Your fall reality TV schedule • Bake Off • Disney+ fail • Survivor AU
At long last, Bake-Off season is here!
Dear newsletter friends,
At long last, Bake-Off season is here! How I’ve needed the camaraderie of the tent and Alison’s laugh back in my life.
To celebrate, I have a brand new hub on Reality Blurred for all my coverage: The Great British Baking Show
That includes my handy chart that shows every single season of the show—its actual season number, Netflix’s weird collection number, and where to watch past seasons in the U.S.
I haven’t yet watched the premiere—it just landed for us in the U.S. this morning on Netflix—but I will be recapping, probably instead of Project Runway.
When I watch, I will be finally giving up hope that Paul Hollywood’s handshakes will stop being the pinnacle of success.
That’s because of what Prue told me when I asked why she doesn’t have her own version of the Hollywood Handshake. Alas!
Still, I’m ready for a fall of Bake-Off! 🧁
📑 A new reality TV contract
To my collection of reality TV contracts, I’ve added a new one:
That story resulted from a public records request I made a few weeks ago.
The funniest part to me: the production company demands, in the contract, that the contract itself be kept confidential. 😂 Ah, those pesky public records laws!
🍁 Fall reality TV
Here are my brand-new, shiny guides—bookmark these as they’ll be updated throughout the next three months:
Also:
🏝️ Australian Survivor
The finale of Australia v The World is Sunday, so get yourself to Australia to catch up if you haven’t already! 😀
This week:
Episode 7: Shit hit the fan, twice
Episode 8: A bonkers move, an obvious vote
Episode 9: The final four are set after some odd lies
🐭 Two reviews
5 ideas for turning Disney IP into reality: Marshal Knight reviews and surveys Disney+’s reality TV past and potential
Sarah D. Bunting’s review of HBO Films's take on the John Orr case, Point Of Origin—it’s for Best Evidence subscribers only, so grab a sub and check it out!
🚧 Recaps
Below Deck
Episode 14: Solene learns the truth—and we got good news
Project Runway
Episode 6: Nina Garcia missed Antonio’s redemption
💬 Comments of the week
On my recap of Project Runway, Cameron wrote,
Every time Law pulls some bullshit about the designers not being able to take critique, I desperately want one of them to reply with "I'll take a critique, but what you're doing is a bitchy soundbite for the camera." Like, how was telling Belania he didn't like the story that SHE created for the garment SHE conceptualized any sort of actionable critique? I'm just so over him trying to act like king shit.
On my report on American Ninja Warrior’s format change, John wrote,
ANW has been a DISASTER after Season 14. I HATE all the back stories...sorry but who cares about that...I wanna see them run the course, beat the obstacles. But these geniuses on the network think they know what will get ratings and once again they've ruined a franchise. Season 15, 16 and most of all this ridiculous season 17 were unwatchable.
📝 I’m teaching a class!
Join me for a two-night generative, interactive workshop on Zoom, if you’d like to:
Craft and revise at least two brand-new scenes
Learn a framework you can apply to future writing, and practice it with exercises
Receive feedback from me and your peers
Ask questions and talk about writing in a supportive, constructive atmosphere
🗞️ Reality TV news
In her BB27 exit interview with EW, Katherine blamed herself for viewers' perception of Rylie: "I haven't had a chance to talk to Rylie yet, but I hope he's doing good. I think it's really concerning hearing that he wasn't being seen in the best light, and I hate that I had, like, any part in that."
I so appreciate that Dalton Ross followed his (understandable!) look of horror in that moment by trying to reassure Katherine that she "should not put any blame on yourself for anything." Watch here.
🤩 I recommend
Past seasons of Bake-Off, many of which stream free in the U.S.
This compilation of Alison Hammond’s funny morning show moments + her interview with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling
Browsing the Back Indie Media Drive’s 33 publications to discover your next must-read or inbox addition.
Thanks for reading to the end. I hope September is going splendidly for you so far!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is issue 434 of reality blurred’s weekly newsletter, first sent on 5 Sept. 2025, and it will try hard not to eat spoonfuls of sugar while watching Bake-Off.