Big Brother's b.s., Top Chef winner's firing, The Mole's tests, reality blurred's birthday 🎉, and more!
Dear newsletter friends,
Greetings from central Florida, where it’s been (thankfully just) rainy and wet from tropical storm Elsa—and from, well, rain.
While the storm made its way through, reality blurred turned 21! 🎉 🥳
Whether you know about it from this newsletter or have been visiting since the summer of 2000, thank you! Do you remember the first time you found reality blurred or what brought you here? Share it with us:
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By the way, if you’d like a brief history of the site’s first two decades, watch the video here! Okay, on to the news and reviews from the week.
Big Brother
Julie Chen Moonves claimed Big Brother "never shied away from addressing any racial issue," so I did a little fact-checking. A quick summary of my response: 🙄😡
Journalist Derrick Lang reminded me that it was 14 years ago that he first interviewed me about Big Brother’s tendency to edit out awful behavior and thus make the perpetrators look great on TV.
Big Brother has increased its prize money, and I looked at the other shows that have done that—and those which have not.
The Mole
I’m continuing my rewatch of The Mole season one, which continues to be so great!
The Mole had reality TV’s first family visit, and did it right. Survivor, please take notes!
Players guard a fortress and find books in a library, and both make thrilling TV
Kathryn faints during a test of the final four players’ trust
Next week: the final two episodes, including the reunion/reveal episode. And then I’ll start the season-two rewatch on July 19. I’m super-excited about that because season two has not been available for years.
News
Top Chef Portland’s winner admitted to ‘discriminatory’ actions after having a relationship with an employee
🦈 Shark Week and Sharkfest both start this week.
I used to love Shark Week, and then they did this, and then this. And then last year, they did this (as did Sharkfest). Discovery just doesn’t seem to care about the damage they’re doing.
This year? Discovery is actually airing a show starring David Dobrik, despite all these “allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying against him,” including two people who said they were sexually assaulted while being filmed by Dobrik.
Future reality shows
Kendra Wilkinson is getting her own Discovery+ real estate series, Kendra Sells Hollywood
50 Cent is developing Unwrapped, which he described as “Hip Hop’s American idol”
A new USA show will follow NASCAR drivers
Peacock has ordered Pride & Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance, which will take place in “a Regency-style England … castle on the countryside” and is already being compared to Bridgerton.
⭐️ I recommend
These two reality TV-themed sketches from Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave, a show that reliably makes me wet my pants with laughter.
This story about the Bachelor influencers who got PPP loans.
This piece about how Rachel Lindsay’s Bachelor revelations “could lead to meaningful change”
This piece by a shark researcher.
CBS’s Love Island, whose music and witty narration is worth the time alone
That’s everything I have this week! Hope you have a terrific weekend.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 250, first sent July 9, 2021, and it agrees with Anderson Cooper that we could all use more time in our public libraries.
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📷 Photo of a rainy road in Goč, Serbia, by Filip Zrnzević