This week in reality TV: July 13 to 19
Dear newsletter subscribers, Good evening! First, thank you for the 20th anniversary congrats—I so appreciate those, even if I haven’t been able to reply to...
reality blurred is 20! Plus: a Survivor 41 update, Phil Keoghan's great new show, TCA Award nominees, and more
Dear newsletter subscribers,On July 7, 2000, I left my office (the tall, narrow black building in the photo above) and walked across the Chicago River,...
This week in reality TV, July 6 to12
Dear newsletter subscribers, Today is the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Big Brother, which I wrote about, and gathered 20 stories about. While some Big...
Below Deck secrets, Bachelorette's return, Karma and Cannonball reviews, and Big Brother's 20th
Dear newsletter friends,The United States of America is celebrating its birthday tomorrow, and reality blurred will celebrate its 20th next Wednesday. The...
This week on reality TV: June 29 to July 5
Dear newsletter subscribers, This week, the calendar turns to a new month, and also will mark the halfway point of 2020. Yes, this year that has lasted for...
It's my 200th newsletter, starring Floor is Lava, Survivor 41 news, and original Real World
Dear newsletter friends,It’s the 200th edition of this (mostly) weekly newsletter! Thanks to those of you who’ve subscribed for years—even before it took...
Reality TV premieres for June 22 to 28
Dear newsletter subscribers, About a dozen new and returning reality shows will make their way to TV and streaming platforms this week, and they're all...
Siesta Key star fired, Top Chef ends a great season, Killer Camp is coming, and more
Dear newsletter friends,Today is a Juneteenth, a day that I was never taught about in school, like so many things about race and racism in America. (Here’s...
Reality TV premieres for this week
Dear newsletter subscribers, Here’s your weekly look at what’s premiering in unscripted TV: returning shows, new series, and documentary features and...
Reality TV is already changing: a black Bachelor, Live PD and Cops cancelled, and more
Dear newsletter subscribers,Last week, I wrote that, while reality TV contributes to systemic racism, it can also be part of the solution. Since then, these...
Reality TV premieres for this week—and the next few months
Dear newsletter subscribers, Last week, I published my latest quarterly guide reality TV guide, which I update regularly with premieres. The summer 2020...
Reality TV is part of the problem, and can be part of the solution
Dear newsletter subscribers, The reality TV we love—and that I’ve spent 21 years writing about—contributes directly to dehumanizing people. That’s one of the...
What I'm planning for Survivor's 20th anniversary. Also: Holey Moley, behind the scenes
Dear newsletter friends,I was going to start by apologizing that this was a very light week for writing, but Thursday I published a 3,500-word behind-the-...
This week in reality TV: May 25 to 31
Dear newsletter subscribers, While there was a hint of summer in last week's reality TV premieres, the floodgates open this week, with more than 20 new...
CBS's plans for Big Brother, Survivor, Amazing Race, plus summer reality TV recommendations
Dear newsletter friends,Summer reality TV is here, or at least, should have started this week. There is good news: even if some shows have uncertain...
The start of summer reality TV
Dear newsletter subscribers, This is the week that would have started traditional summer reality TV: The Bachelorette, with its oldest star ever, and then...
A bonus Survivor: Winners at War episode, plus Australian Survivor, Worst Cooks, and Celebrity Drag Race
Dear newsletter friends,This week, Survivor ended its 40th season—that means I’ve spent 20 years watching this show, holy shit! There’s a reason why it’s my...
Here's your preview of the week's reality TV premieres
Dear newsletter subscribers, Somehow, this week will bring us the conclusion of the 40th season of Survivor. It feels like just yesterday I was in my...
Top Chef's awesome Restaurant Wars, a 💩 recommendation, Buddy vs. Duff 2, and Survivor's final 3?
Dear newsletter friends,I’m going to make this a quick one. I’m particularly exhausted this Friday, more than the now-typical exhaustion that the stress and...
This week on reality TV: more shows go virtual
Dear newsletter subscribers, Good Sunday evening! Tomorrow is May the fourth be with you, which also happens to be my parents' anniversary, though they were...
The celebrities on Drag Race; the surprise of Idol; the icing of Amazing Race, again; a Challenge mystery
Dear newsletter friends, Happy first day of May! April is behind us, and hopefully the worst of the pandemic, too, though I am very nervous about this rush...
This week in reality TV: April 27 to May 3
Dear newsletter subscribers, First, thank you for being a supporter of reality blurred. You’re awesome. So, April has really come and (almost) gone, hasn’t...
Survivor secrets and extortion, plus Lego Masters' fail and Making the Cut's final slice
Dear newsletter friends,Eye strain is real: I’ve been staring at screens too much over the past six weeks. So, I’ve been trying to take breaks—to look...
Reality TV—and Earth Day!—premieres for the week
Dear newsletter subscribers, Good evening, fellow reality TV and documentary fans. I can't believe another week has passed already, while at the same time,...
Amazing Race is about to take us back to 2018
Dear newsletter friends,Happy Friday. I am the kind of exhausted where I can’t even muster up the energy to watch hot, dumb people try to not have sex (see...
