A new Survivor twist • Big Brother anniversary snark • a hilarious game of telephone • curated July reality TV news
Dear newsletter friends,
I love soaking myself in nostalgia for the early years of reality TV—even though that increasingly makes me feel old!
I also love poking fun at shows and fact-checking misinformation.
Thankfully, CBS delivered a gift in the form of the Big Brother: 25th Anniversary Celebration, which allowed me to do all three.
So here are 15 of the most astounding moments from the Big Brother special.
😍 Recaps
Claim to Fame recap:
Tough As Nails:
Did a Tough As Nails team win $60K while helping First Nation kids?
FYI: this season ends after this weekend's two episodes 😢
🗞️ Reality TV news
News about this fall's Survivor:
In my new July news and links round-up:
Drag Race season 15 had 10 condensed episodes; expanded, 90-minute versions of them will start streaming soon
Jeopardy! champions revolted against the idea of recycling old questions—but that's still what the show is doing for the regular show
Adore Delano came out as trans
Todd and Julie Chrisley’s “inhumane” “nightmare
The Gosselin family is a complete, sad mess
🗓️ This week's reality TV
The reality shows premiering this week include new seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, Secret Celebrity Renovation, and The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals, plus the final season of How to with John Wilson
Documentaries streaming range from Oscar De La Hoya to The James Webb Telescope.
Next week: Big Brother 25 takes over the summer—and fall
💬 Comments of the week
"there will be twists and I am okay with twists as long as it keeps gameplay interesting.
For example, what if the observer has the chance to recruit someone from losing tribe to the winning tribe saving them for their team. Or vice versa, the observer is forced to join the losing tribe"
—Raphael, on this story
I more or less think Rob was apologetic to Phil more or less because he was a frequent guest on the show in the early seasons and that they know that generally Phil tries to keep things fair
—Bad Mitten, on this story
🤩 I recommend
This competition, which ends its fifth season this weekend
This weird show on Hulu
This fascinating info about Shark Week 🦈
Enjoy the rest of your July—I'll see you in August!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 347 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 28 July 2023, and it always dreads the approach of Big Brother, hoping we won't get another one of these
📸 Photo of a field in Belarus by Olga Budko