They're baaaaaack.
This summer the Survivors battle volcanoes, Snooki goes to Miami and Shaq battles a spelling-bee champ. (See accompanying article: "10 New Summer Reality Shows You Must Watch.")
Here's the best of the returning summer reality shows — and what changes you can expect.
1.
"Intervention"
A&E, Mondays at 9 p.m., starting June 28
The reigning Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Reality Program returns for a ninth season, providing a harrowing look at addiction by chronicling the experiences of addicts and the family members who desperately want them to change. A&E already has announced some of the subjects for the upcoming season — including a former top skier battling alcohol abuse, and a mother and son who live together in a pet-filled house.
2.
"The Real World: Back to New Orleans"
MTV, June 30
HBO's "Treme" was praised for giving viewers a thoughtful, realistic glimpse at life in post-Katrina New Orleans. Don't expect anything similar on "TRW's" second foray into the Crescent City. MTV's website for the show promises, "eight new strangers … caught up in the reverie of a Super Bowl victory and the never ending party known as Mardi Gras."
3.
"Man Shops Globe"
Sundance Channel, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., starting June 30
Keith Johnson is a buyer for the high-end chain store Anthropologie. Follow along as he travels the world in search of clothing, accessories and housewares to put on the store's shelves.
4.
"Ghost Hunters International"
Syfy, Wednesdays at 9 p.m., starting July 14
Syfy's "Ghost Hunters" franchise follows paranormal investigators on the trail of hauntings and other supernatural sightings. The international version sends the investigators to the world's most legendarily creepy locations. So far, the second season, which went on hiatus in February, has already featured a Jamaican plantation that was allegedly home to a voodoo witch and an Argentine hotel rumored to be filled with Nazi ghosts.
5.
"Jersey Shore"
MTV, Thursdays at 10 p.m., starting July 29
Watching stereotypical Italian-American "guidos" cavort in a Jersey Shore summer house has become a bonafide cultural phenomenon. Everyone from President Obama to his former election rival, Sen. John McCain, has weighed in on the "Shore" cast's outrageous language, clothing and hard-partying lifestyle. For season two, MTV had the cast spend part of the summer in Miami. There was already at least one violent, drunken incident during filming,so expect the show to return in top form.
6.
"Shaq VS"
ABC, Tuesdays at 9 p.m., starting August 3
In the first season of "Shaq VS," 7-foot-1 Cleveland Cavaliers center O'Neal challenged other pro-athletes at their sports. In the second season he takes on non-athletic contests — including a showdown with bee champ Kavya Shivashankar.
7.
"Dating in the Dark"
ABC, Mondays at 10 p.m., starting August 9
A unique twist on the dating format. The show puts prospective daters together in a dark room to get to know each other before they meet in the light. Seeing the contestant's reactions once their dates are revealed lets viewers know just how shallow (or not) people can actually be.
8.
"BBQ Pitmasters"
TLC, starting in August
Explores the world of competitive barbecuing teams. BBQ chefs are a peculiar bunch with intense rivalries and eccentricities. Expect an intense craving for ribs.
9.
"LA Ink"
TLC, starting in August
Kat Von D was fired from the tattoo parlor show "Miami Ink" due to conflicts with her fellow cast members, but the show's producers liked her so much that they gave her a spinoff. In the finale of the show's third season, she fired her shop manager, providing plenty of potential conflicts for the new episodes.
10.
"Survivor Nicaragua"
CBS, Wednesdays at 8 p.m., starting in September
The granddaddy of the reality genre. For season 21, the survivors head to Nicaragua, a Central-American country that is home to thick jungles and active volcanoes.
