Big Brother producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan’s new baking competition, Crime Scene Kitchen, has borrowed its central idea with Quibi’s Dishmantled and turned that into an excruciatingly boring hour of television that doesn’t even have fun with the title.
Top Chef Portland has been near-perfect, everything I want from both a reality competition and Bravo’s marquee reality series: great challenges; strong, likable contestants; and several surprises.
The Big Shot with Bethenny is not The Apprentice. It’s such a mess that it made me long for the original format, and we all know how that turned out. Sometimes her new series resembles the chaotic, unprofessional workplace of Bravo’s Flipping Out; sometimes it’s one of Bethenny Frankel’s Real Housewives’ spin-offs; and sometimes it’s like one of those flat, failed Apprentice clones from the late 2000s.
Independent Lens’s enthralling PBS documentary reality series Philly D.A. watches from inside to see what happens when someone tries to change the system.
Showtime’s phenomenal and perfect reality TV series Couples Therapy is back for an even-better second season, during which Dr. Orna Guralnik works with three new couples in New York City.
The Real World Homecoming: New York was perfect, a look back that was firmly grounded in today. It celebrated the original show while also offering something new. The Challenge: All Stars, not so much.
There is some drama, suspense, and tension in The Circle season two’s first four episodes. Yet it’s also very disposable reality TV.
