AYTO's rigging, BB23's premiere, Discovery+'s strategy, Carole Baskin & Colton Underwood's Netflix shows, and much more!
Dear newsletter friends,
My one goal for the week was to write about this season of Top Chef, which is so good! You should watch it. But I didn’t get to that yet.
Instead, I ended up taking two deep dives. First, an answer to a question about a frustrating trend:
Why are shows moving back and forth between Discovery+ and cable? If you paid for Discovery+ watch a show that moved there, how do you feel now that the show is back on cable? And why is Discovery doing this?
Second, my tweet about Tiger King combined with my irritation with a Variety story about Bachelor Colton Underwood prompted me to think about what they have in common, and ultimately write this story:
I hope you’ll read it, and, as with everything, welcome your thoughts and discussion about my take.
Finally, now that I finished my Survivor: The Australian Outback rewatch, I’ve gathered my recaps for both seasons one and two in handy lists. Take a stroll through Survivor history with me:
Reality TV news
Are You The One? season 5 cast members say the show was rigged by producers
American Idol finalist Caleb Kennedy is out as a result of a “racist social media post”
And more news!
Legends of the Hidden Temple is filming this summer, having been revived by The CW. It’s also now casting—adults, so we can relive our childhood.
Peacock has ordered spin-offs of Below Deck, Making It, Top Chef, American Ninja Warrior
NBCUniversal’s cable channels—Bravo, E!, Oxygen—announced more than 25 new reality shows, including the return of Showbiz Moms & Dads
This sounds like an April Fool’s Day story but Nigel Lythgoe is actually producing So You Think You Can Fight
⭐️ I recommend
This oral history of Tom Holland’s performance on Lip Sync Battle…
…and his incredible performance, if you haven’t already seen it—or even if you have!
This list of rejected names for Summer House Winter Charm, which is Bravo’s new name for Winter House
This detailed analysis of the teams’ success rate on Legends of the Hidden Temple
This essay about Ellen’s “whiny, tone-deaf disaster” of a farewell tour
That’s everything I have for this week. Please get yourself a COVID-19 shot or two, if you haven’t already, and enjoy whatever reality TV you watch this weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 243, first sent May 14, 2021, and it probably wants to be a Purple Parrot or a Blue Barracuda.
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