The Best Reality TV Hosts of All Time
Reality television, for better or worse, changed television forever. And what's reality TV without its hosts? Here are The 20 Best Reality TV Hosts of All Time.
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Ten years ago, it seemed impossible that reality television could be trending downward in 2015. Each television season saw a new cable channel abandoning what they had done for years in favor of contests and cat fights. The History Channel stopped showing the stories of our forefathers. A&E moved from Biography to shows about weird families with weirder jobs. The only things we learned from TLC were every one of Honey Boo Boo's idiosyncrasies. But in 2015, we know that the reality TV boom has not stood the test of time. Now cable channels are flocking to prestige content, hoping to cash in on a low rent version of Game of Thrones or The Sopranos. Every few weeks, we have one fewer set of housewives or group of bearded men doing dangerous jobs on our television screens.
If you're anything like me, you don't mourn the loss of reality shows from our screens. Sure, I'll watch a pawn shop show when I visit relatives, and I'll turn on Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers as an insomnia cure. But, I'll take Vikings and Louie over Amazing Race and Toddlers in Tiaras any day. Even if you didn't love the reality TV boom, its impact on our culture is undeniable. As the bulk of reality shows exit the stage, and only juggernauts like Dancing With the Stars remain culturally relevant, it may be a good time to take a look back at a decade dominated by manufactured reality. Reality television, for better or worse, changed television forever. And what is reality TV without its hosts? Here are The 20 Best Reality TV Hosts of All Time.
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19.Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Years hosted: 2004 - Present
Usually, when there are two hosts sharing the stage on a reality show, one clearly outshines the other, but that is not the case with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Part of the reason they work so well together is a mutual respect. While Gunn established himself as a fashion academic, Klum parlayed her super model stardom into a design career of her own. She has tried her hand at menswear, shoes, swimsuits, lingerie, fragrances, and jewelry over the years. All her hard work has paid off; she has been estimated to bring in as much as $20 million a year.
In short, Klum and Gunn are both experts in their fields and aren't afraid to speak their minds. Both of them have strong opinions on fashion, and actively look for opportunities to share the knowledge they've gained with the new guard of the style world. With their sharp minds and sharper tongues, Klum and Gunn may go down as the most dynamic duo in reality TV history.
18.Jon Taffer, Bar Rescue
Years hosted: 2011 - Present
Just when you thought that everything interesting that could be done in reality TV had already be done and redone again, Jon Taffer brought us Bar Rescue. Though celebrity chefs have been fixing up failing businesses for years, there's something special about Taffer's no-nonsense style colliding with shady, inept bar owners. Taffer is more of a bull in a China shop than a detached, enlightened mentor. Whether he has to deal with health code violations, breaking up a brawl, or simply telling it like it is to people that aren't ready to listen, he rolls up his sleeves and digs in. While most reality hosts get by on their ability to glide above the action, Taffer is at his best when he gets down and dirty.
17.T.J. Lavin, The Challenge
Years hosted: 2005 - Present
Grantland's David Jacoby described T.J. Lavin's brilliance: "T.J. Lavin is to The Challenge as Kawhi Leonard is to the Spurs. He is essential, underrated, and quiet as fuck. Being an introvert does not hinder one’s ability to put the ball in the basket, and one would think that being an introvert would hinder one’s ability to host a stupid reality TV program, but ONE WOULD BE WRONG."
Since taking over as the host of The Challenge in Season 8, the BMX rider and musician has quietly become one of the most interesting reality hosts on TV. His reserved intensity is the perfect match for the show, and Lavin manages not to push his chill into the realm of caricature. Those rare moments when he does wear his emotions on his sleeve, such as when someone quits (he hates quitters), only add to the mystery of reality TV's most low-key host. While most reality hosts ratchet their game up to 11, Lavin knows where he works best, somewhere between a 3 and a 4.
16.Ty Pennington, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Years hosted: 2003 - 2012
When we think of reality TV, we don't necessarily think about positivity. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was one of the few bright spots in the cynical reality TV landscape. On the show, deserving families got a leg up with an improved home thanks to a top-notch crew of professionals. The series would often draw attention to particular causes relevant to the family in need, raising awareness along with patio rooms. Pennington wasn't just the mouthpiece of the series, and he has been dedicated to charity work on and off the show. In a reality television world with more than a half-dozen Real Housewives shows, Pennington's career was a breath of fresh air.
15.Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Year hosted: 2001 - Present
A madcap globetrotting show like The Amazing Race requires a host who can match the energy of the events going on around him. Though few people would be up for the task, Phil Keoghan has risen to the challenge since the early days of The Amazing Race, and he shows no signs of slowing down. After 26 seasons of The Amazing Race, Keoghan still manages to express genuine excitement when introducing each new contestant and challenge. It seems that Keoghan's boundless enthusiasm is contagious; The Amazing Race has hovered around an average of 10 million viewers for the lion's share of its run, and is still going strong.
