The 25 Best Reality TV Stars of 2012

Reality television may not be what's referred to as "quality" viewing, but there's no use in denying it: Shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians are everybody's guilty pleasure. We're confident enough to admit that we've often found ourselves enthralled in some reality series marathon on Bravo or TLC. Also, we know more about all of The Real Housewives than we probably should. It's OK, there's no judging here. Reality television is popular, and it's here to stay.

On top of being a guilty pleasure, however, it's also quite fascinating. Many reality shows follow a group of people who weren't initially famous, and very quickly these regular people are catapulted to fame for no reason other than the fact that they let cameras follow them around on a daily basis. The masses become obsessed, and suddenly you find yourself at dinner parties and bars alike talking about last week's fight on Basketball Wives like it was a poignant scene from a Martin Scorsese film.

When it comes to the faces of these shows, most of them built their celebrity statuses upon their raging tempers, so they're the type of personality you end up loving to hate. But there are a few of them who are actually well-liked for being generally cool people. Or, as we'd like to refer to them, The 25 Best Reality TV Stars of 2012. Let's be real: If the world doesn't end on December 21st, these folks will be the ones that future pop culture enthusiasts look back upon to define our generation.

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Written by Tanya Ghahremani (@tanyaghahremani)

Realistically, Britney Spears has not been a good addition to the judges tables on The X-Factor. Far from it, actually. In fact, we’d go as far to say that she doesn’t know what she’s doing at all, if her mentoring of the unarguably talented Carly Rose Sonenclar is any indication.

That said, we actually wouldn’t change a thing about Britney’s inclusionin the singing competition's latest season, and this is why. Clearly, her facial expressions have been The X-Factor's biggest highlights, ranking over any of the actual performances and contestants. And that’s totally fine—let Simon Cowell handle the actual judging. Britney’s got some more facial expressions to practice in front of the mirror.

Barry Weiss gives no fucks, and this is undoubtedly his best trait. A collector based out of Los Angeles, the Storage Warsstar often bids on lockers in search of one or two items—the rest of the lot he gets rid of, either by selling it or giving it to charity.

In most episodes, Weiss ends up losing money when he bids on lockers that don’t have the items he wants, but while most guys would be pretty bummed, he doesn’t seem to care. You'd think his life motto is #YOLO. Plus, he seems like he’d be an awesome guy to get drunk with, and we like that.

Also, Weiss is a seasoned 64-years-old and still makes jokes like, "$1,500 is a lot to pay for just some head," which is undeniably awesome.

Of all the Real Housewives shows, the Beverly Hills version is undoubtedly the classiest—as classy as reality television can be, anyway. The women still get into screaming matches like the cast members of New Jersey and Orange County, but, unlike on those shows, the Beverly Hills women are still able to hold a certain air of elegance when they do. Or, maybe their faces are all just so botoxed that it’s hard to differentiate between their angry reactions and there passive expressions.

The frontrunner for classiest cast member on Beverly Hills, though? Hands down, it's Lisa Vanderpump. The London-born scene-stealer was successful long before she joined the Bravo program, and in addition to dabbling in acting, writing a column in Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine, and promoting a skincare line called Epione, she currently owns two successful restaurants in the Los Angeles area: Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills, and Sur in West Hollywood.

You've got to respect the ones who’ve got it together. Not to mention, a woman who can come up with phrases like “Maloof hoof” to describe co-star Adrienne Maloof’s shoe line.

At first glance, Gordon Ramsay comes off as a bit of an asshole—but, of course, an asshole who gets shit done, and we can respect that. Look a little deeper, though, and it becomes very apparent that Ramsay isn’t such a bad guy.

Here’s the thing: The dude is a pro at cooking and running restaurants, and he actually does genuinely care about his respective field. He comes off as an meanie on the four shows he has here in the states—Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Hotel Hell, and MasterChef—but take one look at, say, the U.K. version of Kitchen Nightmares, or the British series Gordon Behind Bars) where he taught prison inmates how to cook) and it’s easy to see that Ramsay really loves what he does.

