--- description: Find out why Toddlers and Tiaras has one of the most influential reality TV seasons of all time. title: Toddlers and Tiaras: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b779dae65d9e934/698a33fb47ca385aa33b9d19/toddlers-and-tiaras-reality-tv.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 04, 2022 # Toddlers and Tiaras Season 5 (2012-2013) by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Season 5 of 'Toddlers and Tiaras' Season 5 of 'Toddlers and Tiaras'JB Lacroix—WireImage/Getty Images Criticized since its 2009 premiere for exploiting young children as they competed in beauty pageants—and for stoking both provocative behavior from them and disturbing behavior from their parents—_Toddlers and Tiaras_ was nonetheless addictive television. Stage moms became the backbone of this TLC series, and the appetite for the drama that comes with kids’ talent competitions only grew with the arrival of more shows like Lifetime’s _Dance Moms_, which launched the careers of actor [Maddie Ziegler](https://time.com/4555336/hillary-clinton-doppelganger/ "undefined") and influencer [JoJo Siwa](https://time.com/5891572/jojo-siwa-inspiration-kids/ "undefined"). But _Toddlers and Tiaras_, credited with influencing the rise of “kidsploitation,” also introduced viewers to Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and her mother, June “Mama June” Shannon, who would become central to the debate surrounding reality TV series starring children. The duo made their _Toddlers and Tiaras_ debut in season 5, and eventually went on to have their own spin-off show, _Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,_ also on TLC, from 2012-2014\. That show underscored the ugly realities of what it takes to win a children’s beauty pageant, and was canceled after news broke that Shannon was romantically involved with a [convicted child molester](https://time.com/3536995/tlc-honey-boo-boo/ "undefined") who had allegedly assaulted one of her children years before (the case involving Shannon’s daughter was dropped, but the man was [convicted in a separate one](https://www.salon.com/2014/10/28/police%5Fsay%5Fthey%5Fcant%5Fstop%5Fchild%5Fmolester%5Ffrom%5Fhanging%5Fout%5Fwith%5Fhoney%5Fboo%5Fboo%5Fkids/ "undefined")). The drama that followed Shannon, Thompson, and their family escalated discomforts when it came to creating—and consuming—entertainment about extremely young kids. _—Annabel Gutterman_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198516/toddlers-and-tiaras/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198516/toddlers-and-tiaras/"},"headline":"Toddlers and Tiaras","datePublished":"2022-08-04T12:37:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:05:38.331Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198516/toddlers-and-tiaras/","keywords":["franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b779dae65d9e934/698a33fb47ca385aa33b9d19/toddlers-and-tiaras-reality-tv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b779dae65d9e934/698a33fb47ca385aa33b9d19/toddlers-and-tiaras-reality-tv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198516/toddlers-and-tiaras/","name":"Toddlers and Tiaras"}}]}] ```