Who's returning for The Challenge: All Stars? Plus Bachelor news and thoughts, Oscar nominees, and more
Dear newsletter friends,
I write to you sickened and saddened after there was yet another mass shooting in America.
The murders of the six Asian American women in Atlanta follow a year of almost 4,000 incidents of anti-Asian American hate—and those are just the ones that have been reported. Why since last March? This is why.
I stand with all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and commit do doing whatever I can to help end the bigotry and racism in this country that leads to so much violence and pain.
And while TV is, yes, entertainment and an escape, Hollywood absolutely has a role to play. As Caroline Framke wrote this week:
Reducing Asians to flat, heavily accented caricatures is a favorite pastime in this country, and has been for decades. Mocking Asian men as weak and effeminate is so common that it’s become white noise for too many who hear it; Asian women have long been reduced to dehumanizing stereotypes, whether meek and speechless or aggressively sexual robots whose only purpose seems to be servicing white American men.
The industry needs to do better, and that includes more representation on reality TV shows.
By the way, if you’d like to help, stop AAPI Hate has ways to help if you’re witnessing hate, or what to do if you’re experiencing it, plus other resources.
The Bachelor’s past and future
The Bachelor season 25 ended on Monday, and I read these…
…five really terrific pieces about what happened this season and in the finale, and what needs to happen from here. Click that link to read them!
Meanwhile, this week ABC officially announced two things I told you about earlier:
On the next season of The Bachelorette, two former Bachelorettes are replacing Chris Harrison
There will be two Bachelorette seasons this year
The return of Real World/Road Rules cast to The Challenge
Here’s The Challenge All Stars cast, which nearly entirely consists of people who went on The Challenge back when it was fed by The Real World and Road Rules.
In unrelated news:
Here are the 2021 Oscar documentary nominees, and how to watch them online
This week’s premieres, which include Christopher Lloyd on a Back to the Future-themed version of Josh Gates’ show.
Reality TV show updates
World of Dance was cancelled by NBC
Discovery reversed its decision to move a popular Food Network show to Discovery+
Dirty Jobs is now filming and will return to Discovery Channel. Will it be sponsored by the oil industry, like Mike Rowe’s other Discovery show?
Get Organized with The Home Edit (read my review of that bizarre series) and Dream Home Makeover have been renewed, Netflix announced, along with details about the new Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo
Dr. Tiffany Moon talked about preparing for The Real Housewives of Dallas—and why it “was so toxic to me”
That’s what I wrote about and read this week. Please be well, and I hope you enjoy the reality TV you watch.
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 235, first sent March 19, 2021, and it does not need its home edited. Its sentences, yes, frequently!
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📷 Photo of flowers in Dublin’s St. Stephen's Green by Taylor Stromberg