What Love is Blind doesn't want you to know • Challenge USA winners • Survivor quitters • more!
Dear newsletter friends,
A few weeks ago, I started looking at court records of a lawsuit related to Netflix's super-popular Love is Blind.
(A cast member this season, who was edited out completely, alleges she was sexually assaulted by her fiancé during filming.)
Among the lawsuit's documents, fully accessible to the public, and part of public record, were these:
The documents have a lot of fascinating revelations, like how long producers make married couples wait until they get a divorce.
In my story, I highlighted those things, and also included the full documents for you to read or search.
What I find truly fascinating is that the court records also include several other copies of the cast contract, just nearly entirely redacted. It's comical to scroll through 30 pages of solid redactions!
That made me wonder even more: What does someone not want us to see? But of course, you can see it, right here. Enjoy! And please let me know if you see anything particularly interesting that I may have missed.
👻 Review and an interview
I reviewed:
A CBS game show that reminded me of a (recently revived) classic game show
I interviewed:
the person who interviewed a hundred queer ghost hunters while casting a new Hulu show
🚰 Recaps
Survivor 45:
Episode 4: Survivor 45’s second quit was far more frustrating than its first
Bonus: Do Survivor contestants get water? Do they need fire anymore? A 🔥 theory!
The Challenge USA 2:
Episode 13: The ‘poetic justice’ of a satisfying double elimination
Episode 14: Who won the Challenge USA 2?
🗓️ This week's premieres
Reality TV premieres this week included new seasons of Naked and Afraid and Fboy Island (which is now on The CW), and this new queer ghost-hunting show.
This week's specials and docs include the pre-taped Love Is Blind: The Reunion; Ken Burns' The American Buffalo; and documentaries about the Navajo Police Training Academy and demonic possession being used as a murder defense
💬 Comments of the week
Our commenting community is growing, and these comments were among the many that stood out to me this week:
I didn’t believe for one minute all that “I miss my husband” malarkey. What married couple wants to spend more time together? They don’t on Dateline or 48 Hours or Oxygen.
—Antonio, on this recap
This was probably one of the worst designed eliminations in Challenge history. Talk about ruining a Challenge staple.
—Bad Mitten, on this recap
🗞️ Reality TV news
A Florida man's desire to be on Zombie House Renovations led him to kill his wife; he was just convicted and sentenced to life in prison. [BoingBoing, 10.19.23]
A new study from The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that, during the 2022-2023 TV season, "females in speaking roles were better represented on unscripted programs (50%) than scripted programs (43%)", and "women fared better as directors on scripted (22%) than unscripted programs (11%). However, the percentage of women working as producers was higher on unscripted (47%) than scripted programs (41%)." [SDSU, 10.18.23]
Insightful takes:
Nikki Glaser and her insult comedy is the key to FBoy Island, Tara Ariano writes in this appreciation of Glaser's hosting.
What happens when a Big Brother player is voted out and joins the jury? Claire Rehfuss shared her behind-the-scenes story.
Show news:
Apple TV+ has cancelled The Problem With Jon Stewart; the New York Times reports that "Stewart told members of his staff on Thursday that potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence were causing concern among Apple executives." Huh. Why would Apple be concerned about China or AI? [New York Times, 10.19.23]
World of Wonder announced that Drag Race France, Drag Race Philippines, and Drag Race Thailand have all been renewed for third seasons. [10.17.23]
Antoni Porowski will star in a new NatGeo show produced by Gordon Ramsay's production company. He will make guacamole—just kidding, he'll "discover the rich heritages of global celebrities by way of their ancestors’ food traditions, techniques and culinary experiences."
Kelly Clarkson is 100 percent done with The Voice: "That was me saying 'bye' to The Voice and having this big move. I love that family, but I was like, 'I'm struggling. I can't smile anymore. I don't feel like smiling.'" [USA Today, 10.16.23]
Reality TV producers talked to RealScreen about "the extremely challenging environment" of selling shows to networks, with "some nets apparently claiming they are stocked solid until 2025." [Realscreen, 10.18.23]
🤩 I recommend
This new CBS game show, more than this new CBS game show
This season of The Great British Bake-Off, which I plan to write about because it's really found its way back to what works so well
My interview with the casting director of Legendary, Living for the Dead, and other shows
Thanks for reading and discussing with me this week, and have a wonderful weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 358 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 20 October 2023, and it does not believe in ghosts
📸 Photo of a funny pumpkin at the New York Botanical Garden by Dan Gold