Reality TV Appears to Be in a Downward Spiral

Reality TV, once cable's workhorse, is now seeing more and more of its cameras turn off. MTV is ending Jersey Shore: Family Vacation and Catfish; HGTV has axed shows like Christina on the Coast; and similar cuts are happening at Food Network, TLC, Lifetime, E!, and more, per the New York Times. The number of new unscripted series in the US has dropped by roughly a third since 2022, according to research firm Luminate, with every subgenre—from cooking and travel to true crime—feeling the squeeze. Even budget-friendly reality formats are no match for the collapse of cable revenue, consolidation among media companies, and a surge in audience members heading over to YouTube and other digital platforms.

Some stalwarts still pull viewers—think Survivor, Below Deck, and the Housewives universe—and newcomers like The Traitors and Love Island USA do still break through, but networks are now far more cautious on how many shows they churn out and are leaning hard on existing brands. Workers behind the scenes describe a contracting industry: longtime editors and supervisors laid off, teams halved, workloads rising. Instead of snapping up reality shows during the 2023 Hollywood strikes, studios mostly held back, with The Hollywood Reporter and Variety starting to track the reality-TV decline soon after. Meanwhile, YouTube became a new landing spot for talent and series like Somebody Feed Phil and a planned Yolanda Hadid home design show. One veteran executive sums it up as a march toward "fewer ideas from fewer companies."