Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      From the casts of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  and The Walking Dead  to Chris Pine and Regé Jean-Page, see who dropped by EW's Comic-Con headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Read More
    • Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Go behind the scenes of Amazon Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic, which hopes to introduce J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation. Read More
    • Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be more to learn about the high-profile defamation trial, more than 6,000 pages of court docs were released over the weekend. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. 20 Risk-Filled Reality TV Shows

20 Risk-Filled Reality TV Shows

''Wipeout'' (back for a winter season tonight) always has a handful of spine-bending, head-plunging, why-aren't-they-dead moments that leave us shaking our heads -- but that's not unusual these days...
By Annie Barrett and Mandi Bierly Updated June 22, 2010 at 02:00 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

1

WIPEOUT (ABC) / NINJA WARRIOR (G4) Thanks in large part to a hilarious event called Big Balls, which is almost genius in its rubbery simplicity,…
Credit: Mike Weaver/ABC

WIPEOUT (ABC) / NINJA WARRIOR (G4)
Thanks in large part to a hilarious event called Big Balls, which is almost genius in its rubbery simplicity, Wipeout has become a smash (literally) hit. But for real... someone is going to die bouncing headfirst off those things. We can feel it. We can almost taste it. And making it wintry won't help matters. Oh, and an honorable mention for G4's Ninja Warrior — just as dangerous, but at least this hardcore fitness series isn't trying to seem benign — as evidenced by its significant lack of primary colors and cartoonish graphics.

1 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

2

Deadliest Catch | DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery Channel) Crab fishing in the Bering Sea — it's very lucrative if you make it home. Other possibilities include being swept overboard,…

DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery Channel)
Crab fishing in the Bering Sea — it's very lucrative if you make it home. Other possibilities include being swept overboard, capsizing, and getting smacked in the head — or another body part — by a piece of equipment or falling ice. ''I love these guys,'' Catch executive producer Thom Beers told EW last year. ''They're just rough and tumble. Not great table manners, but I'll tell you what, they'll tell you a story, they'll live hard and they'll play hard and they'll take the risks, and God, you gotta look up to that.''

2 of 20

3 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

3

Cops | COPS (Fox) Laugh if you want to. We did when we interviewed Sgt. Tom ''T.J.'' Jenkins of the Las Vegas PD in 2005 and he…

COPS (Fox)
Laugh if you want to. We did when we interviewed Sgt. Tom ''T.J.'' Jenkins of the Las Vegas PD in 2005 and he explained that it's harder to apprehend suspects when they're shirtless and/or pantsless: ''You're self-conscious about grabbing a naked person. You want to get him in custody, but you don't want to end up with a handful of his private parts.'' But never forget that these officers put their lives on the line.

3 of 20

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

4

Ice Road Truckers | ICE ROAD TRUCKERS (History Channel) A wide load + a thin layer of ice over the Arctic Ocean = History Channel's highest-rated series (and a…

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS (History Channel)
A wide load + a thin layer of ice over the Arctic Ocean = History Channel's highest-rated series (and a constant, eerie cracking sound). Also enjoyable: whiteout conditions, which season 2 boss Kurt Wainman explained on the show thusly: ''See now, visibility is going to be what we call 'f--- all.'... Sit there and lose your marbles, I guess you're a dead man.... Sit there and you're calm, cool, and react quickly, you have a chance of living.''

4 of 20

Advertisement

5 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

5

Joel Anderson, Survivor, ... | SURVIVOR (CBS) For 21 seasons, we've watched regular American schmos (excluding those ''ropes course instructor'' types with a natural advantage) endure heinous weather, extreme dietary…
Credit: Monty Brinton

SURVIVOR (CBS)
For 21 seasons, we've watched regular American schmos (excluding those ''ropes course instructor'' types with a natural advantage) endure heinous weather, extreme dietary limitations, and rats in their sleeping bag in a brave attempt to win the mil. There are too many treacherous reward and immunity challenges to name, so we'll just recall this illuminating dialogue during Micronesia's capture-the-flag challenge, as monstrous Joel (pictured) dragged delicate Chet over, under, and straight into wooden beams.

5 of 20

6 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

6

The Baby Borrowers | THE BABY BORROWERS (NBC) Sure, there was medical help on hand as generally clueless teenagers tried to look after the spawn of total strangers. But…
Credit: Tommy Baynard

THE BABY BORROWERS (NBC)
Sure, there was medical help on hand as generally clueless teenagers tried to look after the spawn of total strangers. But the whole scenario called to mind a painfully special episode of Strangers With Candy in which Jerri Blank had to look after baby Dizzy and ended up abandoning her on a swing set and attempting to sell her on the black market. Couldn't these crazies just conform to the traditional high school home ec assignment and babysit an egg?

