It's no pop culture secret that Marvel and Disney reign supreme in the shared universe game: Nearly two dozen interconnecting blockbuster movies, successful TV shows across multiple streaming services, a watchable Thor film, the list goes on. DC, Universal, and Sony have all crashed their ships upon the rocks while attempting to achieve what the MCU has and it seems like no company will ever measure up to Kevin Feige's monument to rampant costumes and capitalism.

But there is...one franchise that might come close.

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Those of you that value your time and have no patience for reality TV bullshit may have never stumbled across 90 Day Fiance, but its popularity has exploded over the past few years, with each episode averaging 13 million viewers. The basic premise of the original show (which debuted in 2014) is that an American has become engaged to someone that lives overseas. They have applied for a K-1 visa, which means they have 90 days to come to the United States and marry their fiance (There's a reason the show's not called 120 Day Fiance). However, if they fail to do so, they have to return to their home country.

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I know! It DOES sound super fucking gross when you actually write it out. And I also know, It DOES sound like it's taking bizarre advantage of a political climate where families getting ripped apart due to unfair deportation is one of the biggest issues around. But somehow I've watched all of it, every single second of fuckboys acting weird when their foreign brides don't immediately become accustomed to their wack-ass beliefs, and people being told by their families "Hey, maybe don't jump into this relationship so suddenly and/or on television."

It's the fascination with the "Russian mail order bride" phenomenon mixed with some shifty politics and topped off with The Bachelor-esque shenanigans. And that's only the beginning. By the way, this first show has had seven seasons so far, so keep that in mind while I dump the rest of this on you.

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Next up is 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, with the question mark being there because no one's ever happy after.

It shows us what happened to the particularly charismatic couples that got married, or the ones that shout the most (of course, in reality TV, the line between those two categories is pretty blurry.) It debuted in 2016 and has lasted for four seasons. This is likely the most depressing one because there's a very specific bummer that comes from mundane, seething household drama. It the specific kind of relationship depression that comes from two people who just can't stand one another, but have both their names on a mortgage.