Networks and streaming services have begun to rely on reboots of reality TV shows to draw in more viewers. In 2019, MTV brought back one of their most popular reality series, The Hills. The previous year, MTV’s revival of Jersey Shore brought the network more attention and ratings. The success of these two reality show reboots have allowed MTV to revive more of their hit reality TV series.
The success of Jersey Shore, Queer Eye, Project Runway, and American Idol proved that there is still a market for these series. Currently, various networks and streaming services have at least half a dozen reality series set for reboots in 2020. A few series being rebooted in 2020 are Making the Band and The Biggest Loser. Despite so many reboots with big names attached already being in production, there are still other entertaining reality shows that need a reboot.
The Mole
The Mole and Celebrity Mole aired from 2001 to 2004. It returned for a fifth season in 2008. Anderson Cooper hosted the first two seasons, Ahmad Rashad hosted the third and fourth seasons, and Jon Kelley hosted the fifth season. The series involved a group of players competing in a series of challenges to add money to the grand prize. Each week, a quiz eliminated one person who knew the least about the mole. The mole was the player picked by the producers to try to sabotage the other players. The Mole was a very captivating series that allowed viewers to guess along with the contestants, and it could easily fit in today’s interactive landscapes.
I Love New York
I Love New York was VH1’s Flavor of Love spin-off series. It followed Flavor of Love stand-out Tiffany “New York” Pollard as she embarks on her own search for love. Pollard has appeared in many different reality series since leaving Flavor of Love, and she has been hilarious in all of them. Pollard is one of the funniest reality TV show stars, making it pretty clear why she needs her own series again.
More to Love
More to Love was supposed to be The Bachelor but with plus-size people. The series aired in 2009, but only lasted nine episodes. More to Love had good intentions by creating a reality series without the usual model-type, but it unfortunately failed at execution, coming off more sad than empowering. However, in a time of the body-positive movement, and women of all sizes embracing their curves, More to Love could have the uplifting quality that the original lacked. It could show plus-sized women and men loving and being unapologetic about their bodies.
My Kitchen Rules
My Kitchen Rules aired in 2017. This series involved celebrities cooking for each other and competing in competitions to win money for charity. My Kitchen Rules has been a very successful Australian series since 2010, though the American version and Australian version were barely in the same family. The original My Kitchen Rules involves home chefs hosting dinner parties that the diners (their competition) score, followed by a series of challenges. The American version relied too much on the celebrities to carry the show, but Australia’s version leaves it to the home chefs to not only bring show-stopping meals, but drama and triumph as well. Another American reboot of My Kitchen Rules could easily work on one of the many streaming services, which could allow it to have a more similar format to the original version.
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