6 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

7

Stephen Baldwin | TY MURRAY'S CELEBRITY BULL RIDING CHALLENGE (CMT) Mother Nature doesn't give celebrities special treatment. Neither do bulls. Riding a beast named Satan's Own was only…

TY MURRAY'S CELEBRITY BULL RIDING CHALLENGE (CMT)
Mother Nature doesn't give celebrities special treatment. Neither do bulls. Riding a beast named Satan's Own was only half the fun for this show's D-list stars. The other half was trying to keep from being hooked or stepped on after they were bucked off. Injuries included fractured ribs, a broken shoulder, and a pulled groin.

7 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

8

Kid Nation | KID NATION (CBS) Allow us to quote the opening of EW's series-premiere TV recap, which dubbed this series — centered on 40 kids in a…
Credit: Monty Brinton

KID NATION (CBS)
Allow us to quote the opening of EW's series-premiere TV recap, which dubbed this series — centered on 40 kids in a ghost town, without adult supervision — as CBS' ''Most Amazing Bad Idea Ever.'':

''Please raise your right hand and repeat after me:
I [state your name] do solemnly swear that I come to the Kid Nation TV Watch because I support Dickensian child-labor exploitation for entertainment purposes, particularly when televised. I accept that such exploitation may include (but is not limited to) watching those who have not yet reached the age of consent cook, clean, hike, cry, attempt to catch jackrabbits to alleviate boredom and/or homesickness, scream, scheme, cry some more, whine, whimper, display flashes of rage and/or wit, and drink the occasional glass of bleach.''

8 of 20

Advertisement

9 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

9

America's Next Top Model | AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (The CW) Tyra Banks offering the sage advice to ''think pain, but beauty'' when you're at a loss for poses is…

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (The CW)
Tyra Banks offering the sage advice to ''think pain, but beauty'' when you're at a loss for poses is fine. What's not okay: Banks' penchant for making models walk in Vivienne Westwood heels (cycle 6 winner Danielle (pictured) sprained her little toe, people!) and take ''falling'' photos (how did cycle 10's Claire not break her neck?).

9 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

10

I Want a Famous Face, The Swan | Contestants on The Swan endured multiple plastic surgeries for the chance to win a beauty pageant that basically judged which plastic surgery had turned out…
Credit: The Swan: Robert Voets; I Want A Famous Face: Preston Mack

THE SWAN (Fox) / I WANT A FAMOUS FACE (MTV)
We can't believe no one on either of these plastic-surgery-exalting series ever had a dangerous incident involving general anesthetics (or doctors who might only play doctors on TV). What's even more shocking is that contestants didn't collapse in horror after a cursory first glance in the mirror at the ''new'' them.

10 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

11

Stacey Dash, Celebrity Circus | CIRCUS OF THE STARS (CBS) / CELEBRITY CIRCUS (NBC) While training for 2008's Celebrity Circus , Christopher Knight fractured his forearm, Stacey Dash (pictured) crushed…

CIRCUS OF THE STARS (CBS) / CELEBRITY CIRCUS (NBC)
While training for 2008's Celebrity Circus, Christopher Knight fractured his forearm, Stacey Dash (pictured) crushed three ribs, and former Olympian Janet Evans fell 15 feet from a trapeze. That's nothing. Check out this old excerpt from People on the original Circus of the Stars' body count:

''In 1985, Charles Nelson Reilly sustained a nasty hip injury and a broken arm after the chariot he was riding as part of a miniature horse act toppled and flipped him to the ground. Two years later a leopard bit dancer Juliet Prowse on her neck, while she was doing publicity for the show; the wound took five stitches to close. In 1990 it happened again, this time during rehearsals. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, star of the NBC Saturday morning sitcom Saved by the Bell, was attempting to master the Russian swing when he landed wrong and fractured his sternum, forcing him to the sidelines for both Circus of the Stars...and his own show, which had to go on hiatus for three weeks because of his injury.''

11 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

12

Les Stroud, Survivorman | SURVIVORMAN (Discovery Channel) / MAN VS. WILD (Discovery Channel) Survivorman 's Les Stroud (pictured) braves the world's harshest environments while narrating a running how-to survival…

SURVIVORMAN (Discovery Channel) / MAN VS. WILD (Discovery Channel)
Survivorman's Les Stroud (pictured) braves the world's harshest environments while narrating a running how-to survival guide for viewers. The adventurer joked to EW, ''In terms of dramatic television, if I actually did fall into real peril it would, in [my producers'] eyes, make for better TV.'' And in Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls gets dropped somewhere via parachute, then plays up a ''tourist lost in the wilderness'' persona for dramatic effect. Though Grylls instructs his crew not to interfere unless he's about to die, the media have questioned how much off-camera aid Grylls routinely receives.

12 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

13

Brad Womack, DeAnna Pappas, ... | THE BACHELOR (ABC) The biggest danger when you have one man dating multiple women is a broken heart, of course. Symptoms include sobbing and hyperventilating…

THE BACHELOR (ABC)
The biggest danger when you have one man dating multiple women is a broken heart, of course. Symptoms include sobbing and hyperventilating in limos. But little-known fact: When you group more than 10 women together, at least one of them loses her coordination (perhaps at the top of stairs or mid-obstacle course). Ergo, an ambulance is called at least once a season.

