The 10 Most Creative Reality Show Concepts

Over the decades, reality TV has come into viewers’ homes in many forms, from hidden-camera shows and competitions to makeovers and celebrity slice-of-life series. Some of the concepts behind these reality shows have been genius, revolutionary, or at the very least, quite strange.

Some of these creative shows are so simple that they seem like obvious ideas for hits in hindsight, whereas others are quite complex and turn the possibilities of reality television on its head. While some of these shows didn’t quite make it off the ground despite their strong, creative concepts, others live on to this day, either in a long-running series or in several shows that took inspiration from the original.

10 Candid Camera

One of the first reality television series ever, Candid Camera premiered in 1948 and has existed in several iterations in the years since, airing over 1,000 episodes of hidden-camera entertainment. The show’s main premise was using a hidden camera to capture people’s reactions to practical jokes.

This format is everywhere now, having influenced other hidden-camera shows like Punk’d, What Would You Do?, and Impractical Jokers. The creative spark of the original is still bright, though, as modern takes on the formula have still not abandoned the original premise and intentions of this classic.

9 Changing Rooms/Trading Spaces

The British show that inspired the American spin-off Trading Spaces, Changing Rooms sees friends designing room makeovers for each other’s homes with the help of home design and renovation experts. The results were often positive, but many watched the show for the occasional botched makeover or disappointed reaction.

By combining the home makeover show with the unpredictability of swapping design projects, Changing Rooms had all the makings of reality TV gold. The game-like concept spurned a number of international versions and spin-offs, as well, proving the versatility of the concept.

8 Are You The One?

Shows following contestants looking for romance are a huge genre in the world of reality television, and many of these shows have a competitive edge to them. Are You The One? stands out in part because it is a cooperative endeavor, in which a group of people must find their perfect matches by the end of the season to win a collective cash prize.

Each season’s cast is secretly put into pairs based on matchmaking techniques, and the rest of the season has the couples pairing up and trying to find the assigned matches, getting hints on their progress at weekly ceremonies. With this concept, the show is a unique blend of strategy and romance.

7 King Of Mask Singer / The Masked Singer

Part of an international franchise based on the South Korean series King Of Mask Singer, The Masked Singer is the American version of the incredibly creative show that has viewers guessing which celebrities and public figures are performing behind elaborate masks and costumes.

The extravagant costumes and surreal clue videos add flair to the simple-yet-clever concept that has a panel of celebrity judges working through the possibilities for each singer, and the less-successful singers are unmasked. This combo of singing competition and guessing game is an inspired fusion that fans love.

6 Ninja Warrior / American Ninja Warrior

The English name of the Japanese reality competition series Sasuke and Kunoichi was Ninja Warrior, and the obstacle course-based competition eventually became American Ninja Challenge and then American Ninja Warrior in the United States.

All versions of this series have contestants competing in huge, challenging obstacle courses that look like a difficult-to-navigate playground. What sets the Ninja Warrior franchise apart from similar shows is the fact that it’s treated as a sport rather than pure entertainment, with serious competitors who return year after year and who are beloved by fans.

5 The Colony

This show, which ran from 2009 through 2010, followed a group of ordinary people surviving simulated post-apocalyptic scenarios, with an emphasis on survival skills and the human psyche in an isolated environment. The Colony stands out for its use of actors to create a realistic and unpredictable environment.

The casts of the show’s two seasons had to contend with practical issues like finding food, power sources, and other resources by hunting, fishing, looting, and trading with actors who portrayed other survivors. The show’s narrative-like format is quite unique, drawing viewers into a post-apocalyptic story that blends fiction and reality.

4 Survivor

Arguably the blueprint for countless shows that have come after it, Survivor created something utterly new in the realm of reality television by combining two incredibly intriguing elements: survival and competition. The series sees a group of ordinary people living together in a remote location with few resources.

At least once per episode, one of these castaways is voted off. What makes the concept so interesting, though, is that changing locations and twists alter the survival portion of the competition. The strategic part has grown complex over the years, too, starting with the concept of an alliance and evolving all the way into advanced strategies, like minority split votes. Many fan-favorite players have gone on to change reality TV themselves, too.

3 The 1900 House

A famous reality show concept that spawned numerous international spin-offs and sequels, as well as a Simpsons parody, The 1900 House followed a contemporary 1999 family living in a simulated Victorian-era home. This included the members of the family taking on the gender and familial roles of the period.

The 1900 House was a social experiment with a fly-on-the-wall style that is echoed in many other reality shows like Big Brother. What really makes the series creative, though, is the attention to detail in recreating the household and highlighting the differences between living then and now through the Bowers family experience.

2 Solitary

Reality shows, especially competitions, are often intense or even harsh on their competitors, but very few have gone to the lengths of Solitary. As its name suggests, Solitary places a handful of players into solitary confinement pods, where they can only communicate with a sadistic computer known as VAL.

To add to the intensity, Solitary players must complete difficult challenges, such as memorizing long strings of words or setting up precarious domino tableaus. Elimination challenges are even more creatively vicious and usually involve the first player to quit being eliminated after several rounds of activities like challenging physical exercise or gross food consumption.

1 The Mole

One of the most unique reality competitions ever devised, The Mole is a spy thriller in reality TV form, having players accumulate prize money over a series of challenges while facing a traitor in their midst. In the end, the winner gets the whole pot of money and the mole is revealed.

Over the course of each season, players do difficult challenges across the world (much like a cooperative version of The Amazing Race), which include puzzles and physical feats, in order to add to the pot. The mole, however, tries to sabotage these challenges without being caught. Each week, players take a test on the mole’s identity and wrongdoings, and only the players in the know will move on, adding to the tension.

About The Author

Jason Mecchi
(96 Articles Published)

Jason Mecchi is a list writer at Screen Rant. His passions in writing are film and popular culture. He has also written for Midstory. He loves animals, watching movies, reading, and playing video games.

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