Iowa’s Favorite Reality TV Shows are Surprisingly Bizarre

Reality TV is one of Americans' guiltiest pleasures. Even someone like me, who doesn't watch much of it, can't get enough of the show Bar Rescue. We all have our vices, and Iowans are no exception. A new study form CasinoAlpha looked at the most popular reality shows across all 50 states.

I was expecting American Pickers to run away with the #1 spot for our state. The show has been wildly popular despite the recent absence of co-host Frank Fritz, and of course the main shop for the show is headquartered in Le Claire, IA. It made too much sense. Shockingly, however, American Pickers didn't crack the top three for the state of Iowa.

The Study's Methodology:

CasinoAlpha used Google search volumes in order to curate the results for this study/all 50 states:

The study, carried out by experts at CasinoAlpha, analyzed the average monthly Google search volume for all reality TV shows in each state, using terms such as "[tv show] tv series" and "watch [tv show]". The search volumes were combined to discover each state's average monthly search volume. - per CasinoAlpha

Iowans Have Eclectic Taste in Reality TV:

The most popular reality TV show in Iowa is also the most popular show country-wide. It's Bravo's Vanderpump Rules, which originated as a spinoff of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills all the way back in 2013. The show is now in its 11th season and averages over 5,100 monthly searches across the state of Iowa:

The show follows original Real Housewives cast member Lisa Vanderpump and the staff at her various restaurants across Western California. The show has been so successful that it now has two spin-offs: Vanderpump Rules After Show and Vanderpump Rules: Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky. - plot synopsis per CasinoAlpha

I never watched a single minute of the show, but I remember my mom watching it from time-to-time several years ago.

Jokes and Pickers Trail Vanderpump in Iowa's Top Five:

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Impractical Jokers comes in a distant second to Vanderpump Rules on CasinoAlpha's list. The show stars four friends and former high school classmates who challenge each other to a series of dares to determine which "joker" wins each competition. A new season of the show is set to air later this year. Impractical Jokers averages a little over 2,600 searches a month in the state of Iowa.

Furthermore, American Pickers did end up cracking the top five with just over 2,000 monthly searches in the state of Iowa. It's hard to believe the show has been on TV since 2010. Now, it's in its 24th season as Mike Wolfe continues to travel around the United States in search of antique treasures to sell and/or keep for his own personal collection.

Another Bravo Show Rounds Out the Top Five:

The Bravo series Below Deck rounds out Iowa's top five favorite reality shows with 1,676 searches per month. Revolving around the lives of crewmembers aboard a superyacht during charter season, the series has spawned numerous spinoffs, including Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Down Under.

A spokesperson from CasinoAlpha commented on the findings too:

Reality TV is now served to us in various formats, covering almost every topic imaginable, so it's interesting to see such a diverse range of shows ranking at the top of the list. However, the results certainly reflect that audiences still have an appetite for more 'traditional' reality shows with many still ranking highly, despite no longer being on the air in some cases. - per CasinoAlpha

View the full results of this survey on CasinoAlpha's website.