Holey Moley’s first season was great fun. Season two is even better, which is to say it’s far more insane and more like Wipeout—yet also more of a legitimate competition.
reality TV show reviews
All reality show and documentary TV reviews on reality blurred by TV critic Andy Dehnart. (Learn more about Andy.)
Celebrity Escape Room is a lot of fun, even when the celebs are a little dumb
Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Adam Scott, and Ben Stiller are certainly not the world’s best escape room team, but with Jack Black as their game master, they are quite entertaining.
Ultimate Tag, Fox’s new competition, has some surprises in its arena
Fox’s Ultimate Tag, hosted by JJ, TJ, and Derek Watt, is significantly better than similar reality shows that came before it. But it’s also not the next American Ninja Warrior or American Gladiators.
Big Flower Fight is Netflix’s wilted, underbaked Great British Baking Show
The Big Flower Fight is the latest entry in Netflix’s attempt to wow the world with mediocre versions of popular reality TV shows, and it has plagiarized all the wrong things from The Great British Baking Show.
Tirdy Works: the shittiest reality show I’ll ever recommend to you
Tirdy Works, a new reality show on truTV, has non-stop moose turd puns but also a lot of warmth and heart. It’s the shit, and I highly recommend it.
Buddy vs. Duff 2 ends by giving the win to the loser
Buddy vs. Duff 2’s finale had Duff Goldman and Buddy Valastro competing in a challenge with a Star Wars theme, and we could’ve guessed who’d win even before it started.
American Idol goes ‘On With the Show,’ its best episode in years
American Idol 18’s top-20 episode was filmed remotely but was surprisingly great, and set a very high bar for at-home editions of reality TV competitions.
HGTV’s Celebrity IOU brings A-list celebrities to cable reality TV
Actual Brad Pitt was on HGTV with the Property Brothers, on a new show that has the Property Brothers do makeovers alongside actual A-list stars.
On Dishing with Julia Child, TV chefs watch Julia’s TV show, and it’s a delight
Carla Hall, Vivian Howard, Marcus Samuelsson, Eric Ripert, and other chefs watch—and comment on—episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef in this new show. Highly recommended.
Funny Dance Show is the Nailed It! of dance reality TV: playful and ridiculous
With its comedian contestants and absurdly silly dances, E!’s The Funny Dance Show is a fun hour.
Tiger King excels at throwing bloody chunks at ravenous Netflix viewers. But why?
Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder Mayhem, and Madness is as unsubtle as this headline, and is addictively watchable. But what is its point?
On Making the Cut, Heidi and Tim are back and having a blast
Making the Cut has sheared away the minutiae of the clothing-designing process, and replaced it with twirling, cinematic shots of New York and Paris. A review of the Amazon Prime Video reality competition.
Welcome back, Top Chef! Now please rise to the level of your all-stars
I’m thrilled to have Top Chef back and the premiere was a fun watch, but it also felt surprisingly stale after the reinvention of Project Runway and the pomp of Survivor: Winners at War.
Buddy vs. Duff 2 review: it’s a vastly improved show
Buddy vs. Duff 2 is not the odd and flimsy competition that season one was. It’s a lot more playful and fun—though it’s still a little sketchy.
Project Runway vs. Next in Fashion: Which fashion competition is better?
Bravo’s Project Runway is in its 18th season, its second of its new era, while Netflix’s new entrant, Next in Fashion, doesn’t exactly reinvent the fashion competition.