The Best 2000s Reality Shows on Amazon Prime
If you’re like us and you’re mourning the loss of this year’s season of The Amazing Race or the will-they, won’t-they fate of Big Brother’s 22nd season, let Amazon Prime take you down memory lane with their brand new selection of 2000s reality TV. Here are the top five shows you should definitely be rewatching this summer.
America’s Next Top Model
Recently, seasons 1-14 of America’s Next Top Model were put for free on Amazon Prime. In these fourteen seasons, you’re bound to get your fair share of insane photoshoots, ridiculous catwalks, and entirely dramatic moments from the one and only Tyra Banks, a personal favorite being her fake fainting moment in Cycle 6, Episode 6. Tempted to cut more quarantine bangs or bleach your entire head? Just throw on any makeover episode of ANTM for inspiration, even if the styles are super 2005. Overall, it’s a super fun and easy watch, and with fourteen seasons available, why not give at least one a try?
The Simple Life
If you don’t think The Simple Life is comedy gold, I don’t know what to tell you other than the fact that you’re simply wrong. Everything about Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton living with a rural family from Arkansas in Season One is amazing. From their single day as dairy farmworkers to their misadventures in piemaking, every 20-minute episode packs in hilarious moments after hilarious moments. It feels more like a situational comedy with two amateur comedians who also happen to be filthy rich than a reality show testing their willpower in the country. I left this season with only one question: did Chops ever make it to L.A. to become the male model Paris destined him to be?
Survivor
Survivor is the quintessential reality competition show. Do you want backstabbing, strategizing, and gameplay? Survivor’s got it. Do you want romance, fun friendships, and intense fights? Survivor’s got it. Do you want to see people’s mental and physical strength get tested to their limits? Yep, Survivor’s got that too. If you’re a reality show fan and you haven’t watched a season of Survivor yet, you have a lot of homework to do this summer. While Prime Video only features a select few seasons, namely those 13 through 28, it’s definitely enough material for you to understand why Survivor reigns supreme as one of the best competition shows. The top three seasons on Prime Video I recommend for Survivor newbies are 16, 18, and 28.
The Amazing Race
I think I speak for everyone reading this when I say that I miss going places that aren’t the grocery store. To get my travel fix, I’ve been watching The Amazing Race and experiencing the world that way. With 29 seasons and over 1,000,000 miles traveled by contestants, anywhere you’re itching to visit post-COVID has most likely been featured on the iconic show. The challenges on The Amazing Race seem genuinely difficult, and it’s definitely the most stressful reality show on this list in the best way possible.
Hell’s Kitchen
Would this list be complete without a cooking show hosted by Gordon Ramsay? You get the best of both worlds: delicious-looking, gourmet food, and extremely creative expletives from one of the world’s most famous celebrity chefs. The tension and total anger that exudes from the screen when you watch Hell’s Kitchen is genuinely like nothing else in the world. I know I said that The Amazing Race was the most stressful show on this list, but Hell’s Kitchen is definitely a close second. Also, the title sequence of Hell’s Kitchen is on another level — trust me when I say it’s one of the best parts of the show. There are seventeen seasons available on Prime Video, so go get your fix of Ramsay berating his chefs and their not-so-delicious plates!
