzz, like LIB, Love on the Spectrum, and good old Too Hot To Handle, in which a cone-shaped speaker with a British accent docks money from a bunch of hot people anytime they kiss (or more). They’re just good TV. But the streaming platform has so many other series and game shows that are more strategy-based, or the truly physical and rugged challenges of our old primetime favorites. If you’re in the mood for a new series to binge — one that doesn’t require as much brain power, thanks so much — you’ve got to check them out.

01Million Dollar Secret

This show was a surprisingly great watch. A group of regular people arrive at a gorgeous mansion, all prepared to deceive each other and win a million bucks. Each week, someone is secretly harboring the cash and must not get caught, lest they be sent home. But they can attempt some covert challenges to win extra advantages. It’s so fun to watch with your partner and figure out how you’d handle all the challenges and watch people get duped. Also, prepare to be obsessed with Lydia (and host Peter Serafinowicz).

02Battle Camp

Netflix has created its own little universe of reality stars, and here you’ll see some of your past faves come together at summer camp. Stars of The Circle, Too Hot To Handle, The Ultimatum, and even Cheer team up to win competitions, endure grueling punishments, and see who will survive until the end of camp.

03Cheat: Unfinished Business

For fans of The Ultimatum and Netflix’s other dating shows, you’ve got to check out Cheat. Eight couples torn apart by infidelity reunite and a lavish relationship retreat with an expert host to see if they can rebuild trust and rekindle their sparks.

04Making Fun

This is peak background noise TV right here. A group of grumpy-yet-charming builders bring kids’ invention ideas to life, from a giant shoe car to a dinosaur that barfs tacos.

05Pop The Balloon Live

If you’re looking for something that you only have to pay a wee bit of attention to while you look at your phone, this is the show for you. Each episode welcomes a new round of daters who hold balloons, and three contestants who rotate in. They’ll ask each other questions, pop each other’s balloons or their own to self-eliminate, and explain every brutal reason why they’re opting out of dating one another.

06The Trust: A Game Of Greed

Similar to Million Dollar Secret, The Trust follows 11 strangers who all enter the game guaranteed a share of $250,000. But the more people they send home, the more money they have to split. As they slowly find out unsavory information about each other, we watch as they grapple with who “deserves” any money and form alliances to achieve their goals. This will definitely be my next watch.

07The Mole

Twelve people come together to complete complex tasks and earn prize money. Sounds simple enough, except one of them is a mole, put in place to sabotage their efforts and take money out of the pot. Who could it be, and who will get blamed along the way while the contestants figure it out?

08Squid Game: The Challenge

Real people from all walks of life participate in the Squid Games (without the part where they actually die, of course). You get to know a little about some of the characters and will definitely find yourself pulling for some over others.

09Outlast

In the remote Alaskan wilderness, 16 players are dropped off with nothing but the clothes on their backs to compete for a million-dollar prize. The only thing they have in common is that they’re all pretty much loners, but if they want to win, they’ll have to work in teams and tough it out until the end.

10Physical: 100

This Korean game show is actually so intense, but it’s really, really interesting to watch. It brings together 100 contestants — some famous athletes, some regular people — to decide what the ultimate physique truly is. They’re all put through grueling physical matches, but who will win? The gymnast? The MMA legend? The rock climber? There are now two seasons out, so there’s plenty to binge.

11The Devil’s Plan

Another Korean game show gem: This one follows 12 contestants competing in games of strategy, luck, and wit to win the cash prize. The only rules are that you can’t steal or commit violence — other than that, anything goes.

12Lenox Hill

OK, this one is a little more documentary than reality TV, but if you loved The Pitt and want to keep peeking behind the scenes at hospitals, you’ll love Lenox Hill. Follow the doctors and nurses there as they triage emergency cases, deliver devastating news, and welcome new life.

So, what’s next on your watch list?