Emmy winners • Netflix's Outlast • Hallmark reality TV • Matthew Perry
Dear newsletter friends,
Happy Friday! What a week in reality TV-adjacent news:
Alan Cumming won an Emmy for The Traitors, breaking RuPaul’s streak. (Here are almost all of the reality TV Emmy winners; the final one comes Sunday.)
Jenn Tran’s ex, Devin, doubled down on being a villainous asshole by making her private texts public.
Julie Chen Moonves missed her first live eviction in 26 seasons because she got COVID.
And the debate took us from The Apprentice all the way back to Alf. (Though that’s a ridiculous story, and filled my TikTok feed with hilarious pet videos, it’s also affecting people’s lives.)
And that’s not all. Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at Netflix’s hit Outlast, news about The Challenge, and more.
🛥️ A recap, an interview, and a preview
Below Deck recap:
Episode 15: Below Deck Med 9’s crew steer into a storm of insecurity and delusion
sing it with me! 🎵 I AM SECOND STEW / GOING ON FIRST STEW / I WILL TAKE CARE OF BOAT 🎵
An interview and preview:
Hallmark+ launched this week with Hallmark’s very first reality TV show, and I interviewed its producer about how it came together.
In exciting news, there’s more coming—including Jonathan Bennett’s Finding Mr. Christmas competition. Details here.
💰 Outlast
The second season of Netflix’s brilliantly simple survival competition, Outlast, ended this week.
I have a big story that’s part review, part interview with its showrunner, in which we discussed everything from casting to rules:
And to flash back to last season:
An interview with Jill from Outlast: ‘I’m polarizing … They were not ready for me’
With no rules, Netflix’s Outlast spawns brilliant, odious, predictable play
🔪 True crime
🎧 Listen to The Docket:
Matthew Perry and the fame double standard: When it comes to celebrities and drugs of abuse, has anything changed—in the coverage or in popular attitudes?
True-crime news from Sarah D. Bunting:
Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen will headline a Paramount Plus docuseries on the death of JonBenét Ramsey, as JonBenét's parents Patsy and John Ramsey. Richard LaGravenese (Behind the Candelabra) is the creator and showrunner for the eight-episode project. The casting is pretty spot-on in terms of the physical resemblances, IMO -- click here for a look at the Ramseys on the cover of their crimoir -- and McCarthy was so great as Lee Israel a few years back, I can't wait to see what she does with this role.
I've just discovered that you can snag a Boston Globe subscription for the rest of the year for just a buck! (NB: this isn't a sponsored post; I just like to cheapbrag.) If you'd like to join me in a weekend-longreads catnip roll, start with: 1) Patricia Wen's Globe Mag piece on Frances Glessner Lee, aka "the forensics pioneer who did the dioramae"; 2) another Wen longread on going behind the scenes at American Sports Story (Wen headed up the Spotlight team's series on Aaron Hernandez); and 3) the end of the James "Whitey" Bulger saga. Did you know it...hadn't ended? Me neither! But now, finally, it probably has, as the former Mafia hitter accused of murdering Bulger in the federal pen in 2018, Fotios "Freddy" Geas, pled guilty to manslaughter today and got another 25 years.
🗓️ Reality TV premieres
Reality shows premiering include a new season of The Circle; the new documentary series In Vogue: The 90s; the new quiz show Have I Got News For You; and the new cute show Baby Animal Rescue.
Plus, Halloween-ish (?) stuff: Cabin in the Woods, The Real Murders on Elm Street, UFO Cowboys, and Paranormal Caught on Camera.
Documentaries and specials include a special Secret Celebrity Renovation with Markus ‘Mookie’ Betts; Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story of ’80s Hair Metal on Paramount+; Child Star on Hulu; South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning on PBS; and Stopping the Steal on HBO.
💬 Comments of the week
So much great discussion on so many stories. Here are a few of those comments, ones that made laugh, think, or both:
On this Survivor cast news, Craig wrote:
I am personally getting tired of seeing superfans on this show. Like, hearing Charlie say he practiced “grip strength” in preparation for the show really showed me that the superfan casting has gone too far. I don’t want to see people who have basically been training for years to be on this show. I want the Cirie’s of the world, who just watch the show every Wednesday and decide to one day get off the couch and submit an application. They may be harder to find now but I know they are out there.
On this review/interview, ZZZ wrote:
I understood why they did it, but I think it was very underhanded of them to not tell him about the fact that in 48 hours they would be on their way out! They could have told him that.
And I totally agree about them saying they were gonna buy cars and trucks and boats. What a WASTE! Way to piss that money away on nothing!
🗞️ Reality TV news
From The Digest, reality blurred’s front page mini-blog:
The Amazing Race didn't air its second episode on CBS 23 years ago yesterday because of the events of 9/11.
Months earlier, producers' original plan had been to have the race end on the top of the World Trade Center.
That detail—and so much more—is in my oral history of season one. If you haven't read it, there are so many fascinating stories from the people who were there, including cast and producers.
The Challenge 40 cast members Derrick and Horacio were shown raw footage of their elimination challenge via Zoom, Variety reports, after Horacio complained to EW that producers helped Derrick win.
It turns out Horacio just didn't listen to the rules, and pegs that were placed and fell—probably due to The Challenge’s high quality challenge builds—counted.
HBO has cancelled We're Here after four seasons of sending drag queens to small towns, where they mentor people and put on a drag show.
The fourth season, which aired in April and May, introduced a modified format (the queens visited just two locations) and cast: Jaida Essence Hall, Priyanka, Sasha Velour, and Latrice Royale.
Co-creators Johnnie Ingram and Stephen Warren posted this message to Instagram:
CBS has updated Big Brother 26’s finale, expanding it to a full two hours, and modified some of its specially-scheduled episodes for its final weeks. I've updated my story about BB26's finale with those days/times.
The winner of Netflix's competition The Influencer did not receive the show's prize, ₩300 million, because he told someone that he'd won.
🤩 I recommend
Netflix’s Outlast, which produced two wildly different seasons with the same structure and rules
Reading all the amazing stories from the people who were part of The Amazing Race season one 23 years ago
Registering to vote—or checking your registration to make sure you’re still registered!
That’s everything from me. I’m working on some exciting projects related to fall reality TV, and also wrapping up some lingering summer shows, too.
Have an amazing weekend, and I’ll see you back in your inbox next Friday, and on reality blurred during the week!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 395 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 13 September 2024, and it was thrilled for Alan Cumming’s win, even if Emmy voters don’t actually watch The Traitors.