13 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

14

The Ultimate Fighter | THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER (Spike TV) / FIGHT QUEST (Discovery Channel) Most reality shows encourage people to fight, but these two demand it. The Ultimate Fighter…

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER (Spike TV) / FIGHT QUEST (Discovery Channel)
Most reality shows encourage people to fight, but these two demand it. The Ultimate Fighter gives up-and-coming mixed martial artists a chance at a UFC contract — and, if you're season 7's Dan Simmler (pictured), a grade 3 concussion and a jaw broken in three places. Fight Quest, meanwhile, sends badasses Jimmy Smith and Doug Anderson around the globe to study new fight styles with local masters. They then face local opponents. Neither group shows them mercy.

14 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

15

AX MEN (History Channel) Logging in Oregon is deadly enough with the possibility of snapped cables, runaway logs, equipment failure, and falls. But you also…

AX MEN (History Channel)
Logging in Oregon is deadly enough with the possibility of snapped cables, runaway logs, equipment failure, and falls. But you also have to add in the danger of driving to and from the mountainside sites. Those ''roads'' are meant for two lanes. ''You never know how you're gonna get killed,'' one ax man put it. ''You might get killed on the way to work, you might get killed at work, or you might get killed on the way home.''

15 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

16

Fear Factor

FEAR FACTOR (NBC)
Contestants usually had to eat some sort of revolting species for the reality game show's gross-out Second Stunt, specifically designed to mess with people's heads. Hmm. You say ''sportsmanlike mental challenge''; we say ''I can't believe getting strapped to a spinning wheel with a helmet swarming with scorpions never literally scared anyone to death.''

Honorable mentions for the Could Induce Heart Attack category include Fear, a short-lived MTV disaster in which contestants were sent to a creepy locale to see if it was haunted, and Solitary, a short-lived ''social experiment'' series on Fox Reality wherein contestants were kept in solitary confinement and could only communicate with a computer named Val. (Paging 2001...)

16 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

17

The Amazing Race | THE AMAZING RACE (CBS) Forget the endless series of commercial flights and treacherous bouts of intra-team road rage — some of those ''Roadblock'' challenges (eat…
Credit: Chris Castallo

THE AMAZING RACE (CBS)
Forget the endless series of commercial flights and treacherous bouts of intra-team road rage — some of those ''Roadblock'' challenges (eat four pounds of mystery meat! rappel down this scary pitch-black cave!) pose a serious threat. Not to mention the potential danger involved in coming face-to-face with, say, a Lithuanian bodybuilder who really doesn't wanna be asked for directions to the local tourist trap. In English.

17 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

18

Image

'Hos in a House: Bodily Fluids Edition
Any show involving a bunch of sexually rabid, hot-or-not young things on the same soundstage (Big Brother, Temptation Island, A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, etc.) might as well be renamed There Will Be Diseases. You know what we're talking about, but for a PG-13 example of bodily fluid exchange, we do hope you enjoy this image of a projectile loogie, fired off from Pumkin to New York (yes, those are people) during season 1 of Flavor of Love.

18 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

19 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

19

'Hos in a House: Physical Abuse Edition Unprompted intramural brawls are rampant within the ''H in a H'' genre of reality TV. But sometimes the…

'Hos in a House: Physical Abuse Edition
Unprompted intramural brawls are rampant within the ''H in a H'' genre of reality TV. But sometimes the producers facilitate the abuse themselves: The evil masterminds behind Rock of Love 2, for instance, decided to bring back abhorrent season 1 contestant Lacey (pictured) for a brutal ''Stroller Derby'' challenge. Contestants steered baby dolls around the rink while trying to avoid getting mauled by a crazy bitch with maroon hair. (In their defense, they had to — how else would Bret Michaels be convinced they'd make great moms?)

19 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

20 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

20

The Real World | 'Hos in a House: Intoxication Edition The Real World , obviously, is the poster series for this esteemed branch of ''H in a H'' —…

'Hos in a House: Intoxication Edition
The Real World, obviously, is the poster series for this esteemed branch of ''H in a H'' — since the 1992 premiere filmed in New York, the quality of the show has gone down as the number of Apple Pucker bottles that just happen to be lying around the kitchen have gone up. Whether the alcohol-induced danger is self-inflicted (Ruthie from Hawaii, pictured) or the result of a bar brawl (Danny from Austin's busted jaw), it makes us consider holding off on that next tequila shot. Or just changing the channel.

20 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Annie Barrett @EWAnnieBarrett
  • By Mandi Bierly @EWMandiBierly

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 20 1
    2 of 20 2
    3 of 20 3
    4 of 20 4
    5 of 20 5
    6 of 20 6
    7 of 20 7
    8 of 20 8
    9 of 20 9
    10 of 20 10
    11 of 20 11
    12 of 20 12
    13 of 20 13
    14 of 20 14
    15 of 20 15
    16 of 20 16
    17 of 20 17
    18 of 20 18
    19 of 20 19
    20 of 20 20

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    20 Risk-Filled Reality TV Shows
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.