14.Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
Years hosted: 2006 - 2014
Reality TV hosts tend to come in two types: the cranky, demanding industry expert and the effervescent pretty face. Padma Lakshi is a rare breed: a combination of the two. Though Lakshmi began her adult life as a super model, she has always had other aspirations. Well before her time on Top Chef, Lakshmi released Easy Exotic, her first cookbook, which won awards and attracted the attention of the culinary world. This led to hosting opportunities on Padma's Passport and Planet Food, where she showed off her foodie bona fides and her good looks. By the time Top Chef was looking for a host prior to its second season, Lakshmi's extensive resume as an actress and culinary authority made her the natural choice. After all, why seek out a demanding master and a stunning host, when you can get two for the price of one?
13.Tyra Banks, America's Next Top Model
Years hosted: 2003 - Present
When reality shows are at their best, they can take you into a world that you've only ever viewed from a distance. Few careers are as mysterious as modeling, and even people who've managed to carve out space for themselves on the runway can rarely explain how they did it. The enigmatic nature of the profession made America's Next Top Model a natural choice as a reality TV franchise.
Although the show has steadily declined in viewership (recent seasons average below two million viewers), in its heyday, ANTM attracted a young female audience that advertisers would kill for. Through it all, Tyra Banks maintained her position at the center of the show's orbit. Realizing that she could pull back the curtain on an industry that gave her the first chapter of her career, she found a way to stay relevant as many of her ilk faded away.
12.Julie Chen, Big Brother
Years hosted: 2000 - Present
Early on in her tenure on Big Brother, Julie Chen earned the nickname "ChenBot" thanks to her wooden delivery. At first, she seemed stiff, but she eventually became firm and dignified, the perfect counterpoint to the odd shenanigans of Big Brother. That she's confronted unapologetic racists, forced expulsions, and erotic encounters with equal poise is a testament to her skills. Chen wouldn't be the ideal host for every show, but she anchors and balances the wild world of Big Brother.
11.Donald Trump, The Apprentice
Years hosted: 2004 - Present
You don't have to be well-liked to be important. Donald Trump is the living embodiment of that fact. In recent years, Trump has used his massive fortune to irritate the American populace on all fronts. Whether it is the idiotic conservatism he spouts on Twitter or the smug self-satisfaction he demonstrates on the various incarnations of The Apprentice, Trump seems determined to show the world just how obnoxious he is. But, there is no denying that his particular brand of being insufferable has made an impact on television and culture, no matter how much we hate to admit it.
10.Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Years hosted: 2005 - Present
Some successful hosts are young, vivacious, and sexy. And some hosts are Tom Bergeron. Like your old man manning a grill, Bergeron best skills are his steady hand and his corny jokes. With Tom Bergeron hosting, you get the sense that no matter what goes wrong, nothing will go wrong. Even an outright catastrophe will be greeted with a cheesy one-liner and a nod to the camera before everything is dusted off like nothing happened. He is the kind of throwback showman that you thought they stopped making after Vaudeville's glory days but you hope there's always a place for on TV.
9.Chris Harrison, The Bachelor
Years hosted: 2002 - Present
Many reality hosts have the benefit of interviewing aspiring singers, highly trained dancers, and burgeoning fashion designers. Chris Harrison has a much harder task than your average host; it's his job to keep things moving even when he deals with personalities that have as much charm as a brick wall. He has a way of digging follow-up questions and talking points out of the shallowest answers, and he can deliver cheesy lines with relative ease, which makes him the perfect man for the shallow depths of The Bachelor. Regardless of your thoughts on The Bachelor franchise, you have to respect his hustle.
8.Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Years hosted: 2006 - Present
A host is often judged by how unruffled she remains no matter what is thrown at her. Deeley takes a far more casual approach to her hosting duties, and America loves her for it. She can be self-deprecating and off-the-cuff, drifting off script if the person she's interviewing inspires her. She is known to crack wise if the mood strikes, and when a contestant leaves the show heart-broken, she often offers a shoulder to cry on. Deeley realizes that there are times when a host's emotions should feel as real as a contestant's, and that's what has kept SYTYCD feeling fresh after a decade on the air.
