Top 10 Failed Reality TV Shows

For some reason, Fox hired Bill Clinton’s mistress Monica Lewinsky to host this show. However, she was actually the least of this dating program’s problems. Mr. Personality is about a woman who has to choose someone to marry from twenty contestants. The men are required to wear masks so that she chooses based on personality. Not only were the masks ugly, but the show also had creepy concepts, such as the woman feeling the men’s faces in a dark room. Unsurprisingly, the show was not well received and was cancelled after five episodes.

This notorious reality show is about a good-looking construction worker pretending to be a millionaire. The contestants compete to be his bride and once the winner learns his true occupation, she must decide whether she wants to stay with him or not. If she does though, they get a million dollars. The show was extremely popular, but criticized for its superficial values as well as for the suspected staging of many events, including the infamous slurping scene. After one season, a sequel “The Next Joe Millionaire” was created, but it was cancelled due to poor ratings. Talk about an embarrassing fad.

“Secret Princes” covers the lives of people with international noble status as they move to America and look for love. The titular princes go undercover so that no one will date them for their money. In order to do this, they take on odd jobs like waiting tables and grooming dogs. The show never earned great popularity - and after two seasons, there hasn’t been an announcement for another one.

Based on the Dutch series, “Utopia” is a show that covers a group of people who try to survive in an out-of-the-way area. Fox clearly had faith in the concept, as it invested a substantial 50 million dollars to create it. However, it was a colossal disaster and was panned by critics for its portrayal of negative behavior. Commercially, Utopia suffered a massive drop in ratings following its premiere and ultimately it was cancelled after twelve episodes.

Inspired by Dutch TV, the American version of “Splash” had celebrities participating in a diving competition. They dove from extreme heights and the dives became more challenging each week. However, many viewers criticized the show for being boring and pointless. Also, the celebrities suffered several injuries throughout its run. Most notably, contestant Chuy Bravo had to quit after week two because of a heel injury. The show was ultimately cancelled after eight episodes due to low ratings. What a flop.

This reality show led twelve women to believe that Prince Harry is a bachelor looking for love – on TV. However, the bachelor on the show was actually a lookalike. It’s already hard to believe that anyone would think that Prince Harry would star in a reality show, on top of which the lookalike didn’t actually resemble the prince that much. In addition to poor reviews, viewers just never bought the premise of the show. So surprise! It was cancelled after 4 episodes were aired, while the remaining 4 that had been shot were made stream-able online.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, “Bridalplasty” was created. This show had engaged or married women compete to win a wedding and plastic surgery. Unsurprisingly, it was heavily panned for the negative message that it sent to women about beauty. On top of that, viewers found the show dull and the contestants uninteresting, so it ended after only one season. Prior to “Bridalplasty,” a reality show called “The Swan” was created where women who were considered “Ugly Ducklings” competed to receive surgery - and it was about as well-received as the entry that made our list.

In this show, a gay man chooses a partner from fifteen bachelors. While the man thinks they are all gay, some are secretly straight. If a gay man wins, the new couple wins money and a trip for 2. But if a straight man wins, he alone will receive a cash prize. The premise isn’t only cruel to the gay bachelor, but the show itself was also criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of gay men. Although it had decent ratings, “Boy Meets Boy” was never renewed for a second season because the producers found it difficult to maintain the premise. Gay men everywhere should be thankful.

In the show “Rock of Love,” Megan Hauserman was a memorable contestant that audiences loved to hate. So, of course, the producers gave her a dating show. However, in this show, all seventeen contestants were millionaires. After three episodes, it was announced that contestant Ryan Jenkins was being questioned for the murder of his wife. Due to the case, the show was cancelled and VH1 dropped reruns of the previous episodes. It just goes to show that money isn’t everything.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:
- “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling” (2008)
- “Britney and Kevin: Chaotic” (2005)
- “Kid Nation” (2007)
- “Pretty Wild” (2010)
- “Farmer Wants a Wife” (2008)
- “The Phone” (2009)

This reality show had a contestant reunite with his or her biological father. However, instead of just reuniting right away, “Who’s Your Daddy?” had the contestant choose his or her father out of 25 contestants. If he or she chose correctly, he or she would win a 100 thousand dollar prize. After the pilot was shown, it received overwhelming criticism for exploiting the contestant and for turning a personal experience into a game show. The ratings were not good, either, and it was cancelled after the airing of that one episode!

Do you agree with our list? What reality show do you think failed the hardest? For more interesting Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.