American Idol
If it wasn't for this mega-hit musical reality competition, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Sanjaya, David Cook, and David Archuleta wouldn't be household names. "American Idol" follows, now, four judges: meanie Simon Cowell, ever-professional Randy Jackson, positive-but-kooky Paula Abdul, and newbie Kara DioGuardi as they sift through thousands of hopefuls across the United States to find the best pop, country, and rock singers around the country. Viewers (that's us!) then get to vote (and vote, and vote...) on which unknown crooner will walk away with a record deal and the fame and fortune that are sure to come along with it. The good performances, the bad performances, and the extremes of both are what we crave each week and what we can't help but dish about the next morning with other "Idol" enthusiasts.
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Gossip Girl
"Gossip Girl" is the TV adaptation of the breakout book series by Cecily von Ziegesar. Every step (and misstep) that the privileged prep school teens of Manhattan's Upper East Side take is well documented on the website of the all-knowing Gossip Girl. No one knows the true identity behind Gossip Girl, but everyone in this glamorous and exclusive world depends on her for the latest juicy rumors, ourselves included. We're constantly checking for the latest scoop and any behind-the-scenes goodies about the UES kids on and off screen. Besides we admittedly love and must be a part of anything relating to gossip.
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The Real Housewives of Orange County
"The Real Housewives of New York" was impressive. The series' second spin-off, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," was mesmerizing. Unfortunately, "The Real Housewives of Orange County" is no longer impressive nor is it mesmerizing. That, however, doesn't stop us from tuning in on a weekly basis to check in on the original tanzillas from Coto de Caza. We couldn't care less about the recent additions to the cast or the fact that Lauri left to revel in her golddiggerdom. As long as Vicki and Jeana continue to fight with each other, their obnoxious husbands, and their spoiled kids while downing their fair share of Chardonnay, count us in!
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Nip/Tuck
Despite the fact that "Nip/Tuck" jumped the shark for the second time at the beginning of the disastrous fifth season when McNamara/Troy moved from Miami to Los Angeles (the first time being when Season 3 was dedicated entirely to The Carver), Ryan Murphy's razor-sharp romp is still the most outrageous, sexy, and creepy show on air thanks to witty writers, overly-dramatic actors, and hilarious cameos. Speaking of special guest stars, with Rose McGowan set to appear in at least four episodes of the new season as tawdry Doctor Teddy Lowe, we refuse to cut the ultimate guilty pleasure from our TiVos.
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Rock of Love with Bret Michaels
The "Rock of Love" tour continues as the Poison front man searches for someone to "rock his world" -- and this time Bret Michaels and the not-so-classy ladies are actually confined inside a real-life tour bus! The women are tested on their devotion to him and their love and understanding of the rock-n-roll lifestyle. To help narrow the field, Bret puts these women through various challenges. Those who win these challenges will join Bret on some wild and exclusive excursions, while those who can't hang like true backstage VIPs will be escorted out. We're not sure why, but we're completely addicted to this trashtastic train wreck so much so that we're secretly wishing that Bret never really finds true love. Here's hoping that every rose really does have its thorn.
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The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The secret is out: We can't stop watching "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" -- no matter how cheesy and over-the-top it is. From the creator of the long-running teen hit "7th Heaven," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" is a family-based drama which focuses on the relationships between families and friends as they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy at a Midwestern high school. Ironically, '80s teen actress Molly Ringwald is all grown up and plays the mother of the pregnant teenage girl. The series quickly became ABC Family's biggest hit when it first premiered and when the season finale went to head-to-head with another one of our guilty pleasures, "90210," it attracted ten times as many viewers as the CW show. OK, we admit it, we were those fans glued to the TV screen.
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The Bachelor
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. By the time we got to fool me 12 times it got too confusing to figure out who to blame anymore. Yes, the series begins each season with a handsome bachelor looking for a wife. Yes, it (almost) always ends each season with said bachelor proposing to some loony bachelorette. And that's when the show fails to keep up its end of the bargain. The couple inevitably breaks up as soon as the cameras stop rolling and thus we feel like fools yet again -- fools who'll be watching this upcoming season, of course.
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Secret Diary of a Call Girl
This Showtime series about a likable high-end hooker is actually a really smart, interesting, well-written and well-acted show. So how did it make this guilty pleasures list? Because at least once in an episode we worry someone else is going to walk in and think we’re watching an, ahem, adult film thanks to the very revealing sex scenes. OK, so it's not family-friendly fare, but a little raunchiness isn't going to stop us from watching such a stellar series.
