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reality check

18 reality show debuts include Top Chef, Drag Race, Vanderpump Rules, and The Profit

RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
RuPaul surrounded by the Pit Crew on RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular (Photo by VH1)

by Andy Dehnart 3 Dec. 2018 | 8:50 am

Good Monday morning. It’s December, and temperatures here in the 40s have been replaced by temperatures in the 80s. That’s Florida, and it is not meant to brag: there is also 95 percent humidity this morning, so I am sticking to myself as I type this. It’s very festive.

Before we get to this week’s premiers, I’ve just published my quarterly guide to reality TV show premiere dates. Because I update it every time networks send out announcements with premiere dates, it currently reaches all the way into May, when The Amazing Race 31 will premiere in Survivor’s timeslot.

So check that out. But first, here’s what’s ahead in reality TV this week.

A new Drag Race competition airs Friday night at 8 on VH1: RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular brings back these eight queens to compete for a new title.

While it’s just one hour long, it will be repeated immediately (?), and that repeat will be followed by the start of a week-long Drag Race marathon.

The marathon is on a different network, Logo, and  begins at 10 p.m. ET Friday with the very first episode of the show ever, and continues until the following Friday at 5. That’s the night when RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars returns—on VH1.

Nailed It, Sylvia Weinstock, Nicole Byer, Jacques Torres

The host of Netflix’s Nailed It, Nicole Byer (center), with guest judge Sylvia Weinstock and regular judge Jacques Torres.

In other holiday competition reality TV, Netflix has three new holiday-themed episodes of the delightful show Nailed It! starting on Friday.

The evening before, The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition returns (ABC, Thursdays at 9), but this time with a new host and a new judge.

And for a real holiday treat, there’s Homicide for the Holidays (Oxygen, Dec. 9 at 8, then Sundays at 7), which has three episodes of murders at Christmas.

The return of Top Chef, The Profit, Vanderpump Rules, and more

Also back this week:

  • The Profit (CNBC, Tuesdays at 10), including an episode that follows upon The Casery episode.
  • Vanderpump Rules, for its seventh season (Bravo, Mondays at 9)
  • Top Chef Kentucky (Bravo, Thursdays at 9), which will move around Kentucky and then go to China for its finale.
  • Deal or No Deal (CNBC, Wednesday at 8, then Wednesdays at 9) is back from the dead, and one of its briefcase-holding models is a former Survivor contestant.
  • Who Do You Think You Are? (TLC, Mondays at 9), which dives into the family history of Regina King, Josh Duhamel, Mandy Moore, and Matthew Morrison.

The actor Megan Fox follows her curiosity around the world on her new show Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox (Travel Channel, Tuesdays at 8).

Bravo is airing a new show two nights a week: it’s called Unanchored (Bravo, Mondays and Tuesdays at 10), and follows “nine best friends” (how can you have nine best friends?!) who spend three weeks on a boat in the Bahamas.

Botched is back (E!, Thursdays at 10) with Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif doing more reconstructive surgery.

Maine Cabin Masters (DIY, Mondays at 9) follows people renovating cabins, and Fantomworks (MotorTrend Network, Wednesdays at 9) airs its final season of people restoring cars.

Finally this week, four more festive reality shows:

  • Love After Lockup (WEtv, Fridays at 9), which follows couples after one of them gets out of prison.
  • Border Live (Discovery, Wednesdays at 9) which is live at U.S.-Mexico border, embedded with law enforcement and people who live there.
  • Deadly Legacy (ID, Sundays at 10), which focuses on John Wayne Gacy’s murders and his eight unidentified victims.
  • Paranormal Lockdown (Destination America, Tuesdays at 9) watches as two people lock themselves in haunted locations.

Two documentaries

In 2015, Sandra Bland was pulled over by a Texas cop for failing to use her turn signal when changing lanes. She died in jail three days later, hanging from a noose in her jail cell, which prompted protests over law enforcement’s behavior.

Her story is the subject of Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (HBO, Monday, Dec. 3, at 10), and its “filmmakers tracked the story for two years, drawing on key documents, jail footage and interviews with those closest to the events,” according to HBO.

Always at the Carlyle (Starz, Monday, Dec. 3, at 9 p.m.) focuses on a hotel in New York City that housed many celebrities; those interviewed for the film, according to Starz, include “George Clooney, Anjelica Huston, Tommy Lee Jones, Vera Wang, Anthony Bourdain, Roger Federer, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Jon Hamm, Lenny Kravitz, Naomi Campbell and Elaine Stritch.”

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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about reality blurred

reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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