The asshole persona gets ratings, and you’d be mad too if you were going to people’s shitty restaurants to help them get better and they gave you a hard time. Ramsay wants the people he’s helping to succeed. Also, who doesn’t love watching British guys yell at people on TV? Imagine if Simon Cowell and this guy got into it on live television.

Chumlee is often the butt of everyone's jokes on Pawn Stars, which actually makes him quite sympathetic. Yes, he’s not the brightest in the bunch, but that makes him lovable, like a teddy bear that you want to hug and pat on the head.

Pawn store employees should be tough and know how to play hardball in order to cheat the customer out of the most money, but Chum isn’t like that. He, instead, often tries to give them the best deal possible because he’s a great humanitarian and actually cares about them. If Pawn Stars had a heart, it’d be this guy.

Also, he’s clearly got the emotional maturity of a 10-year-old and often gets excited about fun purchases the store makes. How is that not endearing?

It’s no secret that Ice Loves Coco isn’t the crème de la crème of reality TV. But it’s also hard to deny. The title of the show doesn’t lie: Ice-T really does love Nicole "Coco" Austin.

It’s easy to tell when relationships in reality TV are scripted or set up by producers. You can't detect any hint of that when it comes to Ice and his undying adoration for Coco. If you’ve ever seen the rapper-turned-actor on Law and Order: SVU, you’d know that he's really not that great of an actor. So, while Ice Loves Coco can be dull, it’s nice to see something legitimate on reality TV for once.

As you can imagine, the news of their possible marital troubles broke our cold, cold hearts. Work it out, kids!

A few things come to mind when one thinks of Melissa Gorga from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. First is that she’s hot—that’s a given. Secondly, the show would really be nothing without her. Early on RHONJ may have had that epic table-flipping scene courtesy of Teresa Giudice, but, just as the fights in vintage Jersey Shore weren’t enough to save it from going belly-up in recent seasons, The Real Housewives of New Jersey would have disintegrated had it not been for the drama between Melissa and Teresa.

See, the two hate each other because Melissa is married to Teresa’s younger brother, and Teresa once claimed that Melissa used to be a stripper when she was really only a bartender at a gentleman’s club for a week. Between the two of them, there’s the feeling that Melissa is being more genuine than Teresa, so you can’t help but feel a little bad for her. And, of course, hope that they keep hating each other because the fights are the only reason people watch shows like this. This isn’t to say that Melissa is particularly likable—she’s just entertaining, and for that, we commend her.

For the rest of its run on the Discovery Channel, the Deadliest Catch will be shadowed by the tragic death of cast member Captain Phil Harris, he of the crab fishing vessel Cornelia Marie. Harris passed away in 2010, from complications due to a stroke he’d suffered a month earlier. During his time on the series, Harris appeared in episodes alongside his two sons, Jake and Josh, and after his death the two continued to appear on Deadliest Catch aboard the Cornelia Marie. In recent episodes Josh has hopped aboard another vessel, the Time Bandit.

Though he’s got a long way to go in terms of becoming a captain like his father was, Josh's potential is definitely evident so far. But, as being in the world of reality television at a young age can get to a person’s head (his brother, Jake, has already been to rehab battling a drug addiction), you can’t help but root for him.

Only a few episodes of Catfish: The TV Show have aired so far, but we can already see that cameraman Max is poised to outshine host Nev Schulman. If you’re not familiar, the show is based on the 2010 documentary Catfish and tells the stories of people who make romantic connections online only to find out the relationships aren't what they seem. Which begs the question: Can you really trust that people are who they say they are on the web?

Each episode features a new person who met someone online whom they ended up developing feelings for, and follows them as they travel to finally meet them in person. Nev accompanies them with a camera crew, led by Max.