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Hell's Kitchen (Fox)
Let's face it; this cooking competition show has gotten as stale as a day-old baguette lately. Each season's crop of new contestants never fails to include a sexist guy, a rough-around-the-edges woman, a dope, and a know-it all. Then there's always a requisite kitchen injury, a containable stove-top fire, and nightly swearing and insult-hurling by the cocky Chef Ramsay himself. But we must admit the cooking challenges still keep our interest, we can quickly identify our favorite contestant early on and we stick with this show 'til the end every time. Yes, we actually CAN stand the heat...
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90210
If you loved the original like we did, there was no way you could keep yourself from at least checking out the reincarnation of this '90s teen series about rich high school kids in Beverly Hills. Oh what a difference a decade and a half makes. Everyone (even the parents who just moved to town from the Midwest) is disturbingly drop-dead gorgeous, the girls look like they haven't had a good meal since they auditioned for the show, and Kelly and Brenda only remind us of Dylan and Brandon who are blatantly missing-but-mentioned. But hey, some habits die hard, and we're somehow still watching to find out about this generation's carefree days of sex, drugs and mediocre pop music.
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The Real World 21: Brooklyn
Granted, we can no longer apply to be one of the strangers, picked to live in a house, and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real; however, that hasn't stopped us from needing to know anything and everything about each and every "Real World" cast since the show's inception way back in '92. With season 21 (set in Brooklyn) scheduled to debut on January 7, we couldn't be more excited to meet the sexed-up roomies... and we guarantee you that when season 67 premieres, we'll still be glued to the screen.
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The City
It just premiered, but we can't wait to get the next dose of high NYC drama on "The City." This spin-off of another spin-off ("The Hills") follows Whitney Port and her group of new gorgeous gal pals as they navigate the Big Apple's social scene, their budding fashion careers, and a web of current and ex-boyfriends. Whitney has already had to decide between her new boyfriend and his downtown life or the lure of high society in the uptown world with her brand spankin' new Manolos and the pressures from co-worker/frenemy Olivia. What's a sad little rich girl with a swanky New York apartment to do?
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Millionaire Matchmaker
Truth be told, if it's on Bravo, we'll watch it. But, let's be real. Patti Stanger is no Jeff Lewis ("Flipping Out"), Tabatha Coffey ("Tabatha's Salon Takeover"), or Padma Lakshmi ("Top Chef"). In fact, she's probably at the bottom of the bin, just above "Work Out's" Jackie Warner. In any case, we still can't seem to pull ourselves away when the "Millionaire Matchmaker" hostess attempts to transform wealthy scumbags, nerds, and socially-awkward man-boys into Price Charmings who are ready to settle down with Playboy Bunny wannabes. Simply put: It's pure trash, and we can't get enough.
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Ace of Cakes
Just when we were finally getting comfortable with telling people that we sometimes tune into HGTV, the Food Network had to come along and screw everything up with "Ace of Cakes." Now, in addition to watching every home makeover show under the sun, we also have to admit to watching Duff Goldman and his Baltimore, Maryland-based cake-making crew as they spin sugar into the sweetest treats we've ever seen. As a result, on Monday nights you can find us eating chocolate frosting out of a can with a spatula while plopped in front of our TVs as we watch Duff and his gang deliver the deliciousness.
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High School Reunion
What's the only thing worse than actually being in high school? Being an adult 20 years out of high school and still hanging onto old rivalries, crushes, and teen angst. Of course, WE'RE not still stuck in a high school world rut, but we can't get enough of the dozen former classmates who are. And though we're not proud of it, we'll happily watch as this group of pathetic "grown-ups" spends two weeks hooking up, fighting, backstabbing and just generally embarrassing themselves on "High School Reunion."
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Friends
"Friends" garnered 63 Emmy nominations, consistently ranked in the top ten in the primetime ratings, and was by far one of the most popular sitcoms during its run. And by golly, it still is. Every season of "Friends" has been released on DVD and repeat episodes continue to air worldwide. We confess that we're part of that loyal group watchers who'll keep on tuning in to "Friends" in syndication even though we know every line from every episode by heart. We just can't seem to let go of the familiar faces of Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey -- good friends we miss dearly.
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