Why Aren't These Reality Shows on Netflix?

Reality TV has surged in the last couple of decades and has become a huge part of pop culture. [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Reality TV has surged in the last couple of decades and has become a huge part of pop culture. Even with all its popularity, though, there are still tons of high-profile reality shows that aren't available on Netflix.

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In the 90's, MTV dominated reality television with shows like Real World and Road Rules.

The reality TV explosion of the early 2000s, however, gave us iconic series like Survivor, Big Brother and The Bachelor.

While it's true that oftentimes reality TV can become outdated quickly due to how much of a reflection it is of the time period it's filmed in, that doesn't make the episodes any less relevant.

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There's still a lot of enjoyment and nostalgia to be had from rewatching old episodes of our favorite reality shows.

For this reason, we think its surprising that Netflix doesn't offer some of the more recent well-loved reality shows for streaming.

We've compiled a list of those shows below.

Teen Mom

Now, Teen Mom can mean Teen Mom OG to most, but for the sake of this list, we mean all of the Teen Mom shows.

Teen Mom OG has had six seasons worth of episodes, and Teen Mom 2 had had eight. Even Teen Mom 3 had a 13-episode season.

Having spun out of 16 & Pregnant, which also is not available on Netflix, the Teen Mom shows have become a staple of reality tv watching, making up for a significant portion of MTV's viewership.

With all the drama that has surrounded Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2 in the last couple seasons, it would make perfect sense for Netflix to add them to their queue.

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Little People, Big World

First debuting in 2006, Little People, Big World has served up 12 seasons of reality TV drama and humor.

The show chronicles "the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the episodes focus on the parents, Matt and Amy, and one of their children, Zach, who have dwarfism."

In its more-than-a-decade run on TLC the show has put out almost 300 episodes.

There's more than enough content there for Netflix viewers to consume.

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19 Kids and Counting / Counting On

Initially airing as 17 Kids and Counting, and then jumping to 18 Kids and Counting, the show ended on its final moniker.

19 Kids and Counting "featured the Duggar family: parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their nineteen children—nine girls and ten boys, all of whose names begin with the letter 'J.' "

A well-beloved show, after it ended in a swirl of controversy, the series Counting On spun out of it and has only continued to garner more and more high praise.

Between the two shows, there are 12 seasons worth of episodes that would be ideal for bingeing, but, unfortunately, neither show is available on Netflix.

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Real Housewives...

The Real Housewives of Orange County debuted on Bravo in 2006. Since then, eight more Real Housewives series' have launched.

New York City and Atlanta premiered in 2008; New Jersey in 2009; Washington, D.C. and Beverly Hills in 2010; Miami in 2011 and Potomac and Dallas in 2016.

With all the series combined, there are over 900 TV episodes of Real Housewives franchise, and that's only including the U.S. versions. There are also international extensions of the series as well.

If Netflix just put up all of the ones that air in America, you would have about five weeks worth of watching on your hands.

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Keeping up With the Kardashians

The Kardashians are the first family of reality TV. Sure, other families did it before them, like the Osbournes, but the Kardashians turned it into a dynasty.

All of the Kardashian and Jenner family members have other projects and businesses that they maintain, but Keeping Up with the Kardashians was the launching point.

For the most part, fans have practically watched Kylie and Kendall Jenner grow up right before their eyes because of the series.

Not only has it helped launch the stars' careers further, it's also launched many spin-off series as well.

Once the newest spin-off, Life of Kylie, completes its first season run this year, there will be nearly 300 episodes of Kardashian-themed reality TV episodes just begging to be binge-watched, but, sadly, not on Netflix.

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