AARP’s Favorite Reality Shows of 2024 (So Far)

Conan O’Brien Must Go (Max)

Conan O’Brien, 61, is not the first comedian to send up the travel documentary, but he takes the genre to hilarious new heights in his four-part series — even deploying his drone in unusual places like the inside of a Norwegian hotel. Amid all the jokes and ridiculous costumes, he manages to explore real sights as well as cultural differences that set countries like Argentina, Thailand and Ireland apart — all the while making sure that he, the ugly American, remains the butt of the joke as he samples street food in Bangkok or fakes a blood-soaked injury on an Argentine soccer field. “Whenever I visit a new country,” O’Brien explains, “I like to learn the local customs, so I can ignore them.”

Where to watch Conan O’Brien Must Go

Justin Willman in "The Magic Prank Show."

Courtesy Netflix

The Magic Prank Show With Justin Willman (Netflix)

Comic trickster Justin Willman, who starred in Netflix’s Magic for Humans for three seasons, returned with a new Candid Camera-inspired series in which he stages elaborate pranks on regular folks at the suggestion of their friends and loved ones. For example, a guy whose girlfriend was worried about his distracted driving is led into a trick car with a disguised Willman at the wheel focused on anything but the road while an unseen stunt driver actually steers the car from the roof.

Where to watch The Magic Prank Show

Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais in “Next Level Chef."

Lorraine O’Sullivan/FOX

Next Level Chef (Fox)

Count on Gordon Ramsay, 57, to take a cooking competition to a new level. In this case, it’s three different kitchens stacked on top of each other in a glossy studio. The bottom one is a bare-bones kitchen with low-end appliances, the middle is a standard commercial kitchen and the top level boasts cutting-edge equipment. Then the show pits pro chefs against home cooks and social-media foodies in all three kitchens for a $250,000 prize. The third season featured a finale showdown among Hawai‘i restaurant chef Zach Laidlaw, New Jersey home cook Christina Miros and Instagram vet Gabrielle Chappel that included searing drama and some delicious-looking plates. Talk about turning up the heat.

Where to watch Next Level Chef

On "Survivor," you need to outwit, outplay and outlast.

CBS

Survivor (CBS)

Even in its 46th season, CBS’s competition series Survivor still has the capacity to surprise. Once again, 18 contestants (ages 22 to 48) stranded themselves on a remote island in Fiji to compete in a series of physical and mental challenges for a $1 million prize. Mind games seem to take center stage this season, along with some entertaining villains. Venus Vafa outlasted many who crossed her; Liz Wilcox, a self-proclaimed millionaire (though she later admitted this was misdirection) flew into tantrums over food (and her severe allergies); and crafty Q Burdette bizarrely volunteered himself for banishment (which the other castaways rejected at that time). What made this season a treat, worth the expanded 90-minute episodes, was the glut of double-crosses and blindsides. Heck, five overconfident contestants got voted out despite having immunity idols that would have saved them if they had only played them.

Where to watch Survivor

Taskmaster (YouTube)

The cult following for this long-running British comedy-competition hit has only grown since the show landed a home on YouTube. Host Greg Davies, 56, and sidekick/show creator Alex Horne put five comedians through a series of ridiculous challenges that often reward outside-the-box creativity. (Comedian John Robins, asked to run an obstacle course without spilling any water in a bucket placed in the BabyBjörn he’s wearing, wins once he realizes that the directions don’t say he can’t remove the carrier first.) And that’s not even counting deliberate oddness, like Ted Lasso actor Nick Mohammed mysteriously showing up this season dressed as a vampire, complete with pale-skinned face makeup.

Where to watch Taskmaster

Emeril Lagasse, Kristen Kish and David Zilber on "Top Chef."

David Moir/Bravo

Top Chef (Bravo)

The long-running cooking competition series lost none of its charm when former winner Kirsten Kish took over the hosting duties from Padma Lakshmi, and this season’s Wisconsin setting provided plenty of cheesy (and sausage-forward) challenges. While the food always looks delicious, it’s the human competition that shines — as when one contestant overspends on a team challenge ($325, leaving only $75 for one of her teammates) and then disappoints the judges with her finished dish. This Bravo mainstay remains one of the sharpest knives in the reality competition drawer.

Where to watch Top Chef

Kate Chastain and Alan Cumming in "Traitors."

Euan Cherry/Peacock

The Traitors (Peacock)

This social-strategy competition series, hosted by the witty Alan Cumming, 59, in ever-more-outrageous outfits that would be perfect for a Met Gala, is an addictive hit for its glossy Scottish castle setting and clever gameplay. While there are challenges to build up the cash prize ($208,100 this year), the real fun is in the winnowing of the cast. Just like that old murder parlor game (or an Agatha Christie mystery), a handful of secret traitors “kill off” a rival each night, and the whole cast also votes out whoever they suspect is one of those traitors. The second season followed the winning formula of casting multiple reality-show stars, which led to a surprisingly bitter rivalry between former Real Housewives/Bravo stars and alumni of Big Brother, Survivor and other competition shows.

Where to watch The Traitors