The Best Reality Competition Shows to Watch on Netflix Right Now

When someone says they're a fan of horror movies, they could mean a lot of things — that they love tense psychological thrillers like Gerald's Game, meta-classics like the Scream franchise, supernatural scare-fests like The Autopsy of Jane Doe, or one of the many other heart-pounding and harrowing subgenres to choose from.

TV has always been a great place to turn when you needed an instant pick-me-up. And during these uncertain times, more and more people are looking toward streaming to help distract them or just to bring a little bit more joy into their lives. And who couldn't use a bit more joy right now? That's why we've rounded up the very best feel-good shows available to binge-watch right now.

There's nothing like the unscripted drama of real people fighting to see their dreams realized, which is why reality competition shows are so addictive. And with Netflix's already stacked library constantly expanding, it's becoming increasingly difficult to figure out which of these shows are worth that weekend binge since most tend to get lost in the mix.

Anna Cardwell, 25, looked confident and excited while showing off her gorgeous new teeth in her latest TikTok video. The daughter of Mama June Shannon, 40, featured her own two daughters Kaitlyn, 7, and Kylee, 4, in the clip and they danced to rap music with her and stopped and posed while showing off various hand signs, including the rock sign. Anna also kept smiling and flashing her bright white straight veneers throughout and looked as happy as could be.

You don't have to be a moody, hormonal teenager to enjoy watching programming about moody, hormonal teenagers. We've all been there, so it's all familiar to us. And between the edgy murder mysteries, irreverent comedies, heartwarming coming-of-age dramas, and supernatural romances, Netflix has an expansive slate of teen TV shows that make it easy to find your perfect binge for any mood you might be in.

Looking out the window is getting pretty old. Why not really escape your self-quarantine with a little out-of-this-world action from the greatest genre (we're biased) of television there is? Science-fiction TV is the perfect vacation from the realities of the world, offering moral questions about our present in a glossed-up package of spaceships, advanced technology, and the unexplained.

Netflix changed the game when it first debuted original programming in 2013. Since then, the streaming platform has produced a deep vault of original programming to suit any viewer's mood, from historical dramas () to Spanish-language primetime soaps () to zany ensemble comedies (). Oh, and there’s no shortage of must-watch docuseries, fascinating home shows and addictive reality series.   

Not everyone has money to burn. We can't all shell out money every month for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+ and/or whatever other streaming service subscriptions are fighting for our hard-earned cash these days.

The Strokes‘ comeback album, The New Abnormal, features cover art that might be familiar to Jean-Michel Basquiat fans. It contains a portion of the late artist’s 1981 painting, Birds on Money.

We know you're tired of hearing about all the different streaming services you should subscribe to (especially since there are so, so many), but you should strongly consider subscribing to BritBox, which offers subscribers access to the best in British programming for just $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. A subscription means you no longer have to dig through Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon to find your favorite British programs under all the American shows that are given priority.

Much like its genre neighbors science-fiction and fantasy, supernatural programming allows viewers to escape into a world different than our own, one that is full of the unknown. Sometimes, these shows are scary and full of creatures that go bump in the night, while others make us laugh and inject a dose of levity into stressful situations.

During these uncertain times, TV can be a great place to turn to for an instant pick-me-up, allowing you to escape into another world and forget about the problems plaguing you in this one. Sure, harrowing horror shows, dramatic reality competitions, and gritty crime dramas can make for thrilling binges, but sometimes you really are just in the mood for something happy. That's why we've rounded up the best feel-good shows streaming right now.

As Bong Joon Ho rightfully pointed out, if you can conquer a one-inch subtitle, then entire worlds of storytelling will open up to you. And you don't even have to leave your house to get there.

In the old days, in order to get your superhero fix, you had to hide under the covers with a flashlight and read a comic book after your parents went to sleep, or you had to slip a comic into a Bible and sneak in a few pages during Sunday school (at least that's what movies have told us). Now, you can't change three channels or flip through two tiles on a streaming service without seeing someone in tights saving the day. And we aren't complaining!

When it comes to finding a show about the macabre reality that is true crime, no place is better than Netflix. With hit series after hit series, it seems the streaming service is coming out with a must-see true crime show every couple of weeks. As long as people keep committing crimes, Netflix will keep pumping out true crime shows, and we'll continue to watch them.

At this stage of self-quarantine — which you're doing to protect yourself and your community, so you're not complaining — you might be getting tired of bingeing comedy series with a lot of episodes. You're running low on episodes of Superstore to watch on Hulu, and you've already watched every episode of The Office twice.

This might come as a bit of a surprise to some of you (though perhaps not if you're reading this), but there are a lot more fantasy programs out there than just HBO's Game of Thronesand Netflix's The Witcher (though both are on this list).

One reason horror movies are so great is that they make for a perfect distraction from anything that might be on your mind. And if you're anything like us, you could surely use a good distraction right about now.

No one does a good murder mystery show quite like the Brits. Sure, we've had plenty of compelling series come along in the United States, like Mindhunter, The Night Of, and even Pretty Little Liars, but there's just something about the atmosphere of a crisp morning in the U.K. that really drives home the narrative over there.

Some people learn about history in school, which is fine if you're into that sort of thing. But for those of you who consider yourselves a Netflix intellectual, there's no better way to fill your head with the knowledge of important events of yesteryear than through the stylish and fictionalized accounts of TV's hottest scripted shows.