World’s Toughes Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is an excellent reality series, frequently uplifting and thrilling, despite the unnecessary addition of host Bear Grylls.
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Chris Harrison can’t host Bachelorette after leaving its bubble
Chris Harrison is out, temporarily, as host of Bachelorette season 16 and is being replaced by a former Bachelorette.
Survivor Borneo’s Pagonging is complete, but only after immunity saves Kelly
Kelly Wiglesworth was almost voted out of Survivor Borneo, but immunity saved her. But the show spent much more time on its first visit from a family member: Sean’s dad joins him for a night on a yacht.
Tough As Nails’ rare reality TV format has produced a fascinating outcome
CBS has renewed Phil Keoghan’s Tough As Nails for season two, which will film this fall. After its first two episodes, it kept improving, and its cast has consistently surprised me. Plus: great challenges!
BB22’s Dani intervenes as Cody ignorantly dismisses ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ-19 effects as ‘sniffles’
“Do you realize that your way of thinking right now is the reason why it’s so bad, because people keep saying stuff like that…?” Dani asked Cody on Big Brother 22’s live feeds.
Hard Knocks and Eco-Challenge return, Selena Gomez cooks, and other reality TV premieres
Reality show premieres for this week include Love It or List It, The Circus, and a new 90 Day Fiance spin-off focusing on Darcey and Stacey.
Many reality shows are in back in production. Will someone die as a result?
Scripted shows are not yet back in production. But reality TV is, filming in the U.S. and internationally. Besides Big Brother, there’s Love Island, Shark Tank, American Ninja Warrior, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Bargain Mansions, and Impractical Jokers, among other shows.
American Ninja Warrior all-stars: Drew Drechsel, facing life in prison, will be edited out
American Ninja Warrior’s “real-life ninja” Drew Drechsel, who’s 31, was arrested by federal authorities and charged with crimes related to having sex with a minor. He’ll be edited out of an all-star ANW season that NBC filmed just two weeks ago.
BB22 premiere: What a pleasant start for a summer season of Big Brother!
With an older cast and an upgraded set, the premiere of Big Brother 22: All-Stars seemed more like Celebrity Big Brother, and I am all for that. Of course, there were the usual technical glitches and dumb twists that we love so much.
A Survivor becomes a father, and the subject of gross gossip and scrutiny
Gervase’s new kid gets a lot of attention Survivor: Borneo episode. So does strategizing: Jeff Probst’s recap of Tribal Council to discussions of whether to break up an alliance, strategy has moved to the forefront of Survivor: Borneo.
Love Island’s schedule: 7 nights a week, starting in late August
Love Island season 2’s premiere date and schedule have been announced by CBS, and it’ll be airing eight hours every week.
BB22 houseguests tested positive, Julie Chen said in now-deleted interview
During a TV interview today, Julie Chen confirmed rumors that multiple Big Brother 22 all-star houseguests tested positive for ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ-19. But now that interview has been deleted.
Shark Week and Sharkfest’s experts are mostly white men. Why? And does it matter?
“To say that there aren’t women in shark science is utterly ridiculous,” a Black female marine biologist told me. So I asked both Discovery’s Shark Week and National Geographic’s Sharkfest why they focused on white male shark scientists in their marketing and casting.
Clare Crawley replaced by Tayshia Adams on The Bachelorette
The Bachelorette season 16 is being filmed in Southern California, and reports that emerged over the weekend suggest the oldest Bachelorette ever, Clare Crawley, will be replaced mid-season with the franchise’s second Black star, Tayshia Adams.
BB22’s live premiere, Chopped: Beat Bobby Flay, and other reality TV shows debuting this week
Besides the return of Big Brother (yay? ugh?), there’s a special Chopped tournament that mashes up with Beat Bobby Flay, plus new seasons of Selling Sunset, Backyard Envy, and more.