15 of the weirdest TV shows that’ll have you wondering why they even exist
By Sundi Rose
14. Toddlers and Tiaras
What it is: A show documenting the lives of the child pageant culture. Each week you meet a new set of families and explore their devotion and commitment to winning some pageant or another. A typical episode includes meeting mothers and their daughters (there’s been boy pageant contestants, but they’re far more rare on this show) and discovering how much time and money they spend on this endeavor. We see them practicing steps and routines, getting spray tans, installing their false teeth, and becoming more tired and cranky than 4-year-olds should be.
The yuck factor: In terms of exploiting its talent, this show is right up there with series like Hoarders. The show features parents giving their children Mountain Dew in their baby bottles, fitting them in wigs when they’re three, and asking them to perform like show ponies for hours and hours at a time.
Toddlers and Tiaras offers new and unsettling insights into what it means to be a stage mom and the lengths these women will go to get their children noticed or to win a crown. They are relentless and unyielding in the demands they put on their behavior and performing, and it makes you want to hug those children and shake their parents. It’s tough.
When and how: This show is super popular, which I guess says something about us as a culture, and has 9 seasons under its belt. You can watch most all of them (except season 1) on TLC’s website.