I asked the government about Big Brother. Plus: Anderson Cooper, Making the Cut, and more
Dear newsletter friends,
My big project this week was the result of a Freedom of Information Act request to the FCC about the CBS show Big Brother. I was curious what, if anything, people filed complaints about.
So, here are 20 times Big Brother viewers complained about the CBS show to the federal government. I found it to be a fascinating and instructive collection.
Also this week, I reviewed HBO’s Small Town News, which comes from the producers of Drag Race but is not at all similar in style or tone.
I also interviewed Making the Cut season 2’s finalists; the final two episodes just came out on Amazon, and my piece will be up at 3 p.m. ET here.
The show made some major changes this year, mostly because of the pandemic, and I have thoughts about how it worked out.
Anderson Cooper’s ridiculousness
It’s week two of my three-week The Mole 2: The Next Betrayal rewatch, and it had a lot of Anderson Cooper sass and shade.
Plus, in episode 7, he mimed lubing up a gnome, which may have just made my week.
Here’s what I reviewed and recapped so far:
Two outstanding reality TV challenges and The Mole 2’s best tests yet
The Mole’s producers become obsessed with rule-breaking—and breaking the players
Anderson Cooper offers a player a bribe to leave The Mole—and mimes lubing a gnome
The Mole 2 uses family members as rewards, a dog poops, and Katie screams
Reality TV news
These 16 shows premiered this week
The White Lotus actor Lukas Gage told The AV Club he watched nine seasons of Below Deck to prepare for his role on the show, which was written and directed by Survivor and The Amazing Race alum Mike White. So basically it's reality TV, and obviously a Bravo show with all the bad behavior by rich white people.
⭐️ I recommend
This show, based on its wonderful first two episodes
This episode of The Mole 2, which is on Netflix, mostly for the Anderson Cooper antics
This review of Paris Hilton’s new Netflix show, a show I certainly do not recommend
This piece by Amanda Knox
Getting vaccinated if you’re not already, because we need to protect each other
That’s everything for this week! Have a great weekend.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 254, first sent Aug. 6, 2021, and it only complains about Big Brother on reality blurred.
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