Survivor Game Changers reached the merge and gave us two back-to-back one-hour episodes, and it took two hours for the individual game to really begin.
Archives for April 2017
Call me a grouch, but the Sesame Street Real Housewives parody needs to scram
Sesame Street released a three-part parody of The Real Housewives called The Real Grouches of Sesame Street. It doesn’t work. I’m a grouch.
Survivor 35 is filming now in Fiji
Survivor is currently filming its 35th season in Fiji, the same location as seasons 33 (Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X) and 34 (Survivor Game Changers), specifically the chain of islands called the Mamanuca Islands. Fiji will host both Survivor 35 and Survivor 36, as the show films seasons back to back in the same place. The Survivor 35 cast flew… continue reading
Alex Apple on poop water, prayers for Stranded opponents, and more
Stranded with a Million Dollars contestant Alex Apple writes about episode 9, including his opponents’ strategy of pooping in Alex and Gina’s water supply.
Preview Ken Burns’ next work: The Vietnam War
Preview Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s next work: The Vietnam War, which he calls “the most ambitious project that we have ever undertaken.”
Bill Nye, marijuana, a Holocaust discovery, and more reality TV this week
It’s your weekly round-up of unscripted TV: Bill Nye’s Netflix show debuts, Viceland airs its first-ever Weed Week, and lots of shows debut new seasons.
Iron Chef Gauntlet is not Iron Chef, but it is familiar
When Food Network announced Iron Chef Gauntlet, it said that “the elite culinary skill, strategy and stamina of Iron Chef America returns,” and called the show “a fresh reboot of the fan-favorite franchise hosted by the incomparable Alton Brown.” I’m all for a reboot, but based on the premiere, which you can watch below, it’s essentially the same show… continue reading
Zeke, Varner, Probst, and Survivor: new details and thoughts
More information about Jeff Varner’s outing of Zeke Smith from Varner’s exit interviews and other sources. Plus: some of your responses to my analysis.
RuPaul’s Drag Race gets an early renewal from VH1
VH1 likes its newly acquired drag queen competition so much it just renewed the series for a 10th season, which will debut in 2018.
Four must-read pieces about Zeke being outed on Survivor
Zeke Smith writes about being outed on Survivor; Jennifer Finney Boylan on trans identity; and Jeff Probst on what he was thinking during Tribal Council.
Survivor Game Changers airs Jeff Varner’s ‘malicious attack’
Survivor Game Changers episode seven ended with Jeff Varner outing Zeke Smith at Tribal Council in an attempt to save himself in the game.
Details about MTV’s new Fear Factor, hosted by Ludacris
MTV announced details of its new version of Fear Factor, which will be hosted by Ludacris and play off of millennials anxieties with new challenges.
Why Alex Apple burned money on Stranded with a Million Dollars
Stranded with a Million Dollars contestant Alex Apple is writing about each episode of the MTV reality competition for reality blurred. If you have any questions for him, comment below or send them via this form. Now things are getting exciting. Ten days from the end, tensions could not be higher on the island in episode eight “No Money, Mo Problems” of… continue reading
Cats, a ‘gay former Mormon / converted Jew / cancer survivor’, and Julian Assange
Watch the trailers for three new or upcoming documentaries, including one that makes stray cats stars, and another about a comedian converting to Judaism.
Interview: John Cena on American Grit season two’s major changes
Last November, in a rural Georgia park, I interviewed several contestants for American Grit season two. It was the first thing a tiny contingent of press—two Fox TV station crew, and another print reporter and I—did before traveling to the actual set, where the contestants would be mentored by military elites and test their own endurance in the John… continue reading