Why 90 Day Fiancé is one of the most pivotal reality shows

Vox

"From when it debuted in 2014 to now, you actively get to see it react to the culture," says Ashley Ray-Harris. "You see it react to ICE and immigration under Trump; that impacts and changes the show. It became so popular — to the point where you get all of these spinoffs (of which there are now nearly a dozen) — because people recognized it as not being a product of the early 2000s Trump/Kardashian reality machine, which is losing steam. When it comes to the reality shows like The Apprentice, the shows that made people like Trump — this idea that you could have someone pick you up and lift you out of poverty and make it as a reality star — I think today we see that reality as false. You can get famous being on Instagram, being on TikTok, being on Twitter, but the idea that you can even go on reality TV to get famous nowadays feels so false. The cast and crew of 90 Day Fiancé — sure, people know them and follow their lives outside of the show. But they wouldn’t call themselves celebrities. We don’t see them as the type of celebrity that you saw created with shows like Laguna Beach...90 Day Fiancé is one of the rare shows that, when called out, has said, 'Okay, yeah.' You shouldn’t call ICE on these people who are coming here for love. We’ll paint the American as the villain, rather than always siding with the American, or always siding with whoever American society might say is the hero for falling in line with the American dream."