It’s all very fascinating and manages to achieve things that the film did not, but it isn’t really Nev or the subjects of each episode that stands out the most—it’s Max. While Nev is the likeable, understanding host who's sympathetic to everyone’s struggles, Max fills in the much-needed role of the skeptic.

For instance, in the first episode, a girl is explaining her relationship with someone she thinks is a male model she met online, and she touts his intelligence by telling them that he’s in school to be an anesthesiologist—but he’s taking classes online. Nev doesn’t say anything about how this would be impossible to do, but Max sure does, giving her a look that undoubtedly says, “How dumb could you possibly be?”

Harsh, sure, but deserved. No one ever advances in life with rose-colored glasses on, and Max clearly recognizes that. Plus, his occasional looks of disbelief that pepper some episodes are always entertaining.

Jim Jones is one of the most successful rappers in the game, but he’s proven to be apt at reality television as well. Much of the drama from the latest season of Love & Hip-Hop saw the Harlem native at the very center of a huge fight between girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin and his former manager, Yandy Smith.

Chrissy requested Yandy be brought onto the series at the start of season 2, but it wasn’t long before the two started fighting in classic reality television fashion and Jim’s professional relationship with Yandy disintegrated. In short, it was great entertainment.

Here’s the best part, though: Jim actually hates appearing on the series. He only joined the show to support Chrissy, which is a nice gesture, but he ended up being the center of the drama anyway. You’ve got to respect a guy who’s aware that reality television is the lowest form of entertainment yet is honest about his opinions. Major respect over here.

Good reality TV is generally reliant upon a few key things: Outrageous cast member personalities, perpetually flowing booze, and sharp nails. Take any of those tried and true factors out of the equation, and the show will flop. It’s simple, really.

Except in the case of Swamp People. The show’s concept of following a group of Louisiana residents who make a living hunting alligators doesn’t seem like it’d be a great fodder for reality-driven entertainment, especially with shows like The Real Housewives of New Jersey putting out episodes with table flipping and Jersey Shore being, well, Jersey Shore. But, somehow, Swamp People works.

There’s a certain realness to the series and its cast members that's refreshing and endearing in a sea of reality shows that, though entertaining, seem very obviously orchestrated by producers. These people live simply and haven’t let fame get to their heads. They enjoy their lives and their jobs, and that’s it. There’s no cattiness, there’s no drunken fights with people complaining about all the “drama,” and the only real action we see most of the time has to do with alligator hunting.

To every rule there’s an exception, and when it comes to reality television, Swamp People is definitely it.

Les Gold, the top guy on Hardcore Pawn, is a complicated man. On the outside, he’s like pawn shop owners should be: tough and does what he has to in order to ensure that he’s making the most profit so his business remains a success. This can, sometimes, lead to him looking like a bit of an asshole, but hey, that’s the job.

Sometimes, though, Gold can be sympathetic towards customers, and that’s what makes him interesting. For instance, there have been occasions where he’s cut customers deal on items if they’re desperate enough, like the time he bought a box of basically nothing from a guy who needed money for his rent.

Gold may often act unpleasantly, but it’s incidents like that where one thing becomes apparent: Underneath that tough guy exterior, Les Gold has a heart of, well, gold. Fitting for a pawn shop owner, when you think about it.

Basketball Wives is known for its explosive fights and unparalleled drama, but the biggest scandal involving cast member Evelyn Lozada this year happened off-screen. Shortly after she married NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson (who live-tweeted the wedding), cops were called to their home for a domestic abuse complaint. Officers arrested Johnson after Evelyn alleged that he had head-butted her during an argument, and three days later she filed for divorce citing that their marriage had been “irretrievably broken.” The divorce was finalized this past September.

After the incident occurred, Evelyn released a statement via her publicist explaining the situation and expressing her hopes that Johnson received the help he needed. Domestic abuse is no joke, and one has to commend Evelyn for the way she handled the incident.

He may be part Kardashian, but Mason Disick is full rock star. He doesn’t say much, since he’s only three-years-old, but little man manages to steal every Keeping Up with the Kardashians scene he’s in, including those from Kardashians’ the family's respective reality show spin-offs.

