LGBTQ+ Reality Shows That Came Before 'The Real Friends of WeHo'

A lot of shows came before ‘Real Friends of WeHo’!

Gay people on internet are divided on whether they're loving the idea of The Real Friends of WeHo or if they're not really that into watching it. Before this brand-new series from MTV, though, there were several other attempts at Real Housewives-esque lifestyle shows featuring all-LGBTQ+ casts of individuals.

Though one can argue that there's never been a truly successful all-LGBTQ+ lifestyle show on television as of yet, MTV is trying once again by heavily promoting this new series and giving queer people the spotlight. With the premiere of The Real Friends of WeHo right around the corner, it's time to look back at the past TV shows that have ventured into this genre.

The Real Friends of WeHo premieres January 20 on MTV.

The A-List: New York

One of the earliest lifestyle-based reality shows with an all-LGBTQ+ cast to be produced by a cable network was The A-List: New York, which premiered in 2010 on Logo TV. The cast featured LGBTQ+ celebrities like Lance Bass, Mike Ruiz, Reichen Lehmkuhl, Austin Armacost, Derek Lloyd Saathoff, and Ryan Nickulas.

Photo: Logo TV

The Real L Word

Based on the hit series The L Word, Showtime dipped into the reality TV genre with The Real L Word back in 2010. The show, which ran for three seasons, included cast members like Sara Bettencourt, Romi Klinger, Whitney Mixter, Kacy Boccumini, and Cori McGinn-Boccumini, to name a few.

Photo: Showtime

The Bi Life

Following her historic victory on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK, Courtney Act hosted a lifestyle reality series featuring a cast of bisexual people exploring their dating lives while living in Barcelona, Spain. The show, The Bi Life, aired on E! in 2018 but only ran for one season.

Photo: E!

Fire Island

Another reality show from Logo TV featuring a cast of gay men living their best lives was Fire Island, which aired in 2017. The cast of the Fire Island series - not to be confused with Joel Kim Booster's 2022 film of the name same - consisted of Cheyenne Parker, Khasan Brailsford, Jorge Bustillos, Justin Russo, Patrick McDonald, and Brandon Osorio.

Photo: Logo TV

Tampa Baes

Set in Tampa Bay, Florida, Amazon Prime Video's Tampa Baes followed a group of lesbian friends and partners. This series had a rather big cast that included Cuppie Bragg, Marissa Gialousis, Brianna Murphy, Haley Grable, Mack McKenzie, Summer Mitchell, Olivia Mullins, Ali Myers, Shiva Pishdad, Melanie Posner, Nelly Ramirez, and Jordan Whitley.

Photo: Amazon Prime Video

RuPaul’s Drag Race: Vegas Revue

$RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race: Vegas Revue$

In 2020, RuPaul's Drag Race launched a lifestyle-based reality series on VH1 featuring alumni who performed at the RuPaul's Drag Race Live! residency show in Las Vegas. This new show, RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, included a cast consisting of Asia O'Hara, Derrick Barry, Kameron Michaels, Naomi Smalls, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, and Yvie Oddly.

Photo: VH1

X-Rated: NYC

Daddy TV launched a brand-new reality franchise in 2022 with the release of X-Rated: NYC. Not only has the New York City-based franchise already been renewed for more seasons, but a Los Angeles-based show has already been greenlit as well. The cast of X-Rated: NYC season one included adult film actors Boomer Banks, Max Konnor, Joey Mills, and Dante Colle.

Photo: Daddy TV

Transcendent

Fuse's Transcendent aired in 2015 and featured a cast of trans women who worked as performers at a San Francisco nightclub called AsiaSF. The cast consisted of Bambiana, Bionka, L.A., Nya, and Xristina. The series not only showed some Real Housewives-style drama between the cast members but also highlighted the struggles and obstacles facing these trans women.

Photo: Fuse

Men of West Hollywood

Crackle's Men of West Hollywood was one of the most recent shows that had some similarity to MTV's The Real Friends of WeHo series. The Crackle series aired in 2022 and featured a cast consisting of Brennen Taylor, Justin Jedlica, David Barta, Landon Wetterstorm, Murray Swanby, Darren Tieste, and Nick Masc.

Photo: Crackle

LGBTQ+ Reality Shows That Came Before 'The Real Friends of WeHo'