Amazing Race's missing episode and a Jeopardy GOATs show
Dear newsletter friends,
As votes are counted in the presidential election and we wait for results, I’ve been thinking about how previous elections have trained us to expect instant answers—and so has competition reality TV.
But then I also realized that Survivor contestants whose season films in the summer and airs in the spring have to wait 10 or 11 months for Jeff Probst to tally their votes and declare a winner. And the maximum number of jury votes he’s ever had to count is 16!
So by that standard, this presidential election’s vote-counting is moving quite swiftly. (For a deep-cut Survivor election reference, see this tweet by Survivor Tocantins runner-up Stephen Fishbach, who lost the game 0 to 7.)
That said, I don’t want to minimize the stress and anxiety that this waiting creates. That’s one reason I’ve been turning to comfort food this week, both in entertainment and actual food.
In that spirit, I have four podcast recommendations.
Two are pop culture trivia game shows, in podcast form; two have people reading to you (novels and short stories); two have famous hosts (American Ninja Warrior’s Matt Iseman and Reading Rainbow’s LeVar Burton).
Also this week, I reviewed Starz’s NXIVM documentary series, Seduced, which I almost gave up on but am glad I did not.
My review compares it to The Vow, mostly to point out how they’re two completely different things.
An Amazing preemption
The Amazing Race 32 ended its fourth episode on a weird note, and there was a reason for that, as I explored at the top of my recap.
Also I am still very proud of myself for its alliterative headline!
Speaking of scheduling changes, American Ninja Warrior’s two-hour finale was moved to tonight at 8 p.m. ET. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it got bumped again, depending upon what happens in vote-counting today.
And while we’re talking schedules, here’s what’s premiering this week, from Below Deck to Christmas baking shows (already!).
GOAT Chase and other news
In reality TV news:
HGTV is reviving the show that gave us David Bromstad. Will Food Network Star be next to return?
The three stars of Jeopardy’s Greatest of All Time tournament are going to star in a new version of the game show The Chase.
Coming soon, and now free
Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible—a fun business makeover show that aired eight seasons—is now free with Amazon Prime Video.
I learned of that from its star, Anthony Melchiorri, when he tweeted about it this week.
It made me nostalgic for Travel Channel shows that weren’t about ghost hunting or the paranormal, so I’ve started to pull together a list of travel-related Travel Channel shows that are free to watch or stream. I hope to publish that later today or this weekend.
Before I go get to work on that, a programming note: This newsletter is taking next Friday off, as I am taking a few days away from my laptop next week. I don’t think there’s been a day that I haven’t done work of some kind in eight months, so I’m ready for a break!
I hope you enjoy your weekend and all of the reality TV you watch.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 219, first sent 6 November 2020, and it’s never been great with waiting or uncertainty.
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📷 Photo of a road in Saxony, Germany, by Maksym Kaharlytskyi