7.Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Years hosted: 2004 - Present
Reality producers salivate when someone like Tim Gunn comes along. Gunn is neither the dour jerk in the mold of Simon Cowell, nor is he a smiling empty suit from the School of Seacrest. He is his own man: charming in a way that is uniquely his own. He comes at it from the academic side, having worked at Parsons since 1982, and his passion for style gives his harshest critiques and his most adoring praise a weight that most hosts could never muster. As a result, has has a rare gift in the reality TV world; his words feel genuine. When he tells a contestant to"Make it work!" it is both a command and an encouragement. Those who make it work enjoy long careers, and those who can't end up merely a passing trend.
6.Anderson Cooper, The Mole
Years hosted: 2001-2002
It was a step away from his aspirations as a news man that got Anderson Cooper on TV. Cooper did a short stint as the host of The Mole beginning in 2001. Though he had experience as a news anchor before, it was only a few years after leaving The Mole that he landed his star-making gig, Anderson Cooper 360°.
Cooper recognizes that the changing face of news in the Internet age requires a fresh approach to the idea of a news anchor. He has said, "I think the notion of traditional anchor is fading away, the all-knowing, all-seeing person who speaks from on high. I don't think the audience really buys that anymore." Throughout his career, Cooper has made it a point to mix traditional desk work with on-location reporting to create a more genuine experience, and that includes his time as a reality TV host.
5.Gordon Ramsay, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, MasterChef Jr.
Years hosted: 2005 - Present
The celebrity chef phenomenon has been one of the oddest byproducts of reality television's heyday, and though Guy Fieri and Mario Batalli have become household names, no culinary celeb has had an impact on pop culture quite like Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay can go from wide-eyed admiration of wünderkinds on Masterchef Jr. to harsh criticism of charlatan chefs on Kitchen Nightmares without a hint of dishonesty. He has parlayed this combination of decades of experience and emotional openness into an empire that shows no signs of declining any time soon.
4.Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser
Years hosted: 2004 - 2014
Hosting duties on Biggest Loser comprise only a tiny sliver of Jillian Michaels' fitness empire. She is an impressive motivator, just like the VHS aerobics stars of the '80s and '90s, but she has demonstrated the kind of dynamic business savvy needed to compete in the Internet age. In addition to her work on Loser, Michaels has released more than a dozen fitness DVDs, authored several New York Times bestselling books, and hosts a weekly podcast.
Michaels has had an on-again off-again relationship with Biggest Loser over the years, coming and going from the show as other projects have filled her schedule. In the dynamic media world of today, it is hard to tell what a fitness guru's life will look like going forward. The answer will continue to change as technology marches forward, but aspiring fitness nuts could do worse than looking to Michaels as a blueprint.
3.Jeff Probst, Survivor
Years aired: 2000 - Present
The first season finale of Survivor drew well over 51 million viewers. In this day and age, only major sporting events can hope for those kind of numbers. For 10 years, Survivor finales drew over 20 million people to their TVs. In the process, Jeff Probst became more than a host; he became a cultural icon.
Though Probst has had a varied career that has included numerous hosting gigs, directorial work, and children's television, he will always be remembered for his work on Survivor. The phrase "The tribe has spoken; it's time for you to go" stands with "Did I do that?" and "D'oh?" on the shortlist of catch phrases with near universal recognition. Because the cast of Survivor shuffles each year, Probst is one of the few enduring images from the show, along with tiki torches and naked people fashioning rafts from bamboo.
2.RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race
Years hosted: 2009 - Present
For Americans across several generations, RuPaul has been synonymous with drag. There are many Americans who first encountered drag via RuPaul, and there are also many Americans for whom RuPaul and Drag Race are their only exposure to drag. Through Drag Race and his other projects, including music, acting, and hosting, RuPaul has been as much an ambassador as a host. Drag Race is more than a reality series; it is a cultural event. Gay bars across the country hold viewing parties and the show continues to have an ardent fan base after six seasons on the air. As LGBTQ representation in media is slowly becoming a part of the norm, it is important to remember how much has changed in RuPaul's lifetime. RuPaul has played a role in inching the LGBTQ community towards mainstream acceptance, and Drag Race is just one of many ways that he has done that.
1.Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Years hosted: 2002 - Present
You get the sense that Ryan Seacrest could host an execution and people would leave saying that they were utterly charmed. There is no school for hosting, no high school guidance counselor's brochure, no tried and true career path. If any of that did exist, Ryan Seacrest would be an essential part of the curriculum.
Charming, energetic, and unflappable, Seacrest can insert himself into any situation and move the proceedings along. And unlike some of the great celebrity hosts, from Joan Rivers to Tim Gunn, Seacrest never pulls focus. Power of personality goes a long way, but the real job of a host is to shine a light on whoever he's interviewing. What makes Ryan Seacrest such a great host, is that after the episode is over, the last thing you remember is Ryan Seacrest.