Cirie and BB25 • James Bond reality TV • Face Off • Holiday baking time
Dear newsletter friends,
Happy Friday! And thanks to everyone who took this survey last week. I'm excited about ideas you've suggested, and appreciate both the kind words and constructive criticism.
A few people mentioned something I do in this newsletter, so I thought I'd address that now! That thing: not actually mentioning a show title, thus forcing a click to see what show I'm referring to. That most-often happens in the recommendation section.
I do that to:
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Create curiosity
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Share my "why"
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Profit 🤑 😅
The first two are a result from what I notice about my own reading online: Some headlines catch my attention or pique my curiosity, and I click to read, getting more details than I would have if I just scrolled past a headline that may have had a bit more summary.
So few of my reviews are like, THIS IS PERFECT! or THIS IS 💩! I want you to know why I recommend something. If this is supremely irritating, and you're clicking but not reading, that's not good! I will experiment and try to give more information, even while encouraging you to click and read all the delightful words I have written. 😇
That brings us to #3. While some of you take advantage of options to support my work—and thank you!—the majority of reality blurred’s income comes from ads. Every time you see half of an ad for at least one second, I get a teeny-tiny amount of money.
So that's what keeps this alive, and allows me to keep doing this work.
Speaking of ads: A few people mentioned ads that 1) play sound or 2) cover content.
You should never ever hear sound from an ad unless you choose to unmute; if you do, that's a bad ad, and you can report it by clicking the little M logo under the ad.
There's only one ad unit that floats on top of content: the video in the lower-right corner. You can close that: a tap on the X will make it disappear, and the same is true of the ad at the bottom of the screen.
For more on this and the weirdness of Internet ads: How reality blurred makes money.
I hope you've enjoyed that behind-the-scenes journey. Now on to our regular programming!
🐹 Big Brother
The legendary Hamsterwatch returned to reality blurred to offer perspective on this season of BB25:
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What BB25’s feeds revealed about Cirie Fields’ game of influence without power
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A look back at BB25’s twists and comps: what worked and what did not
Also:
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Big Brother: Reindeer Games will be a six-episode special season in December with returning players led by "Santa's elves" Derek Xiao, Jordan Lloyd, and Tiffany Mitchell
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BB25 ended with a final three that included the show's first Deaf player and first Sikh-American player. Here's who won.
🤡 Two reviews
I reviewed:
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Amazon's new James Bond reality TV competition. I really can't wait to hear what other people think about this!
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Syfy's Face Off, a terrific competition now streaming on Netflix
🗓️ This week's premieres
Reality TV show premieres are heavy on holiday cooking competitions: The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday, Holiday Baking Championship, Holiday Wars, and my favorite version of Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown.
We also got New seasons of The Real Housewives of Potomac and Married to Medicine, and two new Buddy Valastro shows, for some reason.
There were also many, many documentaries streaming and on TV this week, including NatGeo's JFK: One Day in America; Frontline's Inside the Uvalde Response; and Netflix's Escaping Twin Flames and The Billionaire, the Butler and the Boyfriend
💬 Comments of the week
But how delighted are you when the Pink Women start yelling “Out of Towners! Out of Towners!”? Because I am 100% delighted.
—Martha, on this review
I fear that special effects makeup is soon to become a lost art due to AI, so these artists need to be cultivated and celebrated now, before people forget about the art all together.
—NickelNola, on this story
🗞️ Reality TV news and views
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Netflix filmed The Circle seasons six and seven in Atlanta earlier this year, and will air season six in spring 2024
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Sunday's episode of The Circus will be the final one; Showtime has cancelled it after eight seasons and 130 episodes.
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Joey Graceffa is asking fans to give up to $1+ million to make a theatrical short or feature film of Escape the Night, his hybrid YouTube series. With 53 days to go, 563 people have given a total of $83,084, short of the $250,000 minimum that will be used to make a 25-minute short.
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Claire Spellberg Lustig compares the competing cult docuseries Desperately Seeking Soulmate and Escaping Twin Flames, looking at how they "are different enough in their framing."
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Erin Jensen asks if reality TV "stars owe us every detail" of their lives. I was interviewed for the story, and found the question and the many other perspectives quite interesting!
Bravo news:
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Ramona Singer was axed from BravoCon after texting part of a racial slur to a reporter and another event, but was still featured in a trailer for The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy
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Bravo renewed The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Down Under, Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Summer House for new seasons.
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Exciting news for fans of Housewives using explicit language: "Uncensored reunions will stream on Peacock the day following their Bravo airdate." [11.3.23]
Hollywood news:
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Congrats to the SAG-AFTRA negotiators for ending the longest strike in Hollywood history after not falling for the companies' terrible "best and final" offer.
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Next, how about unionizing reality TV cast and crew, so their work can't be exploited?
🤩 I recommend
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This old(er) competition, now on Netflix!
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This video, a loving but critical two-hour look at all 14 English-language versions of The Mole
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Speaking of The Mole: My oral history of The Mole, which I just found out is a finalist for an L.A. Press Club's National A&E Journalism Award!
💁♂️ Programming note: This newsletter will take next Friday off, but will be back midweek the following week for a pre-U.S. Thanksgiving special edition.
Coming next week: reviews of two fun British shows, and another new Amazon series, plus a look at Survivor.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end, and have a fantastic weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 361 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 10 November 2023, and it always roots for someone to beat Bobby Flay, even during the holidays
📸 Photo of fall leaves in Central Park by Olga Subach