Duck Dynasty is more popular in the south and “Republicans were about 50 percent more likely to tune in to the season premiere than Democrats, and Republicans who always vote in statewide elections were almost twice as likely to tune in than were Democrats.” That’s perhaps very obvious, but the density of its popularity in the south and its unpopularity elsewhere is somewhat surprising to me, since people often choose to watch reality shows about people who live very different lives from themselves.
Complex lists The 25 worst people in reality TV history. I might quibble with the rankings, and I’m sure they’ve left people out, but it’s hard to disagree with much of this list–though I’ll stand up for my friend Coach, who changed significantly and redeemed himself over his three seasons.
The Rachel Zoe Project is ending because Rachel says “it’s time to probably move on”; she also said that, initially, the series “was meant to be a show solely based on fashion and designers and all of that, and clearly it wasn’t. I was like, “Oh, I don’t want my personal life on television.” Earlier, Bravo denied that the show was on the verge of cancellation.
American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini blogged that “I have spent days skipping meals in order to make sure I have enough. To make sure my children, and my wife have enough.” After the media picked up that story, he backtracked and said “I’m nowhere near poverty” and insisted People magazine “twisted my truth.”
Kate Gosselin’s “Life After Reality TV” means telling her story to People magazine and appearing on the cover, so it’s obviously not about seeking out the spotlight or anything.
Magic Johnson’s son EJ, who came out earlier this year, is being recruited to star in his own reality show, but apparently Magic and his wife are encouraging him to turn it down.
A new documentary promises to reveal the story of Face Off season three cast member Joe Castro, who had a meltdown on the first episode. The press release announcing this is so horrendously written I first thought it was a joke. Sample sentence: “FRANKEN // FAKE will tell the story of special effects artist, Joe Castro, who began to see a series of events from producer’s that led him to decide that he was not part of a true competition.” Here’s another sentence from the actual press release that caused my brain to hurt: “The incident took place on May 5, 2012 but is not being told by documentary Producer and veteran reality television editor, Steven Escobar now feels the truth should be told.”
There are now photos of the house that will host The Real World‘s return to San Francisco.
The Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Vicki Gunvalson’s boyfriend Brooks Ayers “has filed a slander and defamation lawsuit against Gunvalson’s ex-business partner, who he claims went public with false allegations that he’d uncovered evidence detailing how Ayers planned to have him killed,” Radar reports.
HBO’s always-stellar Hard Knocks showed footage on this week’s episode of something that made headlines: Cincinnati Bengal James Harrison telling a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter that NFL Films’ cameras shouldn’t be filming: “I don’t feel they deserve to be here. They did nothing to be here, other than want to be here. They didn’t put no blood, sweat and tears into none of this. All these men in here, they did that. They (the cameras) did nothing. No one deserves to see this, to come inside of this unless you’re a part of this. That’s why.” In the first episode, he was shown jumping into a random car to escape the cameras; this week, he apparently allowed them to film him naked and getting acupuncture.
An October Frontline documentary called League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis had been a 15-month joint project of PBS and ESPN, but now ESPN is out because of pressure from the NFL, according to the New York Times. ESPN says they backed out because they wouldn’t have editorial control; a spokesperson for the NFL said, “We deny that we pressured them.” Three weeks ago, PBS and ESPN executives appeared together at a Television Critics Association press conference and ESPN had lots of praise for PBS. Here’s the trailer:
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Andy Dehnart is the creator of reality blurred and a writer and teacher who obsessively and critically covers reality TV and unscripted entertainment, focusing on how it’s made and what it means.
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