Discovery Channel’s Dodgeball Thunderdome was filmed this summer, putting people’s lives at risk to produce one of the worst reality competitions I’ve ever seen.
All reality show and documentary TV reviews on reality blurred by TV critic Andy Dehnart. (Learn more about Andy.)
Eco-Challenge is back, and it’s outstanding, uplifting, and electrifying reality TV
World’s Toughes Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is an excellent reality series, frequently uplifting and thrilling, despite the unnecessary addition of host Bear Grylls.
Tough As Nails’ rare reality TV format has produced a fascinating outcome
CBS has renewed Phil Keoghan’s Tough As Nails for season two, which will film this fall. After its first two episodes, it kept improving, and its cast has consistently surprised me. Plus: great challenges!
RHONY became a drunken mess this season, and it’s just not fun
RHONY used to be light and fun. But then Bethenny left, and so did everyone who knew how to tell a coherent story other than drunken fighting. Also: Who is Elyse and why is she everywhere?
Killer Camp is dumb fun, but with a few near-fatal flaws
A review of The CW’s Killer Camp, a playfully stupid show that left me with several questions, such as how the eliminated contestant is chosen to be murdered. I have answers.
Tough as Nails is CBS’s best new reality competition in years, but it’s also quite patronizing
Tough as Nails spends way too much time insisting its blue-collar contestants are better than other people, but once you get past that, there’s a fascinating competition with solid challenges here.
Cannonball is a watered-down disappointment
Cannonball, which is being previewed on NBC before airing on USA Network, looks like it should be the next Wipeout or Floor is Lava. It’s not.
Karma’s great cast deserved a far better game than this weak copy of Endurance
HBO Max’s Karma mimics Big Brother’s game, except without giving its players a chance to save themselves except by random chance. It’s a waste of a beautiful location and a terrific cast, who make the show compelling even when the game design fails them.
Crazy Delicious: Netflix’s competition takes GBBO’s DNA into an ‘enchanted garden’
Carla Hall is one of the three food god judges on Crazy Delicious, which has a Willy Wonka-ish set but in tone and approach, is much more like The Great British Baking Show.
Floor is Lava and Don’t: two kids’ games, turned into reality TV competitions
Netflix’s Floor is Lava is visually stunning, with its set of gurgling lava slime, but it needs better narration, like Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool-style narration on ABC’s new game show Don’t.
Holey Moley 2: The Sequel is better than the original
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.
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.