reality blurred + archives + January 30 to February 5, 2011

week of January 30, 2011

Survivor auctions have made $400,000 for Jeff Probst's charity
Jeff Probst's charity The Serpentine Project has been the recipient of money earned from the end-of-season Survivor auctions for the past two years, and that...
OWN's most-popular show is Oprah Behind the Scenes; Your OWN Show is losing viewers
After a month on the air, OWN's most-popular series is also its best reality show: Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes. And its weak reality...
Is Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton returning to Survivor? He says he has "no plans to return"
A report suggests that Jon Dalton, aka Jonny Fairplay, will return to Survivor during one of next year's seasons, something Dalton himself alluded to about...
Derek Hough skipping Dancing with the Stars 12, but will return for 13
Three-time Dancing with the Stars winner Derek Hough is leaving the show for a season, but he says he will return for the 13th season...

Bachelor's shameless manipulation of reality reaches a new low
ABC's The Bachelor reached a new low last night with an episode that included multiple moments where producers' manipulation was clear and shameless. The show...
Survivor spoiler missyae sued, says Russell Hantz leaked cast, elimination information
Today in The Daily Beast, I report on a lawsuit quietly filed last August by DJB, Inc., a company run by executive producer Mark Burnett,...
Carson Daly will host NBC's swivel chair singing competition The Voice
Carson Daly will host NBC's The Voice, the singing competition produced by Mark Burnett and Jon de Mol that used to be called Voice of...
Russell Hantz reacts to Survivor spoiler story; Shannon Elkins says Hantz implicated him
Survivor cast member Russell Hantz has responded to my report about the lawsuit against Jim Early, aka "missyae," although he did not respond to my...

Chad Rogers insists his decision to leave Million Dollar Listing wasn't "mutual" by having his lawyer threaten a TV critic
Chad Rogers has left Bravo's Million Dollar Listing, something we first learned last April, but the terms of his departure are so important that his...

American Idol's fake apology gets indignation from people still surprised at its insincerity
Last night, American Idol 10 opened its Austin audition episode with an on-screen apology. It said, "American Idol would like to apologize for last week's...
Lawyer says Survivor contract's $5 million in damages clause may be "invalid"
Like other reality TV show participant contracts, the Survivor cast member contract includes a clause that disclosing information about the show in advance will result...
Top Chef Just Desserts renewed, casting
Bravo's spin-off of Top Chef Just Desserts, the spin-off of Top Chef that featured a lot of drama with crazed pastry chefs during its first...
Phil Keoghan's biking-across-America film The Ride is in theaters, online
The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan rode his bike across the United States last year, which he did for several reasons, and now that trip...
Real Housewives of New York City bumped for rebranded Miami season
Bravo has pushed back the debut of The Real Housewives of New York City to sometime "later this spring," and will replace it with The...

Forget Skins: Real World Las Vegas 2's trailer shows the real reason MTV should be ashamed
All of the fake controversy over MTV's scripted series Skins, a format imported from the UK, is really ridiculous if you think about what the...
New York Housewives pushed back because it was boring; will Camille Grammer show up?
The Real Housewives of New York City has been pushed back, and a report says it was because the cast is too boring, which may...
Biggest Loser's gay trainers won't talk to lesbian press; NBC says interviews up to them
The Biggest Loser has diversity in sexual orientation among its trainers, and I'm not even talking about cast members' suggestions that Bob Harper is gay....
MTV rejects Lauren Conrad's new reality series for being "too high brow" or "not a perfect fit"
Former The Hills star Lauren Conrad's new MTV reality series, which was announced last fall and was going to follow her creation of a fashion...