Gone, But Certainly Not Forgotten: The Canceled Reality TV Shows Viewers Still Think About

From Rich Girls to Princesses: Long Island, these canceled reality shows still hold a special place in the hearts of viewers

By Chris Harnick Mar 06, 2020 8:10 PMTags
Canceled Reality Shows, Princesses: Long IslandAlex Martinez/Bravo

Every so often there will come a show that enters and exits the lives of viewers in the blink of an eye, but said show, well, it has lasting power. You can't stop thinking about it. Moments live on as GIFs. You bond with other viewers about your common love for this departed show. It happens more frequently with reality shows because they're cheaper to make and incredibly prevalent on all viewing platforms. One show that hasn't left this writer's mind was Bravo's Princesses: Long Island.

Princesses: Long Island seemed like it was going to start a new reality franchise for Bravo, at least if that title colon was to be believed. The 2013 series was a Real Housewives for the younger generation, filled with 20somethings and their various drama. But the saga of Amanda Bertoncini, Ashlee White, Casey Cohen, Chanel "Coco" Omari, Erica Gimbel and Joey Lauren was a short one.

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Princess: Long Island lasted just a season and with it any chance of a Princesses franchise. But seven years later, I still regularly think about Ashlee calling her mom to send a private plane to take her home from a winery. "Mom…Help…me," she cried.

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Iconic.

This inability to get over Princesses: Long Island sparked a tweet that got way more responses than initially thought. These are the canceled reality shows viewers still miss—and regularly think about. 

Gallery Girls

Gallery Girls lasted just a season, but developed a legion of fans. The show followed seven women working in the art world.

Ladies of London

Ladies of London lasted three seasons, longer than most of the shows on this list, but still viewers want more. The show followed a mix of American and English women living in...yep, London.

The Paper

Who would've thought a TV series about a high school newspaper staff would be compelling TV? MTV did, but only gave viewers one season of The Paper.

Growing Up Gotti

The hair gel! Growing Up Gotti followed Victoria Gotti, the daughter of John Gotti, and her three sons Frank Gotti Agnello, John Gotti Agnello Jr., and Carmine Gotti Agnello. It ran three seasons.

NYC Prep

Think Gossip Girl, but without the mysterious blogger would turned out to be Dan Humphrey for no apparent reason. NYC Prep followed rich kids doing rich kid things. It lasted just a season, but still remains a talking point for reality TV junkies.

Rich Girls

Ally Hillfiger and Jaime Gleicher starred in MTV's one-season wonder Rich Girls. The show followed the girls as they finished high school and lived their affluent lives.

The Swan

Part of Fox's shocking reality show heyday of the early 2000s, The Swan featured contestants who were judged by their looks and then given extreme makeovers with plastic surgery. After they were transformed, the contestants competed in a pageant.

Pretty Wild

AIring right here on E!, the series followed Alexis Neiers, Gabrielle Neiers, Andrea Arlington and Tess Taylor. Pretty Wild followed Alexis' trial post-Bling Ring arrest.

Boy Meets Boy

One season of just six episodes was enough to put this Bravo reality show on the map. The dating show followed a gay man, James Getzlaff, who had 15 potential suitors to pick from...only not all of them were gay. Never forget James' friend Andra.

The Simple Life

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, socialites known for, well, being socialites, starred in this five season series where they were put to work doing typically low-paying jobs.