Traitors betrayal 😒 and drama 🍿 • TAR's new teams • TOC's return • 2 recaps, 3 reviews
Dear newsletter friends,
This leap year is moving so fast! Next week, February ends, Survivor returns (!), and we're just two episodes away from The Traitors finale.
Survivor will again be paired with The Amazing Race (after two weeks of two-hour episodes).
TAR’s new teams have 300% more dating couples than the season it replaced.
Yep, this is the season of TAR that was replaced by a season produced with 90-minute episodes in mind. This upcoming Amazing Race was not; it was already edited a year ago, meaning they went back and expanded episodes to 90 minutes.
That should be interesting to watch and talk about, and this year certainly hasn't been shy about giving us things to discuss, as all the stories below demonstrate!
🔪 Two recaps, three reviews
Recaps:
Reviews:
What Would You Do is back, manipulating reality. Why does it bother?
Zenith Man: a surprisingly confessional Georgia courtroom tale
Blood & Orchids: an ’80s miniseries takes on the Massie Affair
ICYMI:
This look at astronauts is now on Hulu and Disney+
This Max series does something different with the Zodiac killer case
🏰 The Traitors
My recap:
Episode 9: The Traitors resurrects a great Survivor challenge and ends with an obnoxious cliffhanger
My report on the drama:
ICYMI:
More Traitors are coming to Peacock in March
🔪 True crime
Why February 2024 is a record-breaking month for new true-crime TV
New true crime: Killer Performance, Far North, Jake Tapper, and more
🗓️ This week's premieres
Reality TV premieres include more Summer House, Naked and Afraid, Pawn Stars Do America, and Formula 1: Drive to Survive; Katy Perry's last season of American Idol; and the new Rhythm + Flow Italy.
Documentaries on TV this week focused on James Brown's life, David Oyelowo's acting prep for Selma, NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, football star Messi, two HBCU athletic programs, early flight attendants, and veterans traveling to the Arctic.
Get a detailed preview in your inbox most Sundays—and support reality blurred:
💬 Comments of the week
Anyway, full credit to the editors, who did about as much as they could to edit that one person out of the show. They can't fully disappear him like Ninja Warrior did with their problem, but it's been an impressive job. The only drawback is that Amanda isn't getting as much shine as she should.
On this Traitors report, Brekkie wrote:
Sandra has clocked the best strategy here. It’s risky though as you need to ensure the faithful with you at the end can be persuaded by you, not the traitor – especially as the format doesn’t enable a Faithful in the final 2 with someone they’ve identified as a traitor to win.
…and Jo wrote:
Queen stays the queen.
🗞️ Reality TV news
Brandi Glanville accused Andy Cohen of sexual harassment over a video he sent her suggesting he have sex with another Bravo star while she watched. A letter her attorneys sent to NBCUniversal and her show's producers called it "an extraordinary abuse of power that left Ms. Glanville feeling trapped and disgusted." Andy Cohen apologized but admitted this happened, saying he was "very clearly joking to Brandi."
The people making reality TV for us are facing "a tight job market, lower wages, smaller teams, and punishing hours due to shortened production schedules," KCRW reports
Two years ago, Sirin Kale published "an investigation into the crimes of Matthew Hardy," which became a 6-part podcast and is now a Netflix docuseries, Can I Tell You a Secret?; in an editorial in the Guardian today, Kale says she wants "every police officer in Britain to watch it" and start taking cyberstalking seriously.
Show news:
Hoarders and Legacy List star Matt Paxton has a new show that's now casting for people with "a BIG collection that has gotten out of hand."
Bravo's Winter House is definitely not cancelled, just "on pause." Okay.
🤩 I recommend
This show, which is even better in season five
This story, which explains in detail why MTV, VH1, and Paramount+ are such a mess
That's all from me today. Have a great rest of your week and weekend!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 371 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 23 February 2024, and it's not a fan of the cliffhanger because it has no patience.