Here is all the summer reality TV coming your way!
Dear newsletter friends,
On Monday, my dad died. It was both expected and unexpected, considering how resilient he was, and how often he bounced back from previous illness.
Besides contributing to my sense of humor, my dad also introduced me to computers.
One photo I have is from the 1980s, me sitting on his lap, typing on a a Commodore 64 keyboard connected to a tiny black-and-white TV with an antenna.
I guess I was destined to do this work! So in his memory, let's get to the (abbreviated) writing I did this week
⛱️☀️ Summer reality TV premiere dates
Bookmark these, as I'll be updating them over the next three months as more shows are announced:
😍🫤🫤 One rave and two mixed reviews
Drag Me To Dinner: Hulu’s drag show is too often a drag
Ciao House: Whoever wins, Ciao House’s fatal flaw kept it from being fantastico
Netflix’s Barbecue Showdown: even more succulent in season 2
And a recap:
Top Chef 20: Who’s going to Paris to French kiss random guys?
🗓️ This week's reality TV
The reality TV shows premiering this week include the return of Hoarders, America’s Got Talent, The Ultimate Fighter, and Queen of the Universe, plus new competitions Drag Me To Dinner and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge.
Among the specials and documentaries on TV this week are The Scripps National Spelling Bee, part two of the three-part Vanderpump Rules reunion, and a documentary about the Duggars.
🗞️ Reality TV news
I published my curated round-up of May reality TV news:
Among the 30+ items: Yvie Oddly's evisceration of Drag Race’s producers, a bunch of renewal announcements, and new Love Island UK guidelines.
💬 Comment of the week
Whether it was the editing or the inherent egos and personalities of the contestants, this show had the most unlikeable cast I’ve seen. It had promise. I liked the premise that it promised but failed to deliver. These people did not live together as la familia. They lived together in a den of snakes.
—Sue, on this story
🤩 I recommend
This competition, which has some of the best food TV judging I've ever seen
This show, if you just like drag sketch comedy
That's everything for this week. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 339 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent 2 June 2023, and it still hooks its computer up to its TV
📸 Photo of mountains in North Carolina by Matthew Larkin