The year's best reality TV š„³ ā¢ plus Survivor's finale, Joe Schmo's return, and moreĀ
Dear newsletter friends,
This is my last Friday newsletter of the year, though look out for one more note. š
The end of a year means itās time to celebrate:
Some really great and fun shows, continuing right up through the finale of Survivor this week, which recaptured a lot of the showās earlier magic.
Thanks to our friends at Best Evidence, who joined the family earlier this year, here are:
So much great work to celebrate! And also Mr. Beast š, as youāll see below.
āļø Reviews
One final review of a show I didnāt write about when it premiered:
And a show thatās vastly different:
š„ Survivor
A grand finale for a super-fun season:
My hopes and dreams:
ICYMI:
šŖ True crime
News from Sarah D. Bunting:
Variety and others report that Investigation Discovery has ordered a Luigi Mangione documentary special from Dan Abrams. Recent Abrams product suggests we should set our innovation/insight expectations low.
Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann got indicted for a seventh time this morning, this time for the murder of Valerie Mack. Mack disappeared in late 2000 from Atlantic County, NJ; a hair found with Mack's remains is a match to the DNA profile of Heuermann's daughter.
NJ.com wants you to "join [their] investigation" into the 1989 murder of Emily "Cissy" Stuart (gift link!) ā one of the Garden State's enduring cold cases.
šļø Premieres
Reality TV debuts this week included The Friends competition, Fast Friends, and The Secret Lives of Animals, which I hope doesnāt include plotting to overthrow humanity, even if we deserve it.
Documentaries and specials of note:
Brenda Lee: Rockinā Around, a profile of the singer who gave us the first version of āRockinā Round the Christmas Tree,ā which has my favorite line, ālater weāll have some fuckinā pie/and weāll do some carolināā
Mauiās Deadly Firestorm, about the horrific Lahiana fire, is coming in January, but had an early (free) streaming premiere on the PBS app, at pbs.org/frontline, and on YouTube
Blink, a film following a family who travel around the world after three of their children are diagnosed with a condition that will cause vision loss
Novaās look at the Lost Tombs of Notre Dame discovered after the fire
š¬ Comments of the week
On this Survivor recap, Patrick wrote:
I thought this was probably the strongest season of the New Era, and just an all-around good season period. The casting was excellent, a diverse group of folks with very diverse personalities as well. No one felt overly cookie-cutter or one-note.
[ā¦] I also completely reject Probstās assertion that the āliveā Reunion right after the vote reveal is best because everyone is still raw. It feels deflated. Thereās no grandeur, no spectacle.
On this story, Melissa wrote:
I love memory challenges. I know Probst thinks theyāre boring, but theyāre must better for the TV viewer, as you can play along. I canāt play along with an obstacle course, puzzle or any kind of balancing or endurance.
šļø Reality TV news
The Joe Schmo Show season fourāwhich filmed in 2022āwill finally, actually be on TV
Top Chef and Tournament of Champions alum Shirley Chung posted an update with photos and videos on her cancer treatment: "I finished my 10 weeks radiation and chemo in patient treatments," but then "experienced the hardest / worst days of my life during recovery."
There's good news. Shirley wrote, "My pain finally got better 3 weeks ago.š§The first sip of water was glorious, it was still super painful, but after 3 months of not being able to swallow anything, it was a small win! ā¤ļøI have since learned to drink smoothies, had soups,ice cream and egg custard, my taste buds are coming back, I can taste 50% of sweet and savory and all the warm spices."
Below Deck captain Jason Chambers revealed he's been diagnosed with melanoma.
Justin Sutherland, who's been on Top Chef and Fast Foodies, was sentenced to hitting his girlfriend with a gun and threatening to shoot her. He pled guilty in October, blaming the media for his plea. Instead of one year in prison, his punishment is two years of probation, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Paula Abdul is settling her lawsuit against former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe, and both gave dueling statements to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reality show news:
Netflix renewed its wonderful dating series The Boyfriend for a second season
There's a new Survivor game coming: Survivor: The Tribe Has Spoken was "Designed by Jeff Probst," as the box says, it is also "A game by Exploding Kittens." Does it come with someone to scream at you while you play?
š¤© I recommend
Reading these articles, which are TV criticsā favorite reviews and features of the year
Mirian Margolyes making fun of Aesha Scott's pronunciation of "deckhand"
Bonus shows:
Martha (Netflix), the Martha Stewart documentary, which captures what a fascinating and complicated person she is
Black Doves (Netflix), which is the perfect mix of action, dark comedy, and British spy intrigue
Paris Has Fallen (Hulu), for a lot of fun action
Thanks for reading to the end, and for being a newsletter friend this year!
A very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Boxing Day, and/or Kwanzaa to those who celebrate, and a Happy New Year to everyone!
best,
Andy
P.S. If you'd like to support my work, you can for just:
or join on Patreon Ā ā¢Ā give a one-time donation
š This is issue 401 of reality blurredās weekly newsletter, first sent on 20 December 2024, and itās ready for a holiday break.