HGTV's decor secret • Easy-Bake lies • The Profit's fiction • Amazing Race's megaleg • The Mole's first half • reality TV news and recaps • and more
Dear newsletter subscribers,
Happy Friday!
Did you know most HGTV shows 1) make homeowners pay for renovations, and 2) don't include the actual decor in that cost, and 3) that if the homeowners want to keep the furniture and stuff, they have to buy it?
I knew #1 but not #2 or #3.
And I learned this week that HGTV's newest renovation show does the opposite.
The show, The Renovator, also does things differently than other HGTV shows, including not having a design team and not planning everything in advance, and and its star told me why.
The Profit's 'simulated investments'
One of my favorite things to do is to look at—and share with you!—are reality TV contracts.
I added a new one this week, one that details how a cable show I loved "simulated" and "fictionalized" events I thought were authentic.
But I also had the chance to ask the show's star, Marcus Lemonis, about the contract—and his show's future:
Recaps and a review!
This week, I reviewed:
- This new Netflix cooking show, Easy-Bake Battle, and spent quite a bit of time focusing on how its title is a lie! 😂
This week, I recapped:
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The Mole episodes 1-5, which had sabotage, suspicion, and stupidity
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Survivor 43 episode 5, which was very sassy
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Amazing Race 34 episode 5, which ended the megaleg
Coming in a few hours: My recap of The Mole's next three episodes, which dropped early this morning.
Also, here are:
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This week’s reality TV show premieres and
Reality TV news
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Adnan Syed, whose story was told in Serial, won't be charged again after being cleared by DNA evidence. He spent 23 years in prison.
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Kaycee Clark didn't get to compete in The Challenge: Ride or Dies nor Big Brother All-Stars, because she tested positive for COVID before both seasons began.
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Food Network quickly renewed Bobby’s Triple Threat, which stars Tiffany Derry, Michael Voltaggio and Brooke Williamson, for a second season
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RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race winner and Backstreet Boy AJ McClean will host a new show that calls itself "the first TV competition series changing the unrealistic standards in the beauty and fashion industry." Casting for The Fashion Hero is now underway.
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Willie Spence, American Idol 19’s runner-up, died after a car accident. He was 23.
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Swatch, the dog Project Runway contestants saw at Mood, has died at age 15.
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The Voice season 23 will be Blake Shelton's final season; he'll coach alongside Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan, and Kelly Clarkson. The spring season probably means no American Song Contest, alas!
🤩 Recommended
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The second podcast here, which is absolutely delightful but was just killed by Spotify
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This episode of Survivor, a near-perfect episde
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This episode of Jon Stewart's show, which is free to watch
In brief site news:
- reality blurred now has a dark mode, so if you want to curl up with your phone tonight and read this, for example, you're all set. FYI, it's just just automatic, so you'll only see it if your device or browser has dark mode on.
That's everything I wrote and watched this week! Have a terrific weekend.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is reality blurred's Reality in Focus issue 310, first sent 14 Oct. 2022, and it is glad it cancelled Spotify.
💻 This newsletter is hand-crafted in Florida by me, Andy Dehnart, using Buttondown.
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📷 Photo of pumpkins by Aaron Burden