Ultimate Survival Alaska, which is now in its third season, sends four teams of three on a 13-leg race through Alaskan wilderness. It is dramatic and thrilling, and features moments of great danger. It has also been accused of staging moments and not authentic. Is Ultimate Survival Alaska fake? “Nothing is staged. Everything you see those people do… continue reading
Exclusive reports, interviews, details, and observations from behind the scenes of reality TV productions, from soundstages to islands, Trading Spaces to Survivor.
Behind the scenes of Knife Fight
What happens when a real restaurant becomes the set of a reality TV cooking competition.
Bachelor mansion: behind the scenes
The secrets of Villa De La Vina, the candle wax-scented mansion where The Bachelor and Bachelorette are filmed.
Behind the scenes of The Glass House
Go inside and behind the scenes of The Glass House, ABC’s Big Brother-like competition series.
Whale Wars spin-off subtitled Viking Shores; go behind the scenes in Playboy before it debuts
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
How Hoarders was filmed, from behind the scenes of a show that usually doesn’t allow visitors. Plus: What happened that wasn’t shown on TV on the season 4 episode “Randy/Vicki.”
Big Brother cast contract: the agreement houseguests sign
This is the Big Brother contract, which cast members sign during casting. It details things like houseguests’ pay and prohibited behavior.
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
I visited Ben “Coach” Wade at his home and visited the set of Hoarders, reporting on both in a Playboy feature story.
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 from… 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
I talked to the people responsible for Survivor challenges including challenge producer John Kirhoffer and executive producer and host Jeff Probst.
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