Soothe Your Post-Election Woes With These Reality Shows

1. The Great Pottery Throw Down

If a cozy British murder mystery and a low-stakes reality competition show had a baby, it would be The Great Pottery Throw Down. The description simply reads: “A group of masterful artists are sent to Stoke-on-Trent, the home of pottery, in a quest to become the UK’s Top Potter.” Much like The Great British Baking Show, which isn’t included on this list because it’s too obvious a choice and you’re probably already watching it, there is no cash prize for the winner, simply the honor of winning. Actually, let’s all just move to Britain. Stream on Max.

2. Ladies of London

Since we can’t realistically move to Britain, just watch Ladies of London instead. Consisting of only three seasons from 2014-16 (before the first time we knew this pain), it’s a Housewives show of a different name, and the gals from the American shows can only dream of the kind of wealth these ladies actually possess. It’s how we were introduced to Real Housewives of Dubai stalwart Caroline Stanbury, who brings the kind of unapologetic, bitchy eye-roll quality that so many of the newbies in the franchise sorely lack. A resurgence in popularity brought the news of a “Real Housewives of London” spinoff coming in 2025, and though the cast hasn’t been announced and I doubt any of the originals (beyond maybe Caroline) will be included, you never forget your first. Stream on Peacock.

3. Ink Master

Did you know Ink Master was still a thing? Well, it is, and Joel Madden, formerly of my brother’s favorite band, Good Charlotte, is the host. This is my favorite kind of reality competition show, in which the stakes are low, though slightly higher than the British ones, because they do win money at the end, but the contestants and judges act like it’s life or death. They always try to “strategize” by assigning hard tattoos to each other and then end up shooting themselves in the foot anyway because they thought they could do a black-and-white photorealistic portrait on someone’s ribs in, like, two hours. You have never heard of any of the winners and you never will, but to each other, they’re superstars, and isn’t that all that matters at the end of the day? Stream on Paramount Plus.

4. Glow Up

Similar to Ink Master in the suspense-building and out-of-touchiness, Glow Up pits a handful of shy twenty-somethings against each other and watches them paint silly little pictures on their own faces and calls that makeup design. Think cut creases and prosthetic wounds, but make it competitive. Paul Hollywood has the Hollywood Handshake, and Val Garland has the catchphrase “DING DONG!” Stream on Netflix.

5. The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Okay, okay—okay!! You’re tired of hearing me yap about RHONJ, but listen: now is the perfect time to start from season one. I’m telling you, in the history of reality television, there’s nothing like those first three seasons. You have the Manzos, you have the Giudices, you have Danielle Staub. Danielle Staub—the single most ridiculous villain the genre has ever produced, and that’s including Tiffany “New York” Pollard. If you’re the kind of person who has ever enjoyed a single minute of The Sopranos or The Godfather or even, dare I say, Cake Boss, PLEASE just take my word for it on this one. Stream on Peacock.

6. The Traitors Australia

I binged every season of The Traitors from every country I could get my hands on after season one of the US version, and I can confidently say that Australia is the best for the camp factor alone. They really lean into the theater of it all, and the contestants are, for the most part, normal, not famous people, so they take it very seriously. This is why the ends of each of the two seasons are so evil and delicious. I’m pretty sure the losers of season 2 needed therapy when filming wrapped. Stream on Peacock.