This week in reality TV: April 13 to 19
Dear newsletter subscribers, Here we are in mid-April already, which seems surprising! Perhaps that’s because, as I wrote to you on Friday, I dated the...
Is Big Brother cancelled? Why were Survivor winners warned? Plus: Two delightful cooking shows
Subscribe now Dear newsletter friends, Every week, I create a small graphic for the start of this newsletter. I try to find a photo that either captures my...
Millionaire to Chopped: reality TV premieres for April 6 to 12
Dear newsletter subscribers, It’s almost another Monday morning in this thing we’re all in together. I hope your weekend had some true relaxation, and that...
Let's talk about Tiger King! 🐯 And Tournament of Champions 🍴, and Making the Cut... ✂️
Dear newsletter friends,I hope this finds you safe and well.Before we get into Tiger King and the Survivor merge and Making the Cut and Tournament of...
All the reality TV premieres this week
Dear newsletter subscribers, I hope this Sunday evening finds you well and truly rested. In case we didn't have enough to watch already, we're getting a lot...
Is Sandra a quitter? Also: Making the Band turns 20, and Love is Blind & The Circle news
Dear newsletter subscribers,We’ve made it to Friday after another incredibly long week. So, here are some penguins to watch, live, if you need a break....
The 8 reality shows and 7 docs premiering this week
Dear newsletter subscribers, Reality television has more distraction lined up for us this week, such as The Kardashians returning with their 18th season and...
Why Survivor blindsided me and Top Chef disappointed me
Dear newsletter friends,Happy spring, although it already seems like summer here in Florida. 🥵 It’s been quite the month since I last wrote to you on Monday!...
Top Chef All-Stars returns, and the week's other reality show premieres
Dear newsletter subscribers, Hello! This is your Sunday evening briefing about what's new and premiering this week in reality TV, even as reality itself...
Survivor stopped production, plus a Project Runway review and a Drag Race DQ
Dear newsletter friends,At the beginning of this week, I hosted an improv show after sitting in the audience and watching another show. Meanwhile, as I...
What's premiering—and ending—this week
Dear newsletter subscribers, Happy Sunday. I hope you're not too tired from this morning’s time change (let's stop this time-change nonsense soon!) and all...
Why I typed these 17 recommendations for you with just two fingers
Dear newsletter friends,I’m typing this using only my thumb and index finger on my right hand, because on Wednesday I had a little mishap with a hedge...
This week's reality TV premieres, from Volcano Live to Hillary Clinton
Dear newsletter subscribers, Happy March! Spring is not quite officially here, but since it’s the start of a quarter, I just published my spring 2020 reality...
Love is Blind secrets! Amazing Race (stops) filming! Supernanny's advice! And much more
Dear newsletter friends,Everyone is talking about Love is Blind, and for good reason: it’s addictive and compulsively watchable. Watching the finale, I may...
An extra day of the year = more reality TV!
Dear newsletter subscribers, Happy Sunday evening! I’m finally back to feeling human, and somewhat grateful that, while this week brings us an extra day of...
What's coming back and what's on the move
Dear newsletter friends,I’m continuing my recovery from the flu, and feel slightly less like I’ve been run over by a train. Now it’s more like I’ve been...
12 reality TV shows and 6 docs premiering this week
Dear newsletter subscribers, Happy President's Day eve, if that is a thing. I'm still recovering from being beaten up by the flu last week; opening a can of...
That's the way the Girl Scout cookies crumble
Dear newsletter friends,Happy Valentine’s Day, or just happy Friday if you find this holiday to be the insufferable domain of annoying coupled people. I...
What's coming up this big week of reality TV premieres, from the 40th Survivor to the return of Extreme Makeover
Dear newsletter subscribers, Welcome to the first big week of reality television of 2020, and to this pre-Oscars reminder that real entertainment is on...
I have reality TV news and reviews for you but can't think of a great subject line today, sorry!
Dear newsletter friends,Good morning from Florida, where it was warm and humid yesterday and will be reach 40 degrees today. I realize 40 degrees constitutes...
All the reality TV premieres for the first week in February
Dear newsletter subscribers, You may be watching The Super Bowl right now, or perhaps waiting for it to end so The Masked Singer can start. That show is the...
Celebrating (The Quest!), worrying (Survivor! Biggest Loser!), and appreciating (The Good Place!)
Dear newsletter friends,Happy Friday, and last day of January. Please let me know if you see any days from this past month, as I seem to have lost them...
It's Super Bowl week! Here are all the other unscripted TV premieres
Dear newsletter subscribers, Good Monday morning! The biggest television event of the year is on next Sunday, that rare time when tens of millions of people...
The future of Amazing Race and The Profit; reviews of The Crystal Maze and Spy Games
Dear newsletter friends,The Television Critics Association’s winter press tour has ended, so I’m home and looking forward to my first weekend in three weeks,...
The Cave, Spy Games, Brain Games, and all the unscripted TV premieres for the week
Dear newsletter subscribers, I hope your weekend is going well. Today is the final day of TCA in Los Angeles, and now my 13th day in a row of sitting in a...