Get out the throwing wine: ELLE.com is celebrating the best (and worst) of reality TV this week.
Reality TV is the ultimate guilty (or not-so-guilty) pleasure. And for women with intense, stressful jobs, these drama-filled, feel-good, purely-entertaining shows can be the ideal way to decompress and plug into a different world for an hour. Here, 11 women on their favorites.
Queer Eye
"I can't get enough of Queer Eye. I know they need a break, but I can't help but wish they had cameras rolling on them 24/7. Everything about that show simultaneously makes me forget all of my problems and makes me want to fix them. I have not gotten through one single episode without crying and busting a gut laughing. I work in a super stressful industry (cryptocurrency) and had a really tough time with it mentally last year. I kid you not, Jonathan, Karamo, Bobby, Antoni, and Tan made me get my shit together—hit the gym, dejunk, new wardrobe, new 'do, new eats, home decor—the whole shebang. My partner and I felt like new humans after watching Queer Eye, and whenever I need a dose of the Fab 5, their social is so good it almost makes up for the lack of 24/7 cameras." —Kelsey, PIVX global ambassador
Vanderpump Rules
"Reality TV to me is pure escapism and an opportunity to relax, unwind, and release all the numbers I’ve been crunching all day with my team, which can be mentally exhausting. My wife and I love home improvement shows, so much so that we actually appeared on an episode of Get a Room With Carson & Thom on the crème de la crème of reality show networks—Bravo. They redid our home office into a zen den, and we LOVED the final results and got to be extremely collaborative.
Also, no reality show list is complete without Vanderpump Rules. It is literally the complete opposite of my life, but truly one of the greatest forms of entertainment. SUR is actually around the corner from The Wing West Hollywood so I’d also love to use this as an opportunity to invite Lisa Vanderpump to become a lifetime member of The Wing!!!" —Diedra, chief financial officer of The Wing
The Great British Baking Show
"Ready. Set. Bake! After a long day in the operating room, there is nothing better than kicking back and watching ordinary people with extraordinary accents bake showstoppers. The Great British Baking Show is honest, sincere, filed with love and friendly competition, and it is my not-so-guilty pleasure. Watching a grandmother turn her favorite recipe into a fabulous wedding cake or a young banker grab her for help because he forgot to turn his oven on brings me so much joy. I love the show’s perfect balance of humble reality in the 'does look a bit of a mess?' feedback and the 'quite stunning' bakes that earn a handshake in triumph. Watching makes me want to travel to England to meet the star bakers—or at least use my new KitchenAid." —Theresa, neurosurgery chief resident, Duke University Department of Neurosurgery
"My father’s a chef, so I’ve always been fond of understanding the process of how food is made and the rich culinary history of cultures around the world. (I also love baking.) The Great British Baking Show combines humor with suspense as contestants from all walks of life race against the clock to impress judges with their baking. I am always amazed by the contestants’ sometimes unexpected creativity and the appreciation for the preparation of food that the show encourages." —Shyla, climate change lead at Conservation International
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette
"Watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is an entertaining little escape from my own reality. I don't think most of it is real, but I'm addicted. The producers really know how to tease clips that just keep me coming back for more. I also watch for the social aspect; it's a Tuesday tradition with my roommate, and then something I am able to discuss with other friends the rest of the week. A large majority of my social circle watches religiously." —Liz, mechanical engineer
"I love The Bachelor and The Bachelorette because it’s the kind of show I don’t really have to think about. A lot of days, work can be stressful or sad, and all I want to do when I get home is turn my brain off. Not to say that the show doesn’t sometimes have me screaming at the TV, wondering why someone got a rose and someone else didn’t, but those nights I’m definitely not going to bed thinking about work. Plus, coming from a unit that’s primarily women that watch the show, it gives us something else to talk about in the break room that day." —Dani, neonatal intensive care unit nurse
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
"I've been working in the gun violence prevention movement for almost five years now, and it is humbling and important work that I'm so grateful to do. When I started at Everytown however, I didn't have a lot of self-care practices. I soon realized that it was nearly impossible to do this work well if you weren't also taking care of yourself. Part of my self-care routine is my addiction to Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I've seen every episode (most multiple times) and follow the family closely on social. I love that one of Hollywood's most powerful families is a matriarchy and how the show has changed over the years—recently, the family has even used their voices to advocate for gun safety and spent time with gun violence survivors, too. While most of my brain is devoted to an issue that means so much to me, a little corner of it is reserved for Keeping Up with my favorite family." —Taylor, grassroots media director for Everytown for Gun Safety
"I am an unapologetic Kardashian fan! After a long day of meetings, calls, and events, there's nothing better than unwinding with Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney. Keeping Up With the Kardashians has just the right amount of drama to keep me engaged, but plot lines simple enough that I can space out if I need." —Elana, founding partner of Seneca Strategies, a political consulting firm
"I love watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians. I’ll put it on in the car and listen to the show like it’s a an audiobook. I know alllllll the grandkids names and the sister drama. It’s frivolous and distracting when I’m spending long days driving across California to interview traumatized people for my job." —Lizzie, wildfire reporter
Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club
"Recently, I've been loving Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club. It's one of those shows that I just can't turn off. As an entrepreneur myself, I can certainly relate to some of LiLo's struggles and dealing with the unpredictable challenges of running a business. From boosting employee morale, to last-minute changes, to managing a diverse set of personalities, it's not so unlike running a tech company. Of course, my company is not on the beach at Mykonos, nor do we shoot champagne at employees... but it's still a guilty pleasure that's easy and fun to wind down with at the end of a long day." —Vivian, founder & CEO of Rise, a technology platform for career-focused women
Braxton Family Values
"I love watching Braxton Family Values because the sisters are all different and unique in their own right. When they are on the screen, they each command the stage and provide a good laugh for the viewers. Even though they are famous, their relationships with each other are so relatable that it's easy to imagine yourself in any of their shoes at some point in your life. One minute you love them, the next minute you hate them, but at the end of the day, through all the drama, they truly love and support each other, and that is what real family life is like." —Tywauna, medical laboratory scientist