There’s no denying it: Even the coldest, deadest heart isn’t immune to a total flash thaw from one look at Mason's adorable, cooler-than-you little face.

Watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians for the actual Kardashians is like putting ketchup on prime ribs: Stop it right now, you’re doing it wrong. The real reason you should be watching the series is that guy right up there.

Though he’s been featured as Kourtney Kardashian’s significant other for the entirety of the series and its numerous spin-offs, somehow Scott Disick manages to retain his likability while exhibiting behavior as preposterous as that of the family he associates himself with, especially during the show's current season. This can only be attributed to the fact that—although he had no problem parading around London this year with a gaudy Henry VIII-esque fur coat and a Chuck Bass-inspired cane while proclaiming that he’s now to be called “Lord Disick"—he recognizes how ridiculous the Kardashians really are, and he vocalizes it, often.

By doing this, Scott, in a way, becomes the embodiment of most viewers, namely the ones who can’t fathom why this is E!’s most popular program yet still can’t stop watching for reasons unknown. Who would have thought Keeping Up with the Kardashians could be so philosophical?

Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are definitely two of the coolest guys on television. They're both smart (which is a rarity in the world of reality TV) and extremely talented in the field of special effects—Hyneman, in fact, was an animatronics technician on the movie Flubber, and if you don’t appreciate that then we can’t be friends anymore. Yet they’re also responsible for the exploration of skepticism on television.

Where would we be without the Mythbusters episode where they proved that MacGyver was a total phony, or the episode in which Savage singed off his eyebrow trying to figure out if the myth that cell phones shouldn’t be used at gas stations was true? We don’t know, but we don’t want to know either.

They’re also directly responsible for a higher volume of explosions on cable television, and for that we can't thank them enough.

Generally speaking, reality stars aren’t known for their talent. Sure, most can throw down on camera and give a good, booze-fueled display of hysterics when it’s called for, but what are they actually famous for? Hint: It’s not for having a good right hook (although that's always impressive). In most cases, they’re simply only famous for being famous.

Refreshingly, however, this doesn’t seem to be the case for The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s NeNe Leakes. She may have first popped onto our radar as the most entertaining and over-the-top cast member of the Bravo franchise's Atlanta incarnation, but it’s not her ability to produce the shrillest screech and the most sassy, hilarious catchphrases that’s got us impressed with her this year. Homegirl’s actually proven to be a perfectly decent actress, from her guest spot on the Glee, and her regular role on the freshman NBC comedy, The New Normal.

We never thought anyone would put RHOA star Kim Zolciak’s efforts to break into the non-reality entertainment biz to shame, but life’s full of little surprises.

It’s easy to see why everyone loves Duck Dynasty—it’s practically Beverly Hillbillies: The Reality Show. The series surrounds a family that became multi-millionaires from the sales of their duck call fabrications, and the finale became A&E’s highest-rated telecast ever when it pulled in 6.5 million viewers last week.

Duck Dynasty has a simple concept, but its success can undoubtedly be attributed to the same reason that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is successful. Here is a family that, despite fame and riches, hasn’t changed one bit. They still love each other, they still accept each other's respective quirks, and they’re content with making a simple, honest living. The Robertson fam may make fools out of themselves on reality TV, but one gets the sense it’s not just an act for the cameras—this is them, and they make no apologies about it.

Furthermore, they’re hilarious, and everyone loves watching other people make fools of themselves on camera.

Tami Roman is a reality television queen. She first popped onto our radars back in 1993 on MTV's The Real World: Los Angeles with that infamous blanket debacle. Basketball Wives, however, is where she’s really been able to shine.

A few episodes have dealt with Tami and her explosive temper, which is awesome to watch, but this year is really where it came to a head. There's no way that the season would've been complete without Tami’s sonning of fellow cast member Kesha Nichols in Tahiti, which ended with Kesha leaving their vacation and Evelyn Lozada shedding tears because she felt so bad for her departing friend.

