Traitors, Bachelor producers' answers to my questions • 7 reviews and recaps • and much more
Dear newsletter friends,
I'm writing to you from 28,300 feet in the air, at least according to Southwest's fun little flight info thing.
I think this may be the first newsletter I've sent from such an altitude. (Update as I copy edit: 37,000 feet!)
I'm heading back to the east coast after a couple of weeks at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour.
Besides learning about new shows, I had the chance to talk to people in the industry, from Kate Chastain (!) to reality TV network executives. You'll see many of these stories in the weeks and months ahead.
During TCA's press conferences, I also asked questions about unscripted TV, from CW's new copaganda show to how Traitors producers select the traitors.
I appreciated the answers and discussion, even if I didn't always agree.
The most baffling thing, however, happened during a press conference with ABC reality TV producers:
This is what happened when I—and other critics—asked Bachelor producers some very obvious questions
Read on for much more from press tour—and this week's TV!
🏰 The Traitors
Last week I complained about a twist, this week, I got to ask producers about that very twist! Which is why I headlined the article:
Also, here's:
my Traitors 2 episode 8 recap—another great episode!
And some fantastic news:
👩🏾🚀 A review and 2 recaps
Reviews and recaps:
What Dionne Warwick learned about her family on Finding Your Roots
And who The Color Purple’s Danielle Brooks learned was her relative
A new NatGeo/Hulu/Disney+ show is hurt by its omissions and errors
🔪 True crime
Have you seen The Truth About Jim? It's not about the Zodiac!
Longread round-up: Tupac Shakur, Truman Capote, Time, and the Thames
🗓️ This week's premieres
Reality shows that premiered/are coming this week: New seasons of Love is Blind and the great Sunderland ‘Til I Die; Stupid Pet Tricks, the Letterman segment turned into a show; and new series that follow friends in Atlanta and the New England Patriots.
Nonfiction TV and specials this week included the pre-Super Bowl Puppy Bowl XX and Great American Rescue Bowl, and docs about a Pliosaur, the Eiffel Tower, Einstein, and Selena's murder.
💬 Comments of the week
On this story, Laura wrote:
Wow!! One of the most overscripted, staged reality shows was not capable of givng their producers a script to follow when asked to address race? Thank you for being a part of this!
On this story, Claire wrote:
Hell, no. I will not be watching anything about Yolanda Saldivar. I still see trucks being driven with Selena stickers on them and I just find Salidivar’s narrative that they were close friends to be trash. No to Casey Anthony and no to Saldivar. However, give me some Smugshot all day with bonus points for the portmanteau.
On this story, C. Arthur Ellis Jr wrote:
Sarah, Thanks for ressurecting the story of Ruby McCollum.
I wrote Zora Hurston and the Strange Case of Ruby McCollum, as well as an annotated transcript of the trial, since the story has always fascinated me. I knew all of the characters, and Adams delivered me in the front bedroom of my parents’ home.
I think that the case is especially relevant today, when social justice is sometimes poorly served by a legal system that all to often panders to politics and the will of the power brokers in society at the expense of the rest of us. [...]
🗞️ Reality TV news
We're getting a Golden Bachelorette, so I offered 5 Golden Bachelor rejects who should be the Golden Bachelorette
Katy Perry is leaving American Idol, she announced on Jimmy Kimmel's show.
The CW is adding Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, both of which will take place on large versions of their game boards.
Celebrity Family Feud and Jeopardy! Masters (with Ken Jennings hosting) will both return later this year, ABC announced at TCA.
Survivor 46 won't have an auction because of the show's limited resources, Jeff Probst said. "One of the things that I didn't do well in 45 is I didn't manage from a global perspective. And, as a result, at the end of 45, our crews were exhausted, and all the heads of departments said, ‘Dude, we're loving this, but we are on fumes. We are working harder than we've ever worked before.’ And then we had to turn right around and do 46."
If you grew up with The Real World like I did, and you haven't felt the passage of time recently, well...
It's been 30 years since Judd and Pam met on The Real World San Francisco—and thus 30 days since the start of filming of that iconic season.
🤩 I recommend
This show, even if, like me, you don't care much about football/soccer
Watching this trailer—and then the film, which streams free in March
This recording of a 2004 BBC show, Traitor, which is basically the party game Mafia—or the reality show The Traitors with only the roundtable.
Okay, time to eat my tiny bag of pretzels. Hope you have a great rest of your Friday, and a terrific weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 370 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 16 February 2024, and it's realizing how hard it is to type while crammed into an airplane seat