Ah, the end of the year. A time to reflect on everything that’s happened to us personally, both good and bad. If you’re a pop culture fanatic, you’re probably focusing more on the stand-out moments that 2019 brought from shows like Jersey Shore: Family Vacation or Keeping Up With The Kardashians than you are your own accomplishments. And that’s OK - it’s literally what we’ve been thinking about, too.
There were plenty of dramatic ups and downs throughout the reality television world this year (thank goodness), but there were also some moments that truly made us well up with emotion and get that warm, fuzzy feeling. These are some of 2019’s most heartwarming reality television moments.
The Situation’s Positive Agenda
If you’ve ever watched the early seasons of Jersey Shore, you know that Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino wasn’t the nicest guy. He would drink too much, pick fights, and act out erratically. But Sorrentino’s not that guy anymore. Throughout 2019, the Jersey Shore alum worked with countless rehabilitation centers to help others battling addiction get to a more positive place.
After serving eight months for tax evasion, Sorrentino was released from prison on September 12, 2019. Now, he’s working harder than ever to continue living his best life with his wife, Lauren. Fans first saw the reformed Big Daddy Sitch when Jersey Shore: Family Vacation aired back in April of 2018. Throughout this year, fans were pleased to see Sorrentino continue on the path of sobriety, serve his sentence with pride, and come out of jail with a plan to help others combat their demons so that they too can live their best life.
Stormi Sings Happy Birthday To Kylie
Kylie Jenner had a heck of a year. In March of 2019, Forbes announced her billionaire status in March of 2019, but nothing tops when Stormi Webster sang “Happy Birthday” to her mom during their trip to Italy, where Jenner celebrated her 22nd birthday aboard a yacht. Does it really get any better than that? Fans of Keeping Up With The Kardashians are hoping for more adorableness to ensue as Webster gets older, hoping for a duet with cousins North West and Penelope Disick.
Encore Made Its Debut
Disney+ changed viewers lives forever with the introduction of Baby Yoda, but the platform also introduced shows like High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the reality series Encore. Created by Kristen Bell, the show brings the original cast of a high school’s musical production together for an encore performance. We saw graduating classes spanning the last 30 years reunite and unpack all of the emotional baggage from their high school careers. Despite the minor bits of drama that ensued (pun intended), there are tear-jerking, heart-felt moments within every episode.
Queer Eye Returns
The Fab Five have been warming hearts since the series was rebooted for Netflix in 2018, but the gang did something different this season. Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, and Antoni Porowski traveled to Japan to work with four heroes and help them improve their lives. While most every episode of Queer Eye is tear-inducing, the episodes in the Queer Eye: We’re In Japan series were on a whole other level. Initially, there were concerns about the language barrier and being able to reach their Japanese heroes, but it became evidently clear that love is a universal language.
Reality Starts Representing
Representation hasn’t necessarily been missing from the world of reality television, but there’s certainly always room for more. During 2019, there were a number of reality television shows that featured more inclusivity and representation than ever before. MTV’s Are You The One showcased a wealth of gender-fluid and queer contestants, giving representation a platform to demonstrate why it matters so much. Bachelor In Paradise featured their first same-sex couple this year. As we enter 2020, the world is definitely ready for more inclusive reality shows.
Next: Lisa Vanderpump Wins Reality Star Of The Year At National Film And TV Awards
