These days, I frequently find myself watching a reality show and asking, “How do people like this even exist?”. It seems like television just continues to get weirder and weirder. Although this can be applied to all genres of shows, I would say the vast majority of strange shows fall under the “reality” category. They also mostly happen to be on TLC.

I recently came across a preview for a new TLC special called Extreme Cougar Wives that portrays women dating men more than 40 years younger. I mean, I get the whole “age is just a number” thing, but the people in this preview came across as really creepy. This is got me thinking about TLC in general. If you have an extreme abnormality, a crazy obsession, or a weird fetish, TLC probably has a show about it. I have no idea why The Learning Channel has gone this direction, but audiences (including myself) continue to be oddly fascinated by the weirdness. Here are five of TLC’s weirdest shows:

1. My Strange Addiction


This documentary-style show features people and their strange addictions. Past addictions on the show include people eating everything from detergent to glass, a man who is in love with dolls, and a man who is in a relationship with his car. This is by far one of the weirdest shows I’ve ever seen. YouTube it and watch for yourself if you want to see what I mean.

2. Breaking Amish


This show follows five young Amish people as they leave their communities and families and head out into the “real world” in New York City. They ultimately decide if they want to stay or move back to their old life. While this is actually sounds like a really interesting idea, the finished product just seemed staged, fake, uncomfortable, and strange.

3. Long Island Medium


This show follows Theresa Caputo, a woman who claims that she can communicate with dead people. She literally walks up to people at the grocery store and tells them that she can talk to their dead relatives. In my opinion, this woman is the definition of crazy.

4. My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding


This show follows American Romani people and their super elaborate weddings. The girls get married extremely young, wear the biggest wedding dresses I’ve ever seen, and then are expected to do nothing but cook and clean for their husbands.

5. Extreme Couponing

Don’t get me wrong, I think coupons are great. As a broke college student, I’m all for saving money. However, these people take it to the extreme and dedicate a majority of their time to clipping coupons. What they are able to accomplish is truly astounding, but who really needs 100 bottles of mustard? Many of the people on this show seem to miss the point that you’re not actually saving money if you’re never going to use the items you buy.

What are the weirdest shows you’ve seen on TLC? Tell me in the comments below!

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