MTV Dating Shows From The 2000s Are Cringeworthy

Room Raiders was another MTV dating show for college-age kids. Contestants would be “kidnapped” from their homes without notice. Then, a guy or girl would go through their bedrooms to get a feel for who they were in order to decide which person to take on a date. We aren’t saying it was partly staged, but that’s entirely possible.

When you think of strippers, you don’t automatically think of Scotland. This three-part series proves that plenty of poles are occupied outside of Las Vegas, and that includes the major cities of Scotland. This inside look at the lives of strippers shows how much work these women put into their profession while also showing them hard at work. The special also features music from Bebe Rexha, Halsey, Rita Ora, and more. It’s safe to say that The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are the King and Queen of romantic reality television.

Reality Shows With Bizarre Premises That Didn’t Work

The focus on family life and coming to terms with your kids growing up appealed to audiences who may not have known Rev Run for his musical career. The show was so successful that Rev’s daughter got their own spin-off show. Nothing catches viewers’ attention more than the domestic lives of rappers from the ’80s and ’90s. Run’s Housefollowed the life of Run-D.M.C member Rev Run as he raises his kids and they forge their paths in life. The show was surprisingly wholesome for a hip-hop-themed reality show.

Each contestant on this show is scientifically matched with their perfect partner before the show begins. When they all move into the same house, they’re tasked with figuring out who matches with who. They aired “Parental Control,” “Next,” “Date My Mom,” and “The X Effect,” all while keeping up with 2001’s “ElimiDate” which ran for five years. An episode of MTV’s “Parental Control” usually consisted of bickering between the parents and the disliked significant other. 2003 proved to be a big year once more for these types of TV programs when “Boy Meets Boy” — the first gay dating show — hit the air.

Downtown Girls

Cailyn Szelinki graduated from The New School in 2020 and has been writing ever since. Cailyn resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, dog, and two cats. When she isn’t writing Cailyn is cosplaying, watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Marvel movies.

First Dates

Eliminates contestants based on their secrets and problems — presented in suitcases or “baggage” — until only one is left standing. People like Tila Tequila, New York, Bret Michaels, I loved this and Flavor Flav all took shots at finding love on TV. With the success of “Room Raiders” it was only a matter of time before they put more efforts into dating shows.

Check Out the Best Reality Shows of the Early 2000s

So, if you’re looking for similar around-the-clock reality content, consider diving into 90 Day Fiancé. The TLC series follows Americans who bring their international partners to the States and have just 90 days to decide whether to get married or part ways. But that’s just the tip of the iceber — from Before the 90 Days to Happily Ever After? Eight single guys and girls head to the beach looking for love. However one by one, their idea of a holiday romance will be ruined as their ex’s turn up.

In the bonus round known as the “Love Thermometer,” the new couple would face off against the previous show’s couple to win a romantic trip. The twist was, during the middle of the season, handsome men showed up to compete alongside the average joes. The show chooses leading women from the previous seasons to find someone new.

Though there’s no real blind date aspect to the show as it more similarly follows the format ofThe Bachelor, the entertainment value is unmatched. The show gained such popularity while it was on that the second season’s finale was the second-highest rated non-sports basic cable show of 2006. If fans like drama, then this is definitely the show to watch.

The best part was his monologues on life and love and happiness. America fell in love with Ozzy and his family over the course of five seasons on MTV. Television series followed the wild adventures of Hugh Hefner and his playmate girlfriends who lived in the house next to the infamous Playboy Mansion. This 2003 series aimed to capitalize on the popularity of the movie Blue Crush, following the lives of competitive surfers angling to win a spot on the professional circuit.

Check out Hulu’s Reality TV Hub for more of the best reality tv shows streaming now. All 13 seasons of this iconic reality show are available to stream now on Hulu. The show airs in real time, putting the contestants’ fate in the viewer’s hands. That’s right — the audience can vote to send their least favorite islanders packing.

If you couldn’t guess by the title, Date My Momfeatured a hunky guy who took out three moms. Based on who he had the best date with , he would choose to date their daughter. Back then, you went on a MTV reality show to try and meet someone you like. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette usually end with engagements, but this show jumps straight to marriage. After two total strangers meet on their wedding day, they have to spend just a few weeks together before deciding whether they want to stay together.

But what was really revolutionary about this show was Tequila’s bisexuality and the fact that the contestants were comprised of both men and women. Though the stakes weren’t as high as on Love Is Blind, which ends with marriages, the emotions were just as high for the Parental Control parents and current partners who got a live viewing of both blind dates. This show may not have ended with many love stories, but the comedy and hatred between the parents and their kids’ current boyfriend or girlfriend was just as entertaining. The idea behind Fear on MTV was that contestants had to perform dares at night in an allegedly haunted location.

Audience fascination with dating shows has existed a lot longer thanThe Bachelorhas been around. And, although The Bachelor first premiered in 2002, some way stranger dating reality shows also came out during the 2000s. This Bravo series from 2003 was touted as the gay version of The Bachelor, but the twist?