I celebrate Jeopardy!'s joy and recommend a wonderful show on Netflix
Dear newsletter friends,
Happy Friday! One of my new year’s resolutions for reality blurred is to notice more of the good stuff: the stuff that I love, that sparks joy, that makes me appreciate this genre I love.
So, most Fridays, I’ll be publishing an as-yet-unnamed list of moments/shows/people that I was grateful for during the previous week.
I published the first list after I sent this newsletter last Friday, and the second went up this morning, so you get a double-dose of gratitude and joy and reality TV goodness:
Speaking of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, it has been the big unscripted story/news/show of the year so far. It’s been getting—and, I think, deserving—big ratings. It’s so fun to watch these three players, and Alex Trebek, who’s as good as ever.
I did write about something I noticed, though: 23% of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time categories were Disney ads—and that was just in the first episode. I’ll be updating with the second and third episodes.
Also this week, there were 25 reality TV premieres this week (and 26 last week!). Among them, three shows on Discovery’s new themed Thursday night.
And, of course, there was 🌹🌹 The Bachelor, and I recapped its emotional and surprising start. 🌹🌹
Recommended: The Repair Shop
If you need a show to settle into this weekend, one that exudes warmth and good cheer, I strongly recommend The Repair Shop on Netflix.
It’s the perfect winter weekend watch. Read my full review.
News and things to read
While I watched many episodes of The Repair Shop, I’m already behind in my TV watching for 2020, because it’s TCA time again—that’s the Television Critics Association winter press tour, at which networks announce new shows and put on press conferences and other events for TV critics to be able to interview stars and producers.
From TCA came some unscripted news:
There’s a new Bachelor spin-off coming
the revival of Supermarket Sweep now has a network
And in non-TCA news, Food Network announced the first true spin-off of Chopped: Chopped Sweets, on which mystery ingredients have to be turned into dessert.
Meanwhile, there are three stories I read this week that I think you’ll enjoy:
Meredith Blake’s profile of RuPaul broke news (his talk show was cancelled after a three-week trial last summer), and it also looks back at his career on the eve of his new project, AJ and the Queen, a scripted show that has tons of Drag Race cameos. (Los Angeles Times)
Sarah D. Bunting’s review of Surviving R. Kelley Part II: The Reckoning points out that it’s not only “important for those watching to see the human costs of Kelly's crimes,” but to see how “Survivors also have had to endure the secondary crimes and misdemeanors that follow, the harassment, the slander, the attempts to obstruct justice” that “silence victims, consolidate predators' control, and gaslight the entire culture into averting its collective gaze from the accusations.” (Primetimer)
A profile of Lisa Vanderpump and her ever-evolving empire (Hollywood Reporter)
Okay, back to TCA for me. I’m sure there will be more news over the next 10 days, and I’ll have that for you here next Friday, and all week on reality blurred. I hope your 2020 has been going well!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 176, first sent 10 January 2020, and it finds itself repaired by The Repair Shop.
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📷 Photo of a snowy evergreen by Ian Schneider