Since it started airing in 2013, the American Reality Television Awards has been honoring reality TV shows and stars with a variety of different awards, including awards for the best reality TV villain, the most unique concept for a show, the best feel-good reality TV show, and the best guilty pleasure show.
Of all the awards at the ARTAs, there's one award that stands out above all the rest: the Best Overall Show award. Since the award show began naming winners in 2013, there have been 11 annual ceremonies and this honor has been handed out to a show each year. This award goes to the show that the fans that voted for the categories felt was the best show to air a season in the prior year.
Here are all the winners of the annual ARTAs Best Overall Show category.
1. The Voice (1st Annual)
At the first annual American Reality Television Awards, The Voice took home the award for Best Overall Show. The Voice began airing in 2011 and is a singing competition with a unique twist: the judges pick singers for their teams at blind auditions, meaning that they're picking people based entirely on how well they sing without ever seeing them.
2. Deadliest Catch (2nd Annual)
The long-running Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch took home the award for Best Overall Show. This reality series has been airing since 2005 and to date, over 350 episodes of the dramatic nature-based series have aired. Deadliest Catch follows fisherman who work aboard a crab fishing ship in the Bering Sea in order to catch Alaskan king crabs and snow crabs.
3. Hell's Kitchen (3rd Annual)
Hell's Kitchen is the American version of a British cooking competition series by the same name. This dramatic series, hosted by and starring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, started airing in 2005 and was named Best Overall Show at the 3rd annual ARTAs. The show follows two teams of chefs that work against each other in order to try to win a job as head chef of a restaurant.
4. ITV Entertainment (4th Annual)
When the 4th annual American Reality Television Awards aired, they chose to give Best Overall Show to a network instead of just a single show. ITV Entertainment was named Best Overall Show and given the award for best Production Company. Considering the fact that ITV Entertainment has given us shows like previous winner Hell's Kitchen, Love Island, and Queer Eye, it's easy to look past the fact that they picked a whole production company at the 4th annual ARTAs.
5. America's Got Talent (5th Annual)
Competition shows in which contestants showcase their talents have been a staple of the reality TV world for decades. Shows like American Idol have catapulted normal people like Kelly Clarkson into the limelight, so is it any surprise that America's Got Talent, a competition series in which people can come showcase a wide variety of different talents and skills, won the 5th annual ARTA for Best Overall Show?
6. Pit Bulls & Parolees (6th Annual)
Pit Bulls & Parolees aired on Animal Planet from 2009 through 2022 and would follow Villalobos Rescue Center's founder, Tia Maria Torres, as she would offer jobs to parolees that were working to transition back into life outside of prison while also helping to rescue and find new homes for pit bulls and other "bully breed" dogs. The series was named Best Overall Show at the 6th annual ARTAs.
7. Hell's Kitchen (7th Annual)
For the 7th annual American Reality Television Awards, Hell's Kitchen made its return and was named Best Overall Show for the second time. It won the same award at the 3rd annual ARTAs and proved once again that this show has serious staying power among fans. Considering competition shows and cooking shows are so popular among reality TV fans that want some high stakes drama, this is no surprise.
8. 90 Day Fiance (8th Annual)
90 Day Fiance is a TLC reality TV series that has been airing since 2014 and has spawned a number of spin-off series. The show follows couples who have applied for a K-1 Visa, a special visa that allows the significant others of American citizens to enter the United States under the condition that the pair be legally married within 90 days of entering the country. The show won the 8th annual ARTA for Best Overall Show and with all the drama featured between these couples, it's easy to see why it's so popular.
9. The Bachelor (9th Annual)
Long-running ABC reality competition seriesThe Bachelor was named the Best Overall Show at the 9th annual ARTAs in 2022. The Bachelor has been airing since 2022 and has spawned a number of spin-offs, including The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Golden Bachelor and Bachelorette. Each iteration follows as a group of singles compete to win the heart of the season's Bachelor or Bachelorette with the hopes of getting engaged and married at the end of the season.
10. Rupaul’s Drag Race All Stars (10th and 11th Annual)
Several reality TV shows have had "all stars" seasons after they've aired a few seasons. These typically involve bringing back past contestants or past winners that were fan favorites during the season they appeared in to compete once more. RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is a spin-off of the original RuPaul's Drag Race and has been doing exactly that since it started airing in 2012. The show brings back past queens from RuPaul's Drag Race to compete once again and it won the ARTA for Best Overall Show two years in a row at the 10th and 11th Annual American Reality Television Awards.