It was a bad situation and an even worse fight, but that’s just the stuff reality TV dreams are made of.

There’s no doubt about it: Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was the breakout reality show of 2012. Garnering more viewers in one night than a telecast of the Republican National Convention on Fox News, the TLC series has become a major part of modern pop culture in America. Thus, we will go down in history as the generation that made a seven-year-old Toddlers in Tiara alum—who says things like “You better redneckognize!”—and her family filthy rich.

The show's tiny breakout star is, of couse, Alana Thompson, better known to viewers as the titular Honey Boo Boo. Yes, she’s annoying, irritating, aggravating, and every other synonym of those words, but she’s also just a kid who doesn’t know any better. Meaning, her antics and countless catchphrases are entertaining rather than simply godawful. Plus, she's more open-minded about homosexuality than most right-wing politicians in the U.S., and that’s something to applaud.

Mob Wives would be nothing without its drama, there’s no doubt about that. But it's undeniably refreshing to get an occasional break from catfights, yelling matches, and verbal threats so convincing that even we as viewers get a little scared. Thankfully, Big Ang is that break, in the flesh.

Somehow, the gruff-voiced Staten Island native managed to remain in most people’s good graces and stay out of fights in an almost Switzerland-ian fashion, despite being friends with everyone. Did anyone even know that was possible in the world of reality television? It was undoubtedly this quality of hers that earned Big Ang her very own spinoff—Big Ang premiered on VH1 this past summer, and it was must-see (reality) TV.

What would Project Runway be without Tim Gunn? Short answer: Canceled.

Long answer: Tim Gunn is the moral support for the sleep-deprived, stressed out fashion designer contestants who probably have recurring nightmares about host Heidi Klum chasing them around the Fashion District with one of their worst designs while screaming, “Auf Wiedersehen! Auf Wiedersehen!”

Without Gunn's help, someone would have surely killed another contestant for using one of the sowing machines for too long, and murder is where we draw the line when it comes to good reality TV. Plus, his catchphrase “Make it work” has changed the lives of countless individuals all over the world.

There’s a fine line between being sarcastic and being grating, and Anthony Bourdain seems to effortlessly stride across it as if it were a boulevard. Simply put, he’s a badass.

On his Travel Channel series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, he travels around the world to explore local cuisines and take in other cultures. It’s a concept that’s been explored frequently by shows, but Bourdain seems to handle it differently than others have before. Unlike Andrew Zimmern, whose similar series Bizarre Foods also airs on Travel, Bourdain doesn’t demean other cultures by pointing out how different and strange they can be. He’s respectful about it, even with his overall grumpy demeanor. The dude just loves food.

He also totally dissed Rachael Ray, which is something many of us have wanted to do forever. So props for that.

If you’re not a fan of Scott Disick (and if you're not, you should probably re-evaluate your life choices), then the inclusion of Kanye West in a few recent Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes should be enough to sway you. Since he became Kim’s significant other, the hip-hop superstar appeared on her family's TV series so sparingly that his scenes could probably all be compressed into one YouTube video, but it’s always a memorable occasion. How could it be any other way with ‘Ye?

His best scene: Kanye, at one point, gives Kim’s closet a makeover, and basically ends up hating everything. It’s funny because he’s right.

There’s no question that Stevie J has been an asshole playing both Mimi and Joseline this season on Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta. When he does things like wear a shirt that reads “I AM GOD” to a therapy session with the two of them, though, he’s an asshole you can’t help but love. Seriously, that takes iron balls. Shady love triangle or not, he truly made this season of the VH1 show, and for that he should be highly commended.

Plus, he’s talented. A three-time Grammy award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician, Stevie used to be an in-house producer for Diddy’s Bad Boy enterprise, where he worked with some of the biggest names in the game. Currently, he’s part of a band he formed with Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta cohort Benzino called The Magnificent 757s.