Television series
Bringing Up Bates
- Family drama
- Light-hearted
A reality series following the Bates family, a fundamentalist Christian household of 21 people in rural Tennessee navigating faith, courtship rules, and the logistics of raising 19 children. It's earnest docuseries about family bonds and religious conviction, where modest dress codes and chaperoned dating are serious business. For viewers curious about insular communities or unconventional parenting on a massive scale.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy observational family documentaries where the rules of a household are as interesting as the chaos, and you like watching routines unfold across many seasons.
Skip it if you want drama with sharp edges; this is mostly everyday logistics and gentle, unhurried scenes, and its strict household rules may grate if they feel hard to sit with.
What it asks of you: Each episode runs about forty minutes, and the show wants patience: you settle into one household's routines across eleven seasons rather than chasing a single arc.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
19 Kids and Counting2008
The spiritual predecessor that defined the megafamily reality format. If you're drawn to the Bates' world, this is where the template was established—similar faith, similar scale, same magnetic pull of watching organized chaos.
But The show was cancelled amid scandal surrounding the eldest son, and some viewers find the genre's voyeurism into domestic life uncomfortable or exploitative.
Sister Wives2010
Another deeply religious family navigating unconventional relationship structures and strict moral codes. The same tension between faith-based rules and modern desires runs through every season, making it feel like a natural conversation partner.
But It's about polygamy, which is a different enough setup that if the Bates' specific world is what drew you in, this might feel like a left turn.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition2004
Wholesome, family-focused reality TV where the emotional stakes are real but the tone stays uplifting. Big families get special attention, and there's genuine warmth without the surveillance-camera feeling.
But It's a makeover show first, so the formula can feel repetitive, and the emotional beats are engineered rather than discovered.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bringing Up Bates
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Righteous Gemstones2019
Both center families where religious conviction shapes every rule and relationship; this one just asks what happens when the facade cracks under the weight of human contradiction.
A dark comedy about a fundamentalist megachurch family where faith, money, and loyalty collide. It shares the Bates' world—the rigid rules, the public persona, the private dysfunction—but explodes it into tragicomic chaos. Danny McBride's script is sharp enough to find the humanity in zealotry without patronizing it.
But It's comedic and vulgar where Bringing Up Bates is earnest and clean. If you love the Bates because they represent your values, this will feel like mockery.
More like this (6)
Little People, Big World2006
Long-running family docuseries that balances genuine intimacy with the rhythms of everyday life. It's about real relationships, not manufactured drama, and it respects its subjects' complexity.
But It's less focused on religious ideology than Bringing Up Bates, so the thematic overlap is narrower.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)2014
Teen parenthood docuseries grounded in real stakes and real consequences. It shares the Bates' documentary feel and explores how religious families navigate modern realities like early pregnancy.
But The tone is grittier and less cheerful, which works against the wholesome-family vibe if that's specifically what you're after.
Parenthood2010
A family drama centered on interconnected relationships, sacrifice, and love across generations. It has the emotional depth and character complexity that reality TV can only approximate.
But It's a scripted drama about a regular-sized family, so the logistical novelty and megafamily dynamics you came for aren't present.
Fuller House2016
A big-family sitcom about parenting, tradition, and making it work under pressure. It's sentimental without being heavy, and it celebrates family bonds as genuinely as Bringing Up Bates does.
But It's a reboot of a '90s sitcom, so it relies heavily on nostalgia, and the humor is lighter than the real-life tensions you'd see in a docuseries.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey2022
Both examine how religious structures shape family life, courtship, and identity; this one explores what happens when those structures have no built-in exit.
A documentary about FLDS women navigating strict fundamentalist control and the journey toward freedom. It's serious, not sensational, and it treats its subjects with dignity while showing how insular systems can become coercive. Harrowing without being exploitative.
But It's about a genuinely harmful cult, not a loving family, and the documentary doesn't shy from depicting abuse. If you're watching for comfort, this will unsettle you.
The Florida Project2017
Both find grace and connection within systems of constraint; the Bates are bound by faith and choice, while these characters are bound by economics, but the emotional core—families holding together—is the same.
A film about poverty, resilience, and the texture of daily life in a family struggling to stay afloat. Like Bringing Up Bates, it doesn't judge its subjects—it simply watches them love each other through impossible circumstances. Formally brilliant and genuinely moving.
But It's a serious art film about economic hardship, not a cheerful family show. The tone is melancholic, and there are no easy resolutions.
