“Vulture” named a Wisconsin native – who spun dating show fame into a wildly successful podcasting career – to its inaugural class of Reality TV Masterminds.
That would be Nick Viall, one of the longest-tenured reality stars and aficionados to come out of the state. While he got his start as a Bachelor Nation fixture, nowadays, he co-hosts “The Viall Files,” the podcast he started years ago about reality TV, love and pop culture. He also co-hosts Netflix’s “Age of Attraction,” which was recently renewed for a second season.
In the report, the New York Magazine entertainment site Vulture called reality TV “the last bastion of must-see weekly entertainment,” which is made up of “series that reliably confront taboos and dominate watercooler talk.”
“Viall has made his show essential listening (and viewing) for completionist reality fans,” Vulture said, and pointed out how he booked the “Vanderpump” cast post-Scandoval, Taylor Frankie Paul the same week season one of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” debuted, and all the most-talked-about “Love Island”-ers as soon as they leave Fiji.
Viall – who “Vulture” referred to as “the next Andy Cohen” – was one of the 30 stars, executives, hosts, podcasters and franchises the site recognized in its debut Reality Masterminds class, which was unveiled earlier this week.
Vulture “wanted to understand the forces shaping this golden age of the genre” – and did its homework to do so. According to the report, it asked dozens of industry insiders to help narrow the field. While the focus was on achievements from the past year, people’s trajectories to those points were also taken into account.
“Power in the reality space is about the ability to control a narrative, to take today’s scandal and successes and translate them into the longer-term ability to dictate one’s own fate,” the report said. “The dating-show participant who leaves with a podcast idea instead of a spouse? That’s a mastermind …”
Enter: Nick Viall.
“He is one of those people that understood where pop culture was going,” casting director Jazzy Collins told Vulture. “He went along for the ride and made his own lane.”
The list’s entries about its honorees link to features (some not-yet released), mainly conducted in a Q&A format, fittingly being called “confessional interviews.” Viall’s was heavy on his “Bachelorette” villainhood.
Here’s a look at who Viall is, what he told Vulture about his “villain edit” and where to find who else made the Reality Masterminds list:
Who is Nick Viall?
Viall, a graduate of Waukesha North High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, appeared on Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe’s seasons of “The Bachelorette.” In both, he was sent home as the runner-up during the series finale. He would later be on the ABC spinoff “Bachelor in Paradise” and become “The Bachelor.”
Viall competed on “Dancing with the Stars” and made it all the way through Season 2 of Fox’s “Special Forces.”
When Vulture asked Viall if there are any reality shows he still wants to do, he said “The Traitors,” and that he’d want to bring his wife, Natalie Joy Viall, along.
“I have not been able to make it work with my schedule yet,” he told Vulture. “It would be fun to do a show that’s more of a game and less, you know, having your heart shattered into a million pieces.”
Viall hosts both his podcast and “Age of “Attraction,” with Natalie, who’s expecting twins. The two also have a toddler together, daughter River Rose.
A couple of years ago, Nick bought back his late grandfather’s Wisconsin lake house. About a year ago, Nick shared on Instagram that a new, bigger version of the home, inspired by the original, was being built.
Viall is also the author of the book “Don’t Text Your Ex Happy Birthday: And Other Advice on Love, Sex, and Dating.”
Nick Viall talks ‘Bachelorette’ villainhood with Vulture
“Nick Viall’s authority lies in the villain edit he got on ‘The Bachelorette,’ an experience he used to reorient himself as the leading postgame interview stop in the reality-TV podcast space,” the intro for Vulture’s Q&A with Viall said.
The site characterized that villainhood as viewers complaining Viall was “arrogant and condescending” when he first appeared on “The Bachelorette” – and noted that some Redditors still do.
When asked if there was ever a moment when he felt particularly misunderstood by the audience, Viall told Vulture:
“As the villain on the first season of ‘The Bachelorette’ I was on, you always feel misunderstood. But that’s mostly because you’re only having, like, 10 percent of your personality shown. If they choose to show the unattractive side of your personality, you often feel misunderstood.”
Vulture pointed out that “The Viall Files” gives other reality TV villains a platform to show the other 90% of their personality, to which Viall said:
“It’s a weird thing to go on a show and film as yourself and have these really intimate moments. On shows like ‘Love Is Blind’ or ‘The Bachelor,’ these are often life-changing moments. Then you go back and watch it and you’re seeing five percent of your lived experience. And I think it can be kind of mentally challenging for people. I think every reality TV star feels like they were siloed into a character, even if it’s generally seen as positive. Every reality TV star feels like there’s more to them than the audience gives them credit for. We tend to see reality TV stars only as much as they remind us of ourselves or our friends or our exes, but they’re more than a mirror. It’s good to know that everyone has more of a story than we realize.”
When asked if every good reality TV show needs a villain, Viall said “villains are more important than heroes.” But, noted that if you’re a “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” villain, “you’re probably a decent human being who just got a bad edit.”
“The ones to watch out for are the ones who should be villains that aren’t,” he said.
He also shared what getting a “villain edit” taught him, and an array of other things, including what he spent his first paycheck on; if he has any onscreen regrets; and which reality TV star he’d want to switch places with.
Viall’s full Vulture feature, by reporter Bethy Squires, can be found here.
What Nick Viall posted on Instagram about being named a Vulture Reality TV Mastermind
“Hanging with some legends. Thank you @vulture for the recognition,” Viall posted on Instagram, along with a photo from the site’s shoot.
“hardest working person i know!!!!! so so proud of you,” Natalie commented.
Where to find Vulture’s 2026 Reality TV Masterminds list
Vulture’s “Masterminds of Reality TV” can be found at vulture.com/article/reality-tv-masterminds-2026.html.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: This Wisconsin native named a Reality TV Mastermind by ‘Vulture’
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
