The Challenge: Global Championship's curious cast • Amazing Race's winners • the best Beat Bobby Flay • recommendations, news, and more
Dear newsletter friends,
I've been playing with AI generators last night and this morning, and let's just say they're both amazing and hilarious. For example, here is an image created by DALL-E 2 with the prompt "a painting of Andy Dehnart writing about Survivor for his website":
I don't have a mustache, and I sit on my couch, not in the dirt, but it's not half bad!
Here's another, created with the random prompt of "Jeff Probst mad at Andy Dehnart for criticizing Survivor":
I love how Jeff Probst is a very David Hasselhoff version of himself! And I have a notebook in my hand. Also, I'm wearing blue, which is about 95 percent of my wardrobe.
Anyway, all this is to say: I've been having fun, and I'll share more with you soon!
To return to actual reality, and before we get to this week's reviews, news, and recaps, here are the reality shows that premiered this week, including new seasons of RHOM, Million Dollar Listing LA, Bering Sea Gold, Christina on the Coast, and new seasons of Too Hot to Handle.
Also, this week's unscripted specials include holiday-themed editions of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Silos Baking Competition.
Reviews and recaps
I recapped:
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Survivor 43, which was a strong episode with an incredible blindside
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The Amazing Race 34’s finale, with three teams who I loved and thus was rooting for them all, which is the best kind of finale. Plus: a fantastic final challenge!
I reviewed:
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Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown, which is a great holiday show and the best version of Bobby's regular show
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The Big Flower Fight—back in 2020, but I include it today because someone suggested I review it, and must have missed my review back then
Give yourself the gift of reality blurred!
If you want to do some quick online shopping for yourself:
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Join me on Patreon and get reality blurred stickers at any tier!
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Upgrade your newsletter subscription right here and pay whatever you want!
And thank you to those who've already joined reality blurred supporters—and also thank you for just subscribing to this newsletter, even if you can't upgrade. This newsletter and my writing will always be free for everyone.
Reality TV news
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Here's The Challenge: Grand Champions cast, which is basically a bunch of MTV Challenge veterans plus alum from the global versions—not exactly what we were promised!
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Matt Lucas is leaving The Great British Bake-Off, tweeting a message that said, "after three series and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else."
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Big Brother couple Angela Rummans and Tyler Crispen broke up, Us Weekly reported; they met on the CBS show in 2018.
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The Staircase subject and convicted murderer Michael Peterson talked to The Atlantic about why he agreed to give Jean-Xaxier de Lestrade access ("he seemed very objective. He was not against me. He was not for me. He was just filming") and what he thinks of the HBO scripted version ("utter bullshit").
🤩 I recommend
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This special season of a long-running Food Network special
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This season, which was the second in a row that made me fall in love with Amazing Race again
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This show, which FX said this week became its "most-watched unscripted series ever"
What I'm working on: a review of the new America's Test Kitchen show, which has the best parts of Food Network Star, plus some very special, very funny finale coverage of Survivor 43.
Have a terrific weekend and a great week!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is reality blurred’s Reality in Focus issue 317, first sent 9 December 2022, and it's thrilled to be in love with The Amazing Race again
📸 Photo of winter greenery on a building by Ellie Lord