Best On Netflix

The Best Reality Shows on Netflix

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RT Netflix reality gallery cover
Are you ready to feel good and possibly even learn something?

Photos: NETFLIX ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

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ugly-delicious
Ugly Delicious
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
In this globe-trotting Netflix original, celebrity chef David Chang (Momofuku) tastes all the different iterations of common foods that have evolved in disparate places. Curious about Nashville's hot chicken or the origins of American Chinese food or Viet-Cajun cuisine? Take a trip with Chef Chang and his celeb buds (like Ali Wong, Aziz Ansari, and Steven Yeun).
[Stream Ugly Delicious on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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dirty-money
Dirty Money
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Alex Gibney, the filmmaker behind the Scientology expose/documentary Going Clear, delivered a six-part docuseries detailing the depths of corporate corruption and greed found in corporations like Volkswagen, and individuals like pharma-bro Martin Shkreli and Donald Trump.
[Stream Dirty Money on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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salt-fat-acid-heat
Salt Fat Acid Heat
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Chef and author Samin Nosrat's four-part cooking show spends an episode each diving into what makes great food great: salt, fat, acid, and heat. And this being a Netflix cooking series, you better believe Nosrat travels the world! Italy, Japan, Mexico-you'll be seeing the sights from the comfort of your own couch.
[Stream Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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great-british-baking-show
The Great British Baking Show
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
The greatest British baking sensation comes to American audiences via Netflix. This cooking competition show takes a totally different approach from its loud American cousins; this one's patient, dare I say even gentle? But the personalities and the confections are still every bit as satisfying as those fast-paced kitchen competitions.
[Stream The Great British Baking Show on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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queer-eye
Queer Eye
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Right when America needed the most, Netflix reformed the Fab Five and let them loose on the world. These experts set their sites on people-from local politicians to firefighters and comedians-and give them the tips they need to live a fabulous lifestyle. But TBH, the real makeovers happen on the inside in this tear-jerking and soul-affirming makeover show.
[Stream Queer Eye on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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nailed-it
Nailed It!
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Who says you need to know how to cook to be on a reality cooking show? That definitely doesn't stop the amateur bakers on Nailed It! from giving it a try! Unfortunately for host Nicole Byer and head judge Jacques Torres, they have to take a bite of all the truly wild messes these contestants make.
[Stream Nailed It! on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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dogs
Dogs
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
If you're expecting a fun little show about cute dogs, well, Dogs delivers on that promise but it does so much more. This docuseries gets into the details of how humans and canines connect, focusing on touching, deep relationships that people from all walks of life have with their furry companions.
[Stream Dogs on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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dating-around
Dating Around / Gurki

Photo: Netflix

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rotten
Rotten
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
After you watch chefs David Chang and Samin Nosrat travel the world trying out delicious food, you can follow that up with this sobering behind-the-scenes look at the obstacles facing the food industry. This one's not an easy binge-watch, but it does answer a whole lot of uneasy questions about how food makes it to your plate.
[Stream Rotten on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
So far the hottest reality TV discovery of 2019 is a totally chill clean-up show that lacks all of the intense scrutiny and emotional trauma found on shows like Hoarders. Marie Kondo, Japan's premier tidying expert, brings her method to the United States, helping expectant parents and retirees alike get their lives in shape.
[Stream Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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Chelsea Does
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Late night talk show host Chelsea Handler tried her hand at something different back in 2016 when she launched one of Netflix's first reality projects. This series follows Handler as she literally does stuff, trying to get to the bottom of pervasive cultural traditions and assumptions having to do with everything from drugs to marriage.
[Stream Chelsea Does on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix

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dark-tourist
Dark Tourist
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%
For a truly offbeat (and truly macabre) binge, you can dive into the world of filmmaker David Farrier as he travels to some of the globe's most depressing and tragic locations. He hitches a ride with a Pablo Escobar impersonator in one episode and then visits a nuclear disaster site in the next. Also, just a heads up, one episode involves IRL vampires in New Orleans.
[Stream Dark Tourist on Netflix]

Photo: Netflix