The spin-off of Whale Wars that follows Sea Shepherd’s actions last summer in the Faroe Islands will debut next month, and has been given the subtitle “Viking Shores,” perhaps because the name of its setting, the Faroe Islands, isn’t as sexy or well-known as Vikings are. (Vikings once colonized the 18-island nation, which is between… continue reading
Behind the scenes of Hoarders: Randyland
Half of last night’s episode of Hoarders profiled Randy Senna, the proprietor of Randyland in Wildwood, New Jersey. (The other half profiled Vicki, a hoarder who essentially rejected the help that she desperately needs; her conflict with the crew and her family made Randy and Matt Paxton’s conflict seem inconsequential.) The episode filmed over the… continue reading
Big Brother cast contract: the agreement houseguests sign
Over 12 seasons and 11 years, Big Brother has entertained and horrified us thanks to the many men and women who have signed up to be cast members on the show. Those houseguests were all required to sign a contract with producers governing their behavior before, during, and after the show, and until now, that… continue reading
Big Brother finals casting process: how it works, rules finalists must follow
Big Brother debuts its 13th season this week, introducing us to eight new cast members and several returning cast members. All went through a process that we’ve often heard mentioned but that, until now, has never been revealed in detail: finals. That refers to the final stage in the casting process, when finalists are brought… continue reading
Behind the scenes of Hoarders and inside Survivor Coach’s house and life
The July issue of Playboy, which is on newsstands starting today, includes my first feature story for the magazine: a more than 5,500-word exploration into the world of reality TV. It’s the issue that features “Mrs. Crystal Hefner” on its cover. Since Crystal left Hugh this week, it’s now become an instant collectible–although it already… continue reading
Big Brother 12 house: inside the soundstage
After touring Big Brother house Saturday, I was left with new respect for the people who both run it and live there. Although perhaps “respect” is a little much for the houseguests; actually, I just now appreciate how easy it is for already insane people to go crazy in there. Here are my observations… continue reading
Behind the scenes of the Big Brother house
On Saturday, 20 members of the Television Critics Association toured the Big Brother house, live studio, and backstage areas. As a member of TCA, I was one of those fortunate people. After we visited the studio and back yard, executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan each took half the group, and led us through… continue reading
Survivor contestant contract: the waivers, agreements that cast members, families sign
Survivor has been on the air for 10 years as of today, and to date, 301 people have participated in the series as contestants. While casting has turned to recruiting to find participants, many people, from Canadians to teenagers, repeat applicants to first-timers, are still desperate to be cast. But in exchange for playing for… continue reading
Behind the scenes of Schmergen Brawl, the brutal challenge that made Survivor history
Three days after we rehearsed Schmergen Brawl, the reward challenge on last night’s episode, Luna, the proprietor of our hotel Le Manumea, looked at me and said, “You’re damaged.” Then she said, “You’re all damaged.” We were. I got away pretty easily: torn-up and scraped-up knees and elbows, big bruises on my arms and legs,… continue reading
Survivor: how challenges are created, how Samoa impacted the crew, why twists are fair
After less than 48 hours of recovery time, CBS transitions from its craptastic summer reality shows to its gold-standard series: the return of The Amazing Race a week from Sunday, and the debut of Survivor Samoa tonight. In case you missed the non-stop barrage that was the series of 20 cast member interviews I wrote… continue reading
Behind the scenes of Survivor Gabon’s first episode
Watching the first episode of Survivor Gabon was weirder than I expected. In part that’s because watching three long days play out in 44 minutes was surreal, but also because we saw none of the strategizing. When we visited camp of the loser tribe, Fang, Michelle was essentially an outcast, and that was a full… continue reading