Too many people died this week. Plus: Survivor news, a review, and much more
Dear newsletter friends,
When I wrote the date on the image above, I was surprised that it’s only Jan. 15—we’re only halfway through the first month of the year. It feels like it’s March based on how much has already happened.
That’s true in the world of reality TV, too, where we’ve had a ridiculous number of shows premiering, and also a lot of things happening—starting with some sad news.
Too many people died this past week
Of course, too many people died of COVID, and at the Capitol, and of other things. But this headline refers specifically to people connected to reality TV:
An American Family star Pat Loud died at age 94. Her family posted an obituary.
The Up series will probably always be the longest-running unscripted series in history; its director Michael Apted died
Survivor Palau cast member Angie Jakusz died at age 40; three years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer
Stacy Title, a director who was married to Jonathan Penner and visited him during Survivor, has died of complications due to ALS. (Variety’s obituary)
My first TV love was Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and Fred Rogers’ wife Joanne Rogers died at 92.
If you haven’t read Amy Kaufman’s profile of Joanne—"How befriending Mister Rogers’ widow allowed me to learn the true meaning of his legacy"—give it a read.Also a quick read: Last fall, Joanne said in an interview that our outgoing reality star president is “just a horrible person” and “pathologically ill”; she also said she was “very big Biden fan.”
Survivor news
A very exciting Survivor 41 and 42 update! (The GIF is from Australian Survivor but this news is about American Survivor.)
Exciting in a different way: A four-time Survivor player is back doing porn. (My story is safe for work, but some of the links in the story are not.)
Survivor winner Natalie Anderson left The Challenge for unspecified personal reasons, and she told Us Weekly that it was because she learned she was pregnant during production. She also shared that, after returning home, “I went through a miscarriage.”
Two reviews
I reviewed Netflix’s Bling Empire, which is out today—and which is an easy, fun, mostly enjoyable watch.
In some ways, it reminded me of this even better Netflix reality series, which I recommend if you didn’t watch last year
Great reads
Mo Ryan’s great but sickening piece about what’s inevitably coming: Pop culture, including reality TV shows, that “line up to help far too many reprehensible ghouls launder their reputations.” Please, please don’t do this, Hollywood.
Via Best Evidence comes this an argument about true-crime news—that it’s easy to apply to murder reality TV, too: How Reenactments Re-victimize Crime Victims
Corie Henson, TBS, TNT, and truTV’s reality TV executive, talked about their shows and strategy
My long-time friend Mary Beth Ellis, who I met two decades ago at Bennington College when we were among the young misfits in our MFA program, interviewed me for Monsters & Critics. Of course, you hear from me enough; the real must-reads here are Mary Beth’s other, usually hilarious pieces.
Other news
Restaurant Impossible is back, but you can’t watch unless you pay extra for it. I’m disappointed by this but also fear it’s our future.
Bachelor in Paradise will probably be back this summer.
Former Bachelorette cast member James McCoy Taylor was present during the violent insurrection at the Capitol last week, and tweeted thanks, including to what he described as the show’s “conservative producers,” “for having my back while I legally supported our President.” The show’s creator had a different idea.
Amazon’s racing-with-dogs reality show The Pack was cancelled; The Wrap, terrible as always, blames unedited footage it published.
Here’s my Twitter thread about that specious reasoning, which includes links to the both the raw footage and the episode for comparison:
⭐️ My recommendations
This new show on Netflix, if you like Housewives-style shows.
This new podcast, Anything for Selena, which is about the singer—but also not, and it’s hard to explain. I am absolutely riveted after two episodes.
This documentary, which was filmed on a single day with 92 camera crews, and is free to watch via PBS and Independent Lens.
reality blurred’s new front page, a self-serving recommendation, though I hope you’ll check it out, as it’s an all-new design that still shows you some featured stories, and then the latest stories—but if you scroll down, you’ll find news from around the web and other categories of stories that will change regularly.
That’s all I have for you this week. I hope some of this adds to your enjoyment and relaxation in these often-trying times. Be well, and enjoy whatever you watch!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 226, first sent 15 January 2021, and it agrees with Joanne.
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📷 Photo of a sunrise over a snowed-in village—a metaphor, if you will—by Michael Niessl