Bachelorette's replacement, Big Brother cast's positive COVID-19 tests, Drew Drechsel's arrest, and Shark Week's big problem
Dear newsletter friends,
Shark Week starts on Discovery Channel this Sunday, the same day National Geographic’s copycat version, Sharkfest (which has been ongoing) will start airing repeats on NatGeo WILD.
If you watch either of them, you may notice something about the scientists featured on screen.
Yep, most of them are white guys. As a white guy, it’s something I wouldn’t have even noticed as a kid, because the scientists looked like me.
But what about a kid who loves sharks but happens to be a Black girl? If she watches Shark Week, she’ll see 14 women out of the 88 featured, and she’ll see just one Black woman scientist!
Shark Week and Sharkfest’s failures to include women and people of color—and there are plenty in shark science—has real-world effects.
By the way, there are plenty of people who could be cast. Just read this thread.
And I hope you’ll read my story about this, which I reported over two weeks and includes insight from two female shark scientists, including the founder of MISS—and also includes my interview with a NatGeo exec.
🦈🦈
Big Brother & Survivor
Before the new season of Big Brother premiered on Wednesday, Julie Chen revealed in a TV interview that some houseguests tested positive for COVID-19. 😱 They were, of course, dropped from the cast.
Then that interview was wiped off of the Internet by the news station that aired it.
Big Brother 22 had a live, two-hour premiere Wednesday, and here is the big surprise: it was quite a pleasant start for a summer season of Big Brother!
If you missed it, the list of all-stars that returned is at the bottom of my recap.
Meanwhile, my summer re-watch of Survivor brought a great episode—with lots of strategizing, plus Jeff Probst encouraging people!—though it also had some gross gossip.
Read my recap of Survivor: Borneo, episode 10.
Bachelorette, ANW, and other news
Here’s more big reality TV news that broke this week:
Clare Crawley was replaced by Tayshia Adams on The Bachelorette
American Ninja Warrior’s Drew Drechsel is facing life in prison after being charged with child sex crimes
It turns out AWN filmed an all-star season with Drew just a few weeks ago, but he will be edited out
NBC’s entertainment president Paul Telegdy is out less than a week after a report about the “toxic culture” he created, “particularly in the reality division, which he ran from 2009 until he was promoted to chairman in 2018,” as THR reported. That included people seeing “Telegdy mock gay executives, sometimes to their faces; use homophobic and misogynistic slurs; and disparage or make sexual comments about the physical appearance of network talent.” Also under investigation but still employed at NBC is Meredith Ahr, who runs NBC’s reality TV, “who sources allege played a key role alongside Telegdy in fostering a toxic culture at the network,” according to THR.
Recommended: Taskmaster
Taskmaster came to the US last weekend, as The CW started airing the UK’s season 8 last Sunday.
Read my Taskmaster review here. Spoiler: it’s great fun!
If you can’t wait a week between episodes, seasons 1 to 7 are on YouTube, free—and even though it’s a UK show, we can watch in the United States, legally. 🎉 A link is in my review.
I hope you enjoy that show, and everything you watch. That’s all I have for you this surprisingly busy week! It’s not a slow August for reality TV, that’s for sure.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 206, first sent 7 August 2020, and it has too many tasks to master.
💻 This newsletter is hand-crafted in Florida by me, Andy Dehnart, and is supported by reality blurred patrons and paid subscribers to this newsletter. Please consider becoming a patron or upgrading your newsletter subscription!
💌 If you like this newsletter, forward it to a friend! If you're that friend, you can subscribe here!
✅ Bookmark realityblurred.com and visit daily for the latest of my reality TV news analysis, reviews, and commentary.
📷 Photo of palm trees in Los Angeles by Caroline Hernandez