Published on April 28, 2026
First, for me, it was American Idol. The hilariously bad auditions, the moving renditions of the classics by talented nobodies, the shocking eliminations. How could we, as a nation, sleep at night after sending Jennifer Hudson home so soon? Then, my adolescent brain was further shaped by What Not to Wear, a show featuring great fashion tips undercut by questionable messaging that you should be more like other people want you to be. I still watched every Friday. You take the good with the bad. This year, I got sucked in by Dancing with the Stars (which I previously dismissed as a “grandma show”) and The Traitors. I saw so many extravagant outfits. Love it, hate it, or hate that you love it, you probably have thoughts on reality TV. I’ll forever prefer reality TV’s nerdy uncle, the game show, but I can’t pretend I’m immune to the charm of sassy sound bites and melodrama. Since it dominates our viewing entertainment landscape, of course reality TV is rearing its professionally highlighted head in our books, too. Here are just a few of the novels about fictional reality shows I see pop up all the time. These don’t analyze the mass popularity of reality television or trace its evolution—for that, try the delightfully titled Cue the Sun!—but they do take their inspiration straight from the shows we all know.
The Running Man by Stephen King
Desperate for the billion-dollar prize that would help his sick daughter, a man goes on a reality show in which he must survive for 30 days while being hunted by professional killers.
Escape! by Stephen Fishbach (former Survivor contestant!)
A faded reality show winner joins a new survival show, one in which he and his fellow contestants unwittingly become pawns in the producers’ own personal games.
Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
A ghost-hunting/home makeover hybrid show gets a new night shift production assistant in Mara. A series of disquieting incidents on the set and a creepy new member of the team have her questioning her choices.
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
Bea is thrilled to get on her favorite Bachelorette-style reality show and bring some positive fat representation to the television landscape. She’s under no illusion that she will actually find “the one.”
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
Instant I Do is a show in which two strangers must convince their friends and family they’re in love, engaged, and getting married in six weeks. If anyone catches on to the ruse, no $100,000 prize for them. Kris comes on to find the love of her life, while D’Vaughn figures a reality show is as good a way as any to come out to her family.
The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia
The Moores and the Pogociellos have feuded over whose restaurant has the best fried chicken in Kansas for three generations. Amanda, scandalously, married into the rival family and effectively switched her allegiance. It all comes to a head when both chicken shacks get on the restaurant competition show Food Wars.
The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore
A floundering romance novelist gets selected for a reality dating show. She assumes she’ll be a natural—she knows the mechanics of a good romantic storyline. But she discovers her ex is a longtime producer, and it becomes clear that she isn’t being cast as a heroine of the show. She’s the villain.
The Compound by Aisling Rawle
The wider world is in crisis, but the reality show contestants in a remote desert mansion are competing for a cushy gig as an influencer when the show ends. The show’s tasks have them alternating between working for the communal good and competing with each other to avoid elimination. Kirkus Reviews calls this “Love Island meets Lord of the Flies.”
Enjoy your trash TV; no judgment. But also: