3 reality shows MTV needs to revive ASAP

Since MTV has been taking a break from the scripted series game lately, now is the perfect time for them to revive some of their classic reality shows.

MTV looks like a different network in a post-Teen Wolf world. After its headline drama show came to an end it appeared the network made a shift to go back to its roots. Nowadays the focus is more on reality shows like Jersey Shore: Family Vacation and Floribama Shore than scripted ventures. (RIP Sweet/Vicious, you deserved better.)

But with this new programming slant, it would appear now is the perfect time for them to dig through its old reality show relics and revive them for the current crowd. Here are three that need reviving.

Room Raiders

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A show many know now as “that one reality show Zac Efron was on pre-High School Musical“. The premise was simple: three single people would let their rooms be raided by another single person. They would decide who they were most interested in dating based upon what they found in the room.

You can imagine how hilarious things would get with things like condoms, sex toy stashes, old disgusting food, garden gnome collections, and plenty more oddities being discovered in the place where people felt most comfortable. Room Raiders was a show that definitely uncovered people’s darkest secrets, some that were better off hidden.

Next

Next was perhaps one of the trashiest shows of the bunch, with plenty of cattiness to go around. The focus was about blind dates with the set up taking place on a bus loaded with the contestants. Each one would come out and we would learn some fast facts, like they love Hannah Montana or they once blew up a microwave!

They would proceed to go on a date with the main single guy or girl and they would control when the date ended. If they “nexted” someone then the next contestant would come off the bus.

There was also a monetary aspect to this game where the dates could earn money for every minute spent on the date. If the two people hit it off then the bus contestant could decide to either take the money and leave or forfeit the money and go on a second date. (I wonder if they couldn’t just take the money and call the person later on…?)

After the main contestant got their date (which didn’t always happen) the camera would cut back to the bus where the loser contestants often badmouthed them. It’s low-brow entertainment but still MTV entertainment at its best!

Parental Control

I think Parental Control is my favorite of the ones I’ve listed here because I have distinct memories of watching it after I got home from school every day. The idea of it is stupid and simple, and sure, maybe I felt like I was losing brain cells watching it but isn’t that kind of the point of trashy reality shows!?

Parents who were unhappy with their child’s current significant other would each pick a new person for them to date. The offspring in question would then go on a date with each person while their current partner + parents watched the entire thing from their living room (usually with plenty of insults and snark). By episode end, they would have to choose if they wanted to stay in their current relationship or date one of the people their parents chose for them.

Honorable Mentions

• Exposed – An amazingly awful show that didn’t last long but honestly deserved a second season for the effort. It was yet another dating show where the contestant went on a date with someone who was unknowingly being monitored with a lie detector. The person’s friend would track it through a nearby van and tell them when their date was lying, only to be revealed by dates end where they would decide if they wanted to continue to see them or cut them off because of the lies. The show actually had a few famous contestants like the actor Jaime Kennedy and All Time Low’s bassist, Zack Merrick.
• Date My Mom – This was such a ridiculous premise that I feel like I have to mention it at least. The idea was the single person would go on a date with three different mothers and decide from their impression alone whether or not to date their child!

Personally, I want to see some of the old shows come back because I fear MTV is running out of ideas for their original content. I mean How Far is Tattoo Far is plenty entertaining but Game of Clones? Who came up with that idea?

Which of these shows would you most like to see brought back? Are there any not listed that you’d like to see revived in the near future? What other reality shows do you watch? Let me know in the comments!