The Best TV Shows on MTV

Every MTV Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Icons of MTV, MTV Video Music Awards and The Real World made their debut in 1984 and 1992, setting industry standards. From 1984 through to 2018, MTV has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows. Dive into our updated selection of MTV’s finest, featuring more than 20 series as of December 2025.

  • Teen Wolf
    Teen Wolf (2011)8.5

    Scott McCall, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills has his life drastically changed when he's bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. He must henceforth learn to balance his problematic new identity with his day-to-day teenage life. The following characters are instrumental to his struggle: Stiles, his best friend; Allison, his love interest who comes from a family of werewolf hunters; and Derek, a mysterious werewolf with a dark past. Throughout the series, he strives to keep his loved ones safe while maintaining normal relationships with them.

  • Daria
    Daria (1997)8.2

    After moving to a new town with her stressed-out parents and relentlessly popular little sister, Daria uses her acerbic wit and keen powers of observation to contend with the mind-numbingly ridiculous world of Lawndale High.

  • Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out
    Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out (2005)8.1

    Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.

  • MTV Video Music Awards
    MTV Video Music Awards (1984)7.7

    An annual award ceremony presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium.

  • RuPaul's Drag Race
    RuPaul's Drag Race (2009)7.5

    Join RuPaul, the world's most famous drag queen, as the host, mentor and judge for the ultimate in drag queen competitions. The top drag queens in the U.S. will vie for drag stardom as RuPaul, in full glamazon drag, will reign supreme in all judging and eliminations while helping guide the contestants as they prepare for each challenge.

  • Awkward.
    Awkward. (2011)7.4

    An irreverent look at the conflict, chaos and humor that defines teenage life through the eyes of 15-year-old Jenna Hamilton whose life begins to change when a simple accident becomes an epic misunderstanding and is blown way out of proportion. Narration in the first-person voice of Jenna's blog posts captures the humor within the struggles and experiences everyone can relate to from their formative years.

  • The Challenge
    The Challenge (1998)7.2

    Each Challenge pits numerous cast members from past seasons of reality shows against each other, dividing them into two separate teams according to different criteria, such as gender, which show they first appeared on, whether or not they're veterans or rookies on the show, etc. The two teams compete in numerous missions in order to win prizes and advance in the overall game.

  • Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
    Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (2018)7.2

    The cast of Jersey Shore swore they would always do a vacation together. Now, five years, five kids, three marriages, and who knows how many GTL sessions later, the gang is back together and on vacation in a swanky house in Miami Beach.

  • Beavis and Butt-Head
    Beavis and Butt-Head (1993)7.1

    Two dimwitted teenagers discuss TV, heavy-metal music, nachos, and trying to "score with chicks." When the duo aren't sitting on the couch, they try to pick up girls at the local convenience store, slack off at school, or wreak havoc while working at a burger joint.

  • Scream: The TV Series
    Scream: The TV Series (2015)6.9

    What starts as a YouTube video going viral, soon leads to problems for the teenagers of Lakewood and serves as the catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to the town's troubled past. Everyone has secrets. Everyone tells lies. Everyone is fair game.

  • The Shannara Chronicles
    The Shannara Chronicles (2016)6.9

    A young Healer armed with an unpredictable magic guides a runaway Elf in her perilous quest to save the peoples of the Four Lands from an age-old Demon scourge.

  • Road Rules
    Road Rules (1995)6.8

    "Road Rules" documents the lives of five to six strangers as a mysterious voice sends them across various regions of the world, tackling a series of adventures. If they can successfully make it to the end of the adventure, they will receive a handsome reward.

  • Ridiculousness
    Ridiculousness (2011)6.8

    Rob Dyrdek takes the funniest amateur internet videos and builds them into an episode of edgy, funny, and most importantly, timeless television.

  • Catfish: The TV Show
    Catfish: The TV Show (2012)6.7

    Nev and his co-hosts -- from Max to Kamie to celebrity guests -- help people in dubious online relationships track down their baes IRL so they can sort out what's fact and what's fiction.

  • Love & Hip Hop Atlanta
    Love & Hip Hop Atlanta (2012)6.6

    Get to know Atlanta hip-hop stars like Rasheesa Frost, Karlie Redd, Yung Joc, Renni Rucci, Erica Mena and more as they make music, build businesses and juggle their relationships.

  • Teen Mom 2
    Teen Mom 2 (2011)6.2

    Jenelle, Chelsea, Kailyn, and Leah are four young women navigating complicated lives. It's not always easy being a young mom.

  • RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
    RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (2010)6.1

    The access-all-areas pass to the drama that you didn't see on the runway—the backstage bitchiness, the catfights, the struggles, the tears and the secrets. See what happens behind the scenes of RuPaul's Drag Race when the queens let their tucks breathe... and let their emotions flow.

  • Pimp My Ride
    Pimp My Ride (2004)6.0

    Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it, as well as customizing it. The original American version was hosted by rapper Xzibit. Recently, MTV2 has begun airing episodes from Pimp My Ride UK hosted by DJ Tim Westwood, which features cars being customised in the UK, and Pimp My Ride International, featuring cars in central Europe, hosted by hip hop artists Fat Joe and Lil' Jon, as well as the related CMT series Trick My Truck.

  • The Real World
    The Real World (1992)5.6

    Each year, seven strangers in their twenties, from different backgrounds and countries, are chosen to come live together in a major city.

  • Punk'd
    Punk'd (2003)5.1

    What happens when the biggest stars in the world get too high on the Hollywood hog? When their bank accounts start swelling bigger than their heads? Master prankster Ashton Kutcher is there to punk 'em down to earth.