Guilty pleasure TV shows for moms. Hold the guilt.

While we love bringing you what's new and cool and educational in media, we thought it would be fun to share with you our own staffer's favorite guilty pleasure TV shows. Admit it--or only to yourself-- we all have those shows we love to watch when the kids are asleep and we're not uh, listening to NPR or committing Cervantes to memory.

Some of the picks here actually threw us for a loop! We always knew we had a mad vampire fan among our ranks, but who knew we had a daytime soap opera addict too?


Liz : God help me, I need a Real Housewives 12-step program. I'm hard pressed to choose a favorite between Beverly Hills, New York, and New Jersey, all of which I find endlessly fascinating and sadly cathartic. (Come on - you love it when the mean girl finally gets hers.) I just know that if Kyle Richards and I ever met, we'd be BFF forever and ever. And we'll have lunch with Andy Cohen once a week at The Ivy.

[see more guilty pleasure TV picks after the jump. You can make fun of us later!]

 

Honorable Mention: Speaking of rehab, I can't help but be captivated by the heart-wrenching stories on Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew. I feel personally invested in the recovery of all those people now, and I sure am rooting for them.

Kristen: A woman addicted to eating toilet paper. Another who sleeps with her blow dryer. Just two reasons why I'm now addicted to TLC's new show My Strange Addiction. Plus it makes me feel better that I check the lights way too many times before I go to bed.

Honorable Mention: Toddlers & Tiaras. What isn't there to love about stage moms and little girls running around in $2500 dresses and full faces of make up? I just have to make sure my daughter never sees it.




Delilah: Now that True Blood has hit the big time, I'm proud to be a long-time Charlaine Harris fan. I'm strictly Team Eric, in case you're wondering, even in the episode where he was dolled up in a navy velvet tracksuit while Pam highlighted his sexy vampire hair. Start with a telepathic barmaid, then add in werewolves, werepanthers, fairies, maenads, and voodoo, and you've got a recipe for a bloody good time.

Honorable Mention:  Frisky Dingo on Adult Swim, because I laugh like a twelve-year old boy when vulgar billionaire playboy/sociopath Xander Crews and battles cartoon monster and presidential hopeful, Killface.


Mir: My shame is twofold; I don't just watch Bridezillas, I make my husband watch it with me. But hear me out: The very best way to strengthen a relationship and conclude that whatever petty differences exist, you are still way more sane than most of the rest of the population is to watch crazy women flipping out about their "special day" while beating down the men who they supposedly love. I'm telling you, we conclude every guffaw-filled viewing with my husband telling me how awesome and laid-back I am. (If you know me, you know why that's priceless.)

Honorable Mention: Goes to Monsters Inside Me. There was actually an episode called "Maggots in my Head." Yes.


Betsy: To be fair, I got hooked on The Young & The Restless my senior year of High School when I had Mono, but have been a loyal viewer ever since. I have stuck with it through dozens of evil twin story lines, endless miraculous coma recoveries, and the never-ending saga of Victor and Nikki. My favorite thing is when I can sneak away and "watch my stories."

Honorable Mention: I can't decide whether Sister Wives is completely horrifying, or if having some extra hands around the house would be pretty awesome.

Julie: I'm already compulsively tidy, but watching Hoarders has reassured me that at least my family will never be buried under a mountain of dead plants, empty ice cream cartons, and thirteen years' worth of National Geographic issues. (You may scoff, but those babies are weighty.) Though if my kids' rooms get to be unreasonably messy, I might start using the show as a scare tactic.

Honorable Mention: A few of my very best friends (ahem, Liz and Kristen) introduced me to Jersey Shore last February, and as sick as I am of Sam and Ronnie--Who isn't? GAH--I still love that trainwreck of a show.

So, spill it mamas! What are your favorite guilty pleasure TV shows?

[all photos property of their respective networks]

Thanks to XFINITY from Comcast, which helps you watch all your favorite shows from anywhere, and whose sponsorship allowed us to shame ourselves here. The views expressed here are solely that of the Cool Mom Picks team and do not necessarily represent the views of Comcast or its partners. But we bet they like Real Houswives too.

And if you want to join us, you can catch free clips and full episodes of shows like My Strange Addiction, Millionaire Matchmaker, and True Blood on Fancast from Xfinity.