Reality TV’s most jaw-dropping international shows

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WASHINGTON—Fans of American reality television can always tune in to American Idol, The Bachelor and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

But instead of slogging through yet another iteration of The Real Housewives, why not venture out of your reality TV comfort zone? Here are some of the most jaw-dropping reality TV shows from around the world.

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Norway: live knitting

The NRK TV network, which previously brought Norwegians minute-by-minute coverage of a crackling fire, a seven-hour train ride, and an even longer boat ride, aired a live program chronicling the creation of a sweater. It's the latest in a phenomenon called "slow," in which very ordinary events are broadcast in real time. National Knitting Evening was actually more action-packed than its predecessors: over the course of 12 hours, viewers experienced every step of the sweater-making process, from the shearing of the lamb to the knitting of the garment. The show got pretty decent ratings: more than 1.2 million Norwegians tuned in.

Zambia: From hooker to wife

Ready4Marriage, a Zambian reality competition show, ordinarily pits couples against one another for the chance to win a wedding sponsorship and a cash prize, but producers decided to change things up during the third season. They brought on 18 sex workers with the purported aim of readying them for marriage. "A woman who is ready for marriage is a woman who can manage a home," said the show's host, Master Chimbala, in a network interview. The contestants had to sweep floors, clean toilets and iron shirts for the chance to win $9,000 and a wedding sponsorship.

Pakistan: The baby giveaway

During Ramadan, Pakistanis are treated to a religious game show called Amaan Ramazan that rewards audience members for correctly answering questions about the Qur'an. Prizes include kitchen appliances, electronics, motorbikes — and, during the most recent season, babies. The show's host, Aamir Liaquat Hussain, presented two unsuspecting couples with infant girls supplied by an NGO that rescues abandoned babies. One of the newly minted mothers told CNN that while she was "really shocked at first," she was also "extremely happy" to receive the child. The baby episode has been widely criticized as a ratings stunt, but Hussain maintains the giveaway was a charitable act. Though Pakistan has no legal framework for adoption, both sets of parents who received children were reportedly vetted by producers and the NGO responsible for the infants. A follow-up report by the BBC found that both families were happy and the babies cared for.

Britain: Sex with an audience

A new British talk show invites couples to have sex on television in front of a live studio audience. The couples copulate in an opaque, soundproof box and then emerge to discuss the experience with a panel of sexperts. The show, straightforwardly named Sex Box, is part of a Channel 4 campaign that aims to combat a culture of rampant pornography by promoting dialogue about "real sex."

Venezuela: Live-streaming socialism

Every week for 10 years, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hosted and starred in a live talk show called Alo Presidente, in which he frequently sermonized, ranted about America, forcefully communed with common people and made sweeping, off-the-cuff policy decisions affecting millions. Each broadcast began at 11 a.m. on Sunday and ran for up to eight hours. One New York Times reviewer described the program as "like a Daily Show parody" and "the most real reality TV I'd ever seen." The last episode aired Jan. 29, 2012.

China: Making women "perfect"

InBeauty Class, a group of allegedly "ugly ducklings" competes in a series of bizarre challenges that are supposed to transform them into "white swans." "Are you afraid to don low-cut tops?" a promotional post asks. "Scared to wear miniskirts? No problem — let me teach you to how to develop a sinuous physique and charming personality, and you'll become a perfect beauty in the blink of an eye." The series is web-only, as Chinese television doesn't allow such raciness on air. In one video clip, lingerie-clad women are tied to a bed and tickled with feathers by the show's male hosts. What this has to do with cultivating the contestants into "perfect beauties" is anyone's guess.

Australia: Virgins for sale

Virgins Wanted is a six-part series following two young people — one male, one female — as they attempt to auction off their virginity to online bidders. Brazilian Catarina Migliorini, 21, scored the higher bid of $780,000 (from a 53-year-old Japanese millionaire calling himself "Natsu"), while 24-year-old Alex Stephanov earned a comparatively meagre $2,600. Australian authorities in 2012 threatened to file sex-trafficking charges against director Justin Sisely if he conducted the auction within the country, while the Brazilian attorney general's office declared it would investigate Sisely. Migliorini has since claimed that she never had sex with her auction winner. She is also, once again, trying to auction off her virginity.

Virgins Wanted, which takes the viewer from casting to (alleged) consummation, will air in Australia this year, according to Sisely.

Cambodia: Raw reunions

Between 1975 and 1979, a cultural revolution imposed by the Khmer Rouge regime left 2 million Cambodians dead and countless families torn apart. Almost 40 years later, a reality show called It's Not a Dream started reuniting those families in front of TV cameras and a live studio audience. Initially, more than 1,000 people applied to be on the show, most looking for family members they'd lost decades before. Those selected are brought on stage and interviewed by host Moung Ramary, who at some point reveals that the long-lost relative is actually standing backstage. The host goes out of her way to wring tears from every guest that crosses her stage — but the reunions are profoundly raw.

Japan: Spanking the losers

While we can't go into every weird Japanese game show that's ever blown up on YouTube, there are a couple of standouts. For instance, Gaki No Tsukai ya Arahende ("This is No Task For Kids") is somewhere between a reality competition and a comedy show, in which hosts and guests compete in a variety of games, contests and ridiculous bets. Losers are punished severely and creatively: they have been spanked and whipped with a riding crop.

And let's not forget Human Tetris (known in Japan as "Brain Wall"), which became such a sensation on YouTube that it has since been adapted in 45 countries. Contestants must fit their bodies through increasingly ludicrous wall cut-outs. And the wall is moving. And the contestants wear metallic spandex unitards. Enjoy.