Reviews of TLC’s Spouse House, where singles have to get married or are evicted, and Bravo’s A Night With My Ex, on which former partners reconnect.
Bravo
Bravo renewed these 16 reality shows
A list of the 14 reality shows Bravo renewed today, plus the two it previous renewed. Also: new spin-offs for a RHONY star and two MDL:NY stars.
How much Below Deck: Mediterranean passengers will pay, and what they get
A second season of Below Deck: Mediterranean is on its way, thanks to the show becoming Bravo’s “fastest growing show over the past three years among” people 25 to 54. That means it needs new passengers who will become key temporary cast members, making outrageous demands and adding drama while the yacht sails around.
The seven intriguing new shows Bravo is developing
One month ago, Bravo announced three new shows that sounded just like Housewives shows, plus three others shows—including Tabatha Coffey’s return to the network—and renewed 11 series that are all Housewives-style. It was more of the same, which is understandable, since it works for the network. Today, though, Bravo announced seven shows that are in development, and not one sounds… continue reading
Tabatha Coffey is back! Plus: Bravo renews 13 shows, mostly Housewives
Bravo’s upfront announcements today included the return of one of the network’s former stars, plus a whole lot of shows using The Real Housewives model.
Here’s the full list of renewed, returning, and new series.
Recipe for Deception has a surprise inside all its rules and lies
Oh no, I thought. Bravo is ripping off Cutthroat Kitchen, really? That, I admit, was my first reaction to the announcement of Bravo’s Recipe for Deception, which debuts tonight at 10 p.m. I love cooking competitions, but I was not eager to see another dumbed-down show that screws with people instead of just letting them cook. And Bravo advertising the show with “from the producers of Cutthroat Kitchen” just seemed to confirm that this was exactly their goal: targeting Food Network viewers.
Recipe for Deception is not, however, dumbed-down. If anything, it’s the opposite.
Andy Cohen’s surprisingly astute Real Housewives-candidate analogies
Bravo’s Andy Cohen used his appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night to discuss politics, and ended up comparing the candidates to stars of The Real Housewives. This was, surprisingly, a pretty good way of explaining what’s happening. Also of note: During the aftershow conversation, and said that The Real Housewives of Potomac wasn’t… continue reading
Below Deck Captain Lee Rosbach on how real Bravo’s show is
Most of Bravo’s programming has become versions of The Real Housewives, with rich people acting like assholes for our entertainment, and its series Below Deck is no exception. It’s The Real Housewives on a yacht, with the same requisite drama. But there are two major differences: One is that this is an actual yacht and the cast… continue reading
Bravo reality star Greg Plitt killed
Friends to Lovers? and Work Out cast member Greg Plitt, 37, was killed Saturday afternoon. He’s the second cast member from Work Out series to die. He was hit by a train in Burbank and was apparently filming with his own camera when he died. Burbank police told People that it “appears to be an accident” and “does… continue reading
Andy Cohen sometimes feels bad about what he’s done
Andy Cohen was profiled on CBS Sunday Morning, the terrific newsmagazine show that rarely goes deep but is nearly always insightful, and Sunday it showed that the man who helped turn The Real Housewives franchise into an entire network’s focus and its own industry sometimes isn’t always pleased with what he’s done. He’s profiled by Erin Moriarty,… continue reading
Bravo’s Below Deck cast member did gay porn
Bravo debuted yet another reality series about rich people behaving badly last night, but Below Deck seems different, in part because it focuses on the people who have to serve the poorly behaved rich people. Oddly for a 2013-era Bravo docudrama, the first episode was rather watchable, and even had surprising moments. Like Million Dollar… continue reading
Bravo’s shows mocked by SNL; Top Chef’s product placement mocked by The Onion
Top Chef‘s increasing product placement has become the subject of satire in The Onion, while SNL parodied Bravo’s Real Housewives-style shows and their spin-offs. The best part of The Onion’s video, below, is the cleverly edited Top Chef footage, which makes it both farcical and satirical. Yet it’s not that far off from reality despite… continue reading
Has Bravo run out of assholes for reality shows?
Bravo, one of the cable networks responsible for establishing multiple sub-genres of reality television, is venturing into scripted programming, which must only be because they’ve run out of assholes to feature on their increasingly awful reality series. The network has ordered pilots for two shows, both of which “center on the complex dynamics of modern… continue reading
80 Plates Around the World vs. No Kitchen Required: no contest, as BBC America bests Bravo
Two new food competition series borrowed elements from Survivor and The Amazing Race, but have had wildly different results evolving the food competition format. Bravo’s Around the World in 80 Plates is shrill and annoying and fumbles nearly every opportunity it had, while BBC America’s just-concluded No Kitchen Required is a truly fresh take on… continue reading
Watch flawless, hilarious impressions of Bravolebrities
Comedian Amy Phillips does flawless impressions of Bravo stars such as Bethenny Frankel, Ramona Singer, and Tabatha Coffey, and earlier this month turned them into a video in which they wish head Bravo star Andy Cohen a happy birthday. (Andy was mocked on SNL with a good impression, but these are significantly better.) Amy has… continue reading