Two groups of talented artists, two showcases for their talent, two very different reality shows.
reality TV show reviews
All reality show reviews on reality blurred by TV critic Andy Dehnart, who has watched and loved reality TV shows since The Real World: Los Angeles. Learn more about Andy and about reality blurred.
A review of The Final Table, Netflix’s attempt at MasterChef
Netflix’s new culinary competition is MasterChef on a spaceship without the charm.
The joys of Get a Room with Carson & Thom: wit and banter with a side of design
Original Queer Eye cast members Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley are back together, and it’s absolutely wonderful.
Welcome to Waverly could have been The Real World for those of us who miss the original
Bravo’s Welcome to Waverly decided to be The Simple Life instead of The Real World with adults.
Review: Making a Murderer Part Two struggles with what it wrought
The 10 new episodes of Making a Murderer part two focus on lawyers’ attempts to free Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.
How Samin Nosrat turned her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat into Netflix’s first instructional cooking show
An interview with Samin Nosrat, the James Beard award-winning chef and author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
Review: In Dancing Queen, Alyssa Edwards steps aside for Justin Johnson
The Netflix series tells the story of Justin Johnson’s life, today and before Alyssa Edwards.
Recommended: Million Pound Menu, which combines Shark Tank with Top Chef’s restaurant wars
A review of BBC Two’s Million Pound Menu, which is now on Netflix.
The Contender is back, with more boxing, less reality TV competition
Epix’s The Contender season five is the reverse of the very first NBC season: it’s now mostly boxing, with a little bit of reality show.
Review: ABC’s Castaways, a survival series with shades of Survivor, Lost, and Alone
ABC’s new survival series is familiar and promising, and flashes between the cast’s attempt to survive and their home lives, but it also drags.
Recommended: Tabloid Wars, a Bravo reality show filmed at the paper that just fired half its staff
Tabloid Wars aired just six episodes on Bravo back in 2006, and went behind the scenes of The New York Daily News’ daily reporting. It’s still great reality TV.
Making It turns Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman’s charm and chemistry into wondrous reality TV
NBC’s crafting competition is as charming as The Great British Bake-Off, and just might be having even more fun.
Nailed It season two’s Queer Eye crossover, and Cooking on High’s many lows
Nailed It season two is still a genre-ignoring pile of exuberance and silliness, but Cooking on High is about as useful as a wet joint.
The new Double Dare is perfect, balancing classic and modern flawlessly
Nick’s new version of Double Dare had Marc Summers and new host Liza Koshy, and was still the show we grew up on.
Why Queer Eye is this year’s best reality TV, and Trading Spaces feels like a rerun
The reboot of Queer Eye was a revelation, the best new reality series of the year. The reboot of Trading Spaces was surprisingly lifeless.