Dear newsletter subscribers,

Good evening! I hope the first week of October has been bright and brisk and fall-like. While the official start of fall TV has passed, more reality TV is on the way this week, as always!

• This week's reality TV shows premieres include:

  • New seasons of The Real Housewives of Potomac, Winter House, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, and The Challenge
  • Marcus Lemonis' new HGTV show and Netflix's new Easy-Bake Oven competition
  • The next three episodes of The Mole. (Here are my spoiler-free thoughts on the first five episodes).

• The documentaries coming to streaming and TV this week include:

  • a nature special about wolves that swim in ice-cold waters
  • a profile of Jeremy Lin and his "Linsanity" season
  • an in-depth look at Frederick Douglass' life