A review of Bravo’s new competition Spy Games, plus interviews with assessor Erroll Southers and Kinetic Content’s Eric Detwiler about the show.
All reality show and documentary TV reviews on reality blurred by TV critic Andy Dehnart. (Learn more about Andy.)
The Repair Shop ‘will resurrect, revive, and rejuvenate treasured possessions,’ and my day
The Repair Shop—a BBC series that’s available via Netflix, and on which objects are restored—is charming, warm, and set in a barn. In other words, it’s perfect.
The Circle turns social media into reality TV: a review of Netflix’s U.S. version
Watching people text each other and judge the reactions is occasionally fascinating, sometimes boring, and frighteningly revealing about how we try to connect with each other.
Flirty Dancing review: charming meet-cute dances, plus Fox’s unnecessary changes
Fox’s adaptation of the UK show turns flirtation into an unnecessary competition, but those first dances are pretty magical.
Making It is perfect and needs to return for several hundred more seasons
Making It season 2 was a wonderful way to end 2019, with crafty creativity and camaraderie. NBC, please give us a Making It season 3!
Man vs. Bear: a review, plus interviews with the producers of this insane competition
A new competition has people facing off against bears in five challenges. I talked to producers about how exactly it came together.
Why Drag Race UK proved to be a ‘much betta’ version
The first season of BBC Three’s Drag Race UK, which aired on Logo, was a brilliant season and a bloody good time.
Three wonderful podcasts: Awesome Etiquette, Every Little Thing, and Office Ladies
Three recommendations for wonderful podcasts to listen to—perhaps this Thanksgiving weekend, while you travel or when you need to listen to something other than your family and friends.
Wrap Battle is an imperfect but welcome Christmas gift
The gift wrapping competition Wrap Battle is a lot of holiday fun despite some baffling judging and discordant choices.
College Behind Bars: a ‘more realistic’ look at prison life, and actual rehabilitation
An interview with College Behind Bars director Lynn Novick and producer Sarah Botstein about their four-part series, which goes into prisons to follow students in the Bard Prison Initiative.
Marvel’s Hero Project is Disney+’s celebration of amazing kids. And Marvel.
The Disney Plus reality series profiles truly incredible kids who are doing awesome work, and also does a lot of advertising for Marvel.
Back in the Game: fallen celebs get Alex Rodriguez as an accountability partner
On his new CNBC show, Alex Rodriguez isn’t as invested Marcus Lemonis is on The Profit, though it turns out Alex and Marcus were friends in high school (!).
A review of Encore!, the Disney+ high school musical reunion reality series
Kristen Bell’s show, which reunites the casts of high school plays, is a smoky fireplace of a reality show, radiating warmth and consistently causing my eyes to water.
Chef’s Line and Interior Design Masters: reviews of two competitions on Netflix
Australia’s cooking competition The Chef’s Line is the best cooking competition on Netflix now, while Interior Design Masters didn’t live up to its potential.
Netflix’s Prank Encounters is neither scary nor funny, just embarrassing and boring
The Gaten Matarazzo-hosted prank show is scary for all the wrong reasons, and far more tedious than terrifying.