BB27 š ā¢Ā TOC š ā¢ Anne Burrell ā¢Ā Ginger Minj ā¢ Billionaire Boys Club ā¢Ā Ā more!
Dear newsletter friends,
Project Runway returned last night. When I went to set a recording on my DVR, I discovered the channel wasnāt there.
Yep, my cable company does not have Freeform. They dropped it as part of a deal with Disney two years ago.
Clearly I do not watch Freeform often.
When I reached out to Freeform to ask if they had screeners available for critics, they never wrote back.
So: Iāll watch Project Runway on Hulu later today, and review/recap today or tomorrow.
Why am I sharing this woe-is-me story? š Because of how wild it is that this is my job and I knew about its return, and still couldnāt watch live.
Thereās such fierce competition for our time and attention, and getting a show made is more challenge than ever before.
I want good reality TV shows to succeed. Heck, I want mediocre shows to succeed, hence my mocking recaps of Big Brother this season! š
Anyway, here comes Project Runway: a big-name, presumably bigger-than-most budget show with name recognition and goodwill.
And, well, they shuffle it off to a cable network that barely exists and many of us donāt haveāor even know aboutāand donāt bother to reach out to critics who cover reality TV to help them cover it.
This is not the fault of publicists at companies that have had their publicity departments decimated, nor of the producers who make shows.
Entertainment is a business, sure, but itās wild how hostile the people at the top have gotten to the actual entertainment part.
For a great, in-depth read on one example of this, check out Joe Adalianās report about whatās going to happen at ParamountāCBS, Paramount+, MTV, etcānext week when its merger with Skydance is officially complete.
So much of whatās affecting us as viewers, never mind the creators of television, are companies that are prioritizing maximizing profit over all else. Millions in profit isnāt okay; they need more and more and more.
Is it time for a reverse Squid Game? Or reverse Squid Game: The Challenge?!
š„² Reviews
Anne Burrellās final Worst Cooks is a reminder to lighten up and laugh
Drag Race: Itās not Ginger Minjās fault that Drag Raceās format is so busted
bonus: details about Drag Race All Stars season 11āand links to spoilers, if you want āemāare here, too
True crime reviews
Sarah returned to the America Undercover well with the first installment in what became a three-part, multi-decade project, One Year In A Life Of Crime.
To The Last Breath, a 1999 Edgars finalist
š Recaps
Big Brother
Below Deck
šļø Reality TV premieres
Reality shows premiering this week include a behind-the-scenes look at pro wrestling (WWE: Unreal) and people who use genetics to help solve cold cases (Naming the Dead), plus new seasons of The Challenge, Naked and Afraid, Perfect Match, Deadliest Catch, and Life After Lockup.
This weekās specials and docs include the start of The Valley reunion; the latest Trainwreck, about a shitpost that sent people Area 51; and docs about four Team USA Paralympians in Paris, Hurricane Katrina, and recordings of āSon of Samā David Berkowitz
š¬ Comments of the week
On my BB27 episode 10 recap, Hank wrote:
Andy, feels counter intuitive to slag on the show and a lack of drama when Will has spent the week giving up and barely campaigning while his allies save him.
On my Match Game review, Sabrina wrote:
I agree with everyone who thought itās been awful. I canāt elaborate without getting rude. Someone said Martin Short makes it all about him. I agree. He does that alot, even in his commercials with Steve Martin. Admittedly, Iāve never been a fan. Alec Baldwin made fun of stars, contestants & himself. Martin is blatantly condescending & way too full of himself. Itās like watching a comedian die on stage every night.
šļø Reality TV news
Show news:
Tournament of Champions is filming a Christmas special (And you can get tickets!)
American Ninja Warrior has two out trans men competing this season, a first for the NBC show
Why are so many HGTV renovation shows being cancelled? Producers tell Deadline that, besides declining ratings, shows have struggled with delays in receiving materials and rising costs, including from tariffs.
More than three dozen production companies are vying to produce a Monopoly-themed competition for Netflix, which has told them to submit ideas but that "the successful company wonāt secure any back-end rights to the property," Deadline reports.
One producer called this "completely crazy and also seems completely disrespectful of peopleās time and resources." Netflix's unscripted exec Jeff Gaspin said that their Willy Wonka show also had a "bake-off style process and I think itās good for the community that producers and production companies have a chance to show what they have."
People news:
Watch Jinkx Monsoon brilliantly destroy JK Rowlingās transphobia
A Palestinian activist who helped film the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land was killed Monday. Director Basel Adra wrote, āMy dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening. He was standing in front of the community center in his village when a settler fired a bullet that pierced his chest and took his life. This is how Israel erases us ā one life at a time.ā
š¤© I recommend
š This video from Big Brother 10, the funniest thing to ever come from Big Brother
Anne Burrellās final season of Worst Cooks in America, which is, so far, just super-fun
Thatās everything for today. Have a great rest of your week, and happy August!
best,
Andy
š This is issue 429 of reality blurredās weekly newsletter, first sent on 1 August 2025, and it does not believe that itās actually August.