Netflix has been a great place for original scripted TV shows for a while now. In recent times, the streaming service has also been investing in other media properties, including films, animated projects, and even reality shows. What’s more, Netflix seems interested in disrupting the various genres of reality TV that we’ve come to know – from singing competitions to social experiments.

If you’re looking for the next big reality TV show to watch, it may already be streaming on Netflix. The streaming giant started greenlighting and acquiring licenses to original reality series in recent times, and 2020 certainly feels like the year when Netflix will emerge as a major reality TV competitor.

THE CIRCLE

If you haven’t heard about Netflix’s U.S. edition of The Circle, then you must not be paying attention to reality TV! There is no doubt that The Circle grabbed the attention of all reality TV enthusiasts, and turned out to be a particularly enticing new show for Big Brother fans to watch.

Essentially, The Circle is about a group of contestants who are isolated in individual apartments and socialize with one another through a voice-activated social media platform known as The Circle. But here’s the catch: your profile is everything that people have to judge you on, which means that you can lie about little things or even catfish other competitors.

Not only is The Circle wildly entertaining, but it is also a fascinating peek into a social experiment that feels very relevant to the ‘social media generation.’

RHYTHM + FLOW

With Rhythm + Flow season 1, Netflix succeeded in completely disrupting the usual singing competition format on television. On the show, a judging panel that includes Cardi B, Chance The Rapper, and T.I. provides critiques to aspiring hip hop artists as they go through challenges that are actually extremely relevant to the career of a rapper.

Among the various challenges on the first season of Rhythm + Flow, contestants had to win a rap battle, put together a music video, create a song using samples, and even collaborate on a live performance with famous R&B singers. Not only were the challenges seen on Rhythm + Flow not as repetitive as the ones seen on other high-profile singing competitions, but they all felt extremely relevant to the success of hip hop artists in the 21st century.

LOVE IS BLIND

In many ways, Love Is Blind is a combination of shows like The Bachelor and 90 Day Fiancé. The concept is simple: a group of men is given the chance to talk to a group of women who are on the opposite side of a wall, and the individuals in both of these groups must form romantic connections by talking to (but never seeing) each other.

The Love Is Blind series aims to answer an age-old question: is love actually blind? The result is an interesting peek into human nature and the challenges of falling in love with someone for who they are inside, completely ignoring the exterior shell.

NEXT IN FASHION

Next In Fashion is a fashion design competition hosted by Tan France (of Queer Eye fame) and Alexa Chung. However, just like the aforementioned reality TV shows on Netflix, Next In Fashion certainly feels like a Project Runway glow-up, both with fewer limitations and more ambition.

If you like fashion, design, or just creativity in general, Next In Fashion is a great series to watch. While it definitely challenges its competitors to push themselves, there’s a feel-good quality to Next In Fashion that trumps any of the drama typically explored in these types of shows.

BLOWN AWAY

We bet you didn’t see this one coming: Netflix has an entire reality TV series for glassblowing!

If you’re unfamiliar with the practice, glassblowing is a technique of transforming raw materials into glass objects or sculptures. On Netflix’s Blown Away, we follow 10 incredible glassblowers as they create different works of art on a weekly basis. The series is presented by Nick Uhas, a former Big Brother contestant who is now best-known for his YouTube channel where he performs small and fun scientific experiments.

With a running time of barely 30 minutes per episode, Blown Away is an easy and entertaining journey for people who are curious about and/or fascinated by the art of glassblowing.

INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS

Interior Design Masters became a huge hit when it first aired in the U.K., and in typical Netflix fashion, the streaming giant didn’t wait another second to acquire the streaming rights for the series.

Essentially, Interior Design Masters has a lot of the elements that HGTV fans will recognize, but brings the ‘home renovation’ TV genre into the reality competition space. If you enjoy getting tips about home decoration and organization from Queer Eye’s Bobby, then this reality series is certainly worth the watch.

NAILED IT!

There is no doubt that Nailed It! has been a massive hit franchise for Netflix within the reality competition genre. With three seasons and two holiday specials, Nailed It! awards cash prizes to amateur bakers who attempt to replicate a very complex sweet confectionery.

Unlike every other cooking competition on television, Nailed It! is more about embracing epic failures and having fun with them than it is about actually being a great baker. More often than not, the cakes and sweets that the contestants put together are nowhere close to the original confectionery that they were trying to replicate.

SUGAR RUSH

With two seasons, Sugar Rush is a legitimate reality competition series from Netflix that challenges four pairs of bakers aiming to win a cash prize of $10,000. The show is hosted by Hunter March (best known for his work on AwesomenessTV) and judged by Adriano Zumbo (from MasterChef Australia) and Candace Nelson (from Cupcake Wars).

Sugar Rush is a feel-good and easy-to-watch series for the devoted fans of baking competitions on TV. If you’re a fan of Cupcake Wars and the like, this competition is very likely your speed.

ULTIMATE BEASTMASTER

Netflix decided to have its own obstacle course competition franchise, and Ultimate Beastmaster was born. Since 2017, this series has been a huge hit for the streaming service, with 3 seasons that feature a diverse cast of competitors from different countries and walks of life.

The big differentiator for Ultimate Beastmaster is that it features foreigners, disrupting the usual U.S.-centric take on these types of reality TV shows. Since the first season, the title of ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ has been awarded to contestants from three different countries.

AWAKE: THE MILLION DOLLAR GAME

Awake: The Million Dollar Game is essentially a game show with reality TV elements. Each episode, a group of contestants must spend 24 hours together (and awake!) in a room. Then, they are put to a series of mental and physical challenges where their exhaustion is put to the test.

Because the contestants on Awake: The Million Dollar Game spend some time together with basically nothing to do, there’s always an element of reality TV on the show – including the occasional manipulation and mind games between competitors.