The Mole is coming back! And why are Challenge and Real World seasons missing from Paramount+?
Dear newsletter friends,
In this era of streaming services, we’ve never had more access to reality TV shows, old and new, familiar and new-to-us.
I’ve been watching season three of the UK’s Great Pottery Throw Down (I highly, highly recommended it!), and it’s just so nice to be able to watch a show from another country legally, in high definition, on HBO Max.
But there’s a frustrating downside (besides bad user interfaces and the increasing cost of streaming services): the inconsistent availability of some shows.
Paramount+ is the newest streaming service, and it seems to be the worst offender here, perhaps because it overpromised and underdelivered. While it’s given us this TV perfection, and has all 40 seasons of Survivor, it’s also missing a lot.
This week, I took a deep dive into one aspect of this, answering a reader’s question: Why is Paramount+ missing seasons of The Challenge, The Real World, and other reality TV?
I also took a trip back to 2001, re-watching the finale of Survivor: The Australian Outback, which seemed like it lasted for 20 years. I kid, but while I loved the ending and moments in it, there was a surprising amount of filler!
As I wrote at the end of my final recap of this re-watch, while I wish they hadn’t super-sized season two, I’m really glad CBS and Survivor readjusted.
Big news of the week
🚨🚨🚨 The Mole is coming back! I cannot wait.
Semi-related, since the new Mole will be filmed in Australia: Here’s my story about how Name That Tune was filmed in Australia during the pandemic, by the same production company that’s producing The Insider.
Here are Making the Cut season 2’s premiere date and designers.
Other news
Former TLC star Josh Duggar was “indicted on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography” and pled not guilty
Britney Spears responded to the documentaries about her life and career
The Circle has been cancelled by Channel 4 in the UK, where the format originated, despite increasing audience season to season
This week’s premieres, including Legendary and Antiques Roadshow’s celebrity edition
⭐️ I recommended
Top Chef Portland (Bravo, Thursdays at 8), which has been great so far, even despite this. I’ll be writing about this season soon. It’s just fantastic!
This profile of the newest Real Housewives of New York City, Eboni K. Williams
Season one of this show, especially for its cast and the amazing environments in which they get to show off their creativity
This podcast, which ended its run after five years, but leaves an archive of essential insight into the reality TV industry. Thanks, Aliza!
That’s it for this week.
Please stay well, get a vaccine as soon as you can (So many places have walk-ins now— what a change from the scheduling insanity of earlier this year!), and enjoy all of your reality TV-watching over the next week.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 242, first sent May 7, 2021, and it is not (yet) the mole.
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