Reality TV's Worst Players Finally Get What They Deserve on E!'s House of Villains

At a time when past participants of shows like Love Is Blind or the Real Housewives franchise are calling into question some of the worst reality TV behaviors and practices, the genre's "villains" remain the reason to watch for most. Look no further than the sky-high ratings and Emmy nominations for the most recent, Scandoval-fueled season of Vanderpump Rules for proof. 

At least when the new reality competition series House of Villains debuts with a banger 75-minute premiere across E!, Bravo, Syfy, and USA on Oct. 12, the show is dropping any pretense and embracing villainy in all of its ratings-catching glory.

The competition series is hosted by Joel McHale and pits 10 well-known villains from different reality franchises against one another, with a $200,000 prize up for grabs. They live in a mansion together, sleep in tight quarters with snoring roommates, and participate in challenges designed to showcase their evilest schemes and plots.

And that's where the show gets interesting. There's a solid mix of lifestyle and competition players many love to hate, and watching them interact is fascinating. Those who have played these types of games before come out fast and strong with the backstabbing and alliances, while those who are used to a slower reality TV pace are left blindsided. 

Some of the newer faces include Anfisa Arkhipchenko from 90 Day Fiancé, Bachelor Nation's Corinne Olympios, and Shake Chatterjee from Love Is Blind. But there are also classic reality villains, including Johnny Bananas (The Challenge), Jonny Fairplay (Survivor), and Omarosa (The Apprentice). Tiffany "New York" Pollard (Flavor of Love), Jax Taylor (Vanderpump Rules), Tanisha Thomas (The Bad Girls Club), and Bobby Lytes (Love & Hip Hop: Miami) round out the cast. 

It's all designed to see who can be the worst, basically, something reality television has always rewarded. Entertaining villains keep things interesting by lying about dead grandmothers or deciding not to split a huge cash prize with their co-winner, but their actions are so extremely against society's moral codes that they make us feel better about our own small indiscretions. 

This time around the reward is more than ratings, and there's actual cash on the line. Still, 200 grand feels like a token amount — an excuse for these personalities to extend their 15 minutes of fame and grow their social media followings.   

"Who knew that being a villain would pay off?" Taylor postures to the cameras at one point in the first episode. Later, he brags to Chatterjee about his wife Brittany Cartwright's $2 million deal as a Jenny Craig spokesperson. 

In real life, these are the types of people we would never want to be surrounded by. And sure, there is a strong case to be made for why we should stop rewarding this type of behavior on television as the links between certain shows and mental health problems, substance abuse, and other issues grow.  

House of Villains, however, moves away from anything serious and instead embraces outlandish tropes. There's an elimination room with an evil plotting chair, a hot tub where contestants can relax following a hard day of scheming, and special guest appearances from other "misunderstood" villains out there in the world. These people have made a living out of being terrible, so why not embrace it? 

It all leads to a campy show with uneven pacing and an odd elimination schedule, at least judging by the first two episodes made available to press. But more than that, it's rewarding for viewers. For years we've watched some of our favorite players and personalities get hurt by the people in this house. So to see them be sabotaged or undermined is a taste of their own medicine. 

That makes it hard to pick who to root for. Do you want the worst person to win a cash reward? Or do you want them to see what it feels like to be gutted on national television? As the episodes progress that answer changes. Redemption arcs are offered and the different layers of villainous behavior are revealed. Do alliances really matter, for example? Or do some villains actually stand by their word?

And when it comes to the game, what is fair play and what crosses that invisible line? While some of these contestants have done terrible things in front of the camera, such as cheat on their partners or reveal that looks matter more than personality, the idea of being eliminated for their behavior is baffling. Not all competitors come into this game with the cutthroat mindset of doing whatever it takes to win. 

Brilliantly, the challenges and eliminations are further designed to test those moral compasses and push these contestants to reveal their hands earlier than expected. Those twists lead to complete chaos early on and if you respect the game-changing plays some of these personalities have brought to your favorite shows in the past, you'll certainly love seeing how their minds work here. 

Is this ground-breaking television? Of course not. But it is surprising that in the past two decades of reality TV competition series it has taken this long for the worst of the worst to come together like this. It's proof that in today's culture, heroism will only get you so far. It's way more fun to see what the villains will do next, especially when it comes with the promise that they'll (eventually) get what's coming to them. 

House of Villains premieres Thursday, Oct. 12 at 10/9c on E!, Bravo, Syfy, and USA.