From dating dramas to global game shows, unscripted content has evolved into a major strategic lever for streaming platforms. As of 2024 and 2025, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are investing heavily in reality formats, but their choices reveal very different content priorities. Vitrina’s analysis uncovers how each is shaping its unscripted content slate—and why it matters.

Based on titles released and in production/post:

• Netflix: 60% of unscripted content is documentary; 40% are formats.
• Prime Video: 60% are formats, while 40% are documentary.
  

This divergence reflects differences in format design, content appeal, and platform strategy.

Netflix’s reality format subgenres below are ranked by project count (2024–2025 originals). English-language formats dominate, followed by Korean-origin shows.

Top Subgenres (by projects):

1. Dating & Relationship – Too Hot to Handle, Love Is Blind
2. Game Shows – The Trust, Outlast, Is It Cake?, The Circle
3. Luxury Lifestyle – Selling Sunset, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives
4. Talent/Music – Rhythm + Flow, A-List to Playlist
5. Adventure & Physical – Physical: 100, Rugged Rugby
6. Makeover / Transformation – Queer Eye, Tyler Henry
7. Cooking & Food – Culinary Class Wars, Blue Ribbon Baking Championship
8. Auction & Collectibles – King of Collectibles, The Golden Touch
   

Prime Video’s reality formats are also ranked by project count (2024–2025). Most are in English, with Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and German as key non-English contributors.

Top Subgenres (by projects):

1. Game Shows – Pop Culture Jeopardy!, The GOAT, Celebrity Hunted
2. Luxury Lifestyle – Real Housewives (multi-region), Luxe Listings Toronto
3. Comedy Challenge – LOL: Last One Laughing (multi-territory)
4. Adventure & Physical – Survivor, Gladiators, The Grand Tour
5. Dating & Relationship – FBoy Island, Love Transit, Drag Den
6. Cooking & Food – Jinny’s Kitchen, Killer Cakes, Celebrity Bake Off España
7. Auction & Business Shows – Shark Tank, Dream Deals, 60 Day Hustle
8. Courtroom Reality – Judy Justice, Tribunal Justice, On Patrol: Live
9. Talent/Music – The Voice, POPSTARS

While both Netflix and Prime Video see unscripted as a growth engine, their priorities diverge—and so do the top-performing genres that define each platform’s reality slate.

• For Netflix, dating formats reign supreme, resonating strongly with subscribers looking for emotional engagement, drama, and bingeable experiences. Titles like Love Is Blind and Too Hot to Handle continue to perform exceptionally well across regions, making dating Netflix’s most dominant unscripted genre.
• In contrast, Prime Video does not lead with dating content. Instead, it finds greater traction with Game Shows and Luxury Lifestyle formats—genres that offer personality, pace, and aspirational flair. Shows like The GOAT, Pop Culture Jeopardy!, and The Real Housewives franchises are central to Prime’s reality mix.
• Notably, Comedy Challenges, especially LOL: Last One Laughing across multiple markets, are a key pillar for Prime Video—yet this format category is absent from Netflix’s current unscripted portfolio. This signals Prime’s effort to appeal to mainstream, family-friendly entertainment preferences, especially in Europe and Latin America.
  

Ultimately, both platforms are responding to what works best for their respective audiences:

• Netflix taps into relationship drama and emotional journeys.
• Prime Video builds on interactive, competitive, and personality-driven formats.
  

Expect these directions to deepen further as platforms sharpen their unscripted identities to retain and grow their global subscriber base.