Celebrity Families You Forgot Had Reality Shows

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Many have tried, but few celebrity families have truly found reality television fame. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's clan reached new echelons of fame when "The Osbournes" debuted on MTV in 2002. When heavy metal music icon Ozzy couldn't figure out how to program his remote control, a reality TV icon was born. The charm of the series came from the subverting audience expectations about the nature of their celebrity subjects. The voyeuristic pleasures of Sharon's petty feuding with their annoying neighbors laid the groundwork for the burgeoning TV genre and catapulted the Osbournes into a new echelon of fame from which they benefited for years.

With "The Osbournes" astounding success, it's no surprise that other celebrity families have tried their hand at playing the reality TV game. However, for every "Osbournes" there are plenty of "Hasselhoffs" that have been lost to time. Remember when MC Hammer put his family in front of the cameras? Or do you recall Denise Richards' foray into reality TV before she became a Real Housewife? Let's hop into the TV wayback machine and remember some celebrity families you forgot had reality shows, because watching other people's family drama can be cathartic, soothing, or just a reminder that everyone's family can sometimes be messy.

Nick and Aaron Carter's failed reality show you probably forgot about, "House of Carters," was an intense family drama more akin to "Intervention" than to "The Osbournes." In 2006, Nick Carter wanted a "normal" living arrangement for himself and his siblings, including his sisters Leslie, Angel, and B.J. Carter. Mired by negative tabloid gossip and the pain of their parents' divorce, Nick hoped the show would set the record straight about his family. He told the Orlando Sentinel, "There's so much that I could say — we could say to you — so many things that we've gone through, and the only way we can explain it is through a television show."

Nick Carter also wanted to keep things real on "House of Carters," however, the sibling drama quickly escalated from camera-ready relatable squabbles to disconcertingly raw confrontations. Nick and Aaron got into a physical altercation on the show, a flight so epic that Aaron revisited the brawl on Twitter in 2019. Seemingly too much reality for E!, "House of Carter" only ran for one season. In the wake of the show's cancellation, Nick moved to Tennessee to try to practice self-care. Sadly, Leslie died in 2012; the brothers reportedly were on better terms with each other before Aaron's death in 2022.

"Meet the Barkers," starring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and former-Miss USA and actor Shanna Moakler was MTV's attempt at continuing the massive success of "The Osbournes." The show filled a scheduling void on MTV after their juggernaut series "The Osbournes" and "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" left the airwaves in 2005, and Travis, Moakler, and their children Landon Barker and Atiana De La Hoya were up to the task and nothing was off-limits for the new family. Travis told the New York Post of their lack of boundaries, "the camera crews had access to probably too much. It shows everything from us basically [having sex] at the Playboy Mansion, to our son's first steps."

It seems that too much reality TV, and not enough actual life, was not a good thing for the family. Travis didn't want to participate in manufactured drama for the cameras. Travis and Moakler's love was as short-lived as their show, which aired its second and last season in early 2006. In August that same year, Barker filed for divorce after less than two years of marriage. Both Moakler and Travis both cite the show as the source of their relationship's demise. In an excerpt from Travis' memoir "Can I Say" published by Radar Online, Moakler claimed Travis didn't want to be perceived as a reality star, while Travis wrote that Moakler wasn't being genuine on camera.

Before Denise Richards starred on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," she got her reality TV start on the E! show "Denise Richards: It's Complicated." On the series, cameras followed Richards' life as a single mom trying to do it all with the help of her father, Irv. "It's Complicated" was an image rehab of sorts for Richards. She made the show in hopes of countering tabloid narratives about herself, many of which were shaped by her very public and rather messy divorce from actor Charlie Sheen.

But even getting the green light to move forward with the show became media fodder. A judge had to approve of their kids appearing on "It's Complicated." Sources told "Extra" that Charlie thought his children appearing on the show was "exploitative of the children for the mother's own vanity and greed." Richards got her wish, and daughters Sami and Lola Sheen appeared on the show. Although "It's Complicated" seemed primed for reality TV success, tepid reviews and rumors of an early cancellation loomed over the series. The show only lasted for two seasons.

Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood in a reality TV series? Yes, this happened in 2012 when "Mrs. Eastwood & Company" aired on the E! channel. In 2009, Clint's wife Dina Eastwood began managing a South African boy band called Overtone. The band was asked to record a song for Clint's film "Invictus," and Dina became smitten with the group. She became their manager and thus, a reality TV show was born. However, the show morphed into a show that featured Dina and Clint's daughter Morgan Eastwood and Dina's step-daughter Francesca Eastwood, Clint's daughter with actor Francis Fisher. Dina told Variety, "People might be surprised by how we live our lives and our unconventional approach. I also believe that it's hard not to fall in love with my band, Overtone."

On "Mrs. Eastwood & Company," Dina juggled managing Overtone with parenting her teenage daughters and the show was not without controversy. In one episode, Francesca destroys a Birkin bag during a photoshoot with her artist boyfriend Tyler Shields. She received death threats for her actions, but Shields took responsibility for the stunt. And as for Clint, he appears in the show twice, but he pushed back when Dina wanted him to do more scenes. Although Dina was ready for multiple seasons of "Company," only had one. It didn't help that Dina didn't want to keep Clint's company, either. Dina filed for a separation from Clint in 2013. Their divorce was finalized the following year.

Yet another attempt to capitalize on the success of "The Osbournes," "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" framed KISS frontman Gene Simmons as the bossy patriarch and businessman. Co-starring his partner Shannon Tweed and their children Nick and Sophie Simmons, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" puts rock star Gene in domestic situations for laughs. For example, protective dad Gene looks after his teenage daughter Sophie as she hangs out with boys, while he goes to adult entertainment expos. He might be an exacting businessman, but there's nothing like the scorn of a cool teen to knock even a wealthy sexed-up rock star down a peg.

The "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" show premiered to strong ratings in 2006. While the show had plenty of contrived scenarios, Gene and Shannon worked through their legitimate relationship issues in front of the cameras, but things worked out for the best for the pair. Three million people tuned in to watch Gene propose to Shannon on "Family Jewels" and they got married in 2011. A hit for A+E, "Family Jewels" ended after seven seasons in 2012. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the Simmons family said of ending their show, "​​With Kiss on tour and with my other business commitments, we have decided to draw the final curtain on our show. It has been a wonderful, life-altering experience for our family, and after seven successful seasons, we feel it's time to move on."

Living pop culture meme David Hasselhoff got into the reality TV game in 2010 with "The Hasselhoffs." David wasn't shy about the show's intentions: It was meant as a vehicle to launch his daughters Hailey and Taylor-Ann Hasselhoff's careers. As an added bonus, David wanted to use the show to set the record straight on his own life. He told Yahoo! Entertainment, "I also thought it was a way for me to tell the world who I am without having to sit on a panel and answer questions on a talk show, or react to some magazine that's printing absolute lies about me that hurt my daughters."

Hailey and Taylor-Ann had already done a reality show in the U.K. called "Meet The Hasselhoffs" but wanted to give U.S. viewers a chance to get to know the family. Despite their tender intentions, "The Hasselhoffs" was pulled from A&E's schedule after airing only two episodes. Although "The Hasselhoffs" was a TV bust, the Hasselhoff daughters maneuvered their careers just fine without it. Taylor-Ann became a cast member of "The Rich Kids of Beverly Hills" and "Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules" Hailey has made headlines for being Playboy's first curve cover model and works as a runway model.

"The Jacksons: Next Generation" chronicled the comeback efforts of Tito Jackson's sons and their band 3T. The elder Jackson brothers had already dipped their toes into the reality TV waters with "The Jacksons: A family dynasty" in 2009 and in "Next Generation," it was the younger generation's turn, specifically Tito Jackson's sons. Decades after the release of their multi-platinum album "Brotherhood," brothers TJ, Taj, and Tyrell contemplate how they'll make a comeback. Taj told ET, "First it was really hard because we are so private. There's certain things that you see and then we're like, 'No, you can't show that!' But then that's what keeps it real."

Certainly, "Next Generation" proved that the extended Jackson family had to keep things real, feeling the pressures of everyday troubles like paying the bills despite their powerful family name. Even with star power appearances by Micheal Jackson's son, Prince Jackson, the show only had one season on Lifetime. 3T eventually dropped new music, releasing their album "Chapter III" in 2016 and, according to their Instagram, in recent years they've been gigging at nostalgia concert events in Europe.