Brené Brown has a great new Netflix special. But it was a 2010 column that asks questions that I want to think more about when I watch and write about reality TV.
related news
Live feeds, but with kittens! In a doll house! In Iceland!
You can watch four orphaned kittens roaming a large doll house right now, live on the Internet, switching between cameras that even include night vision.
What did two SNL reality TV sketches have to say about the genre?
Chris Pine starred in two Saturday Night Live sketches, including one, “Auto Shop,” about the VH1 competition RuPaul’s Drag Race.
This beer ad should become a reality series
A new Heineken ad from the U.K. should be adapted into a U.S.-based reality series. It’s entertaining and something the world desperately needs right now.
True crime reality TV gets mocked by a sitcom in NBC’s Trial & Error
The midseason show I have most been looking forward to this year is a sitcom: NBC’s Trial & Error, which debuts tonight.
That’s in part because the show, starring John Lithgow, is a mockumentary that was inspired by a terrific documentary series. But my excitement is mostly a result of this trailer…
Real Awful Moms, and other reality TV Super Bowl ads
Several Super Bowl LI ads used reality TV to entertain and capture attention. Here they are for your repeat viewing pleasure.
The failure of American Horror Story: Roanoke’s attempt to satirize reality TV
A review of American Horror Story: Roanoke, which attempted to satirize reality TV twice with “My Roanoke Nightmare” and “Return to Roanoke.”
Nine hours of election-free, relaxing TV starts at 3 p.m. ET
The Weather Channel is giving us an option to escape election coverage: a nine-hour marathon of nature and weather footage, which starts at 3 p.m. ET.
How the friendship in the HBO comedy Insecure is a response to reality TV
Issa Rae, the creator and star of HBO’s new comedy Insecure, says her show presents a different version of black female friendships than reality shows do.
The reality stars speaking at Donald Trump’s Republican convention
One-seventh of the speakers at the Republican convention this week are people who’ve been on reality television shows. A full list, and when to watch them.
Call this number now. You’ll hear the next episode of a new series.
Call 415-529-6057 for a recording of the next episode of Phone Stories, on which people tell you true stories about themselves or about others. Try it!
These 4 minutes and 18 seconds are painful, but so necessary
Men read real tweets directed toward two female sportswriters.
These truly are #MoreThanMean—they’re just unspeakably cruel, yet also so important to watch.
He-Man, recut as a reality show
What happens when you take a 1980s cartoon and add new voices to turn it into a reality show? Nostalgic reality TV magic, that’s what.
The clickbait about reality TV and narcissism ignores key facts
Publications that have reported on research connecting reality TV viewing to narcissism have left out some critical facts from their headlines and articles.
The work of Harper Lee, early reality TV producer, and Umberto Eco
On Friday, two writers known best for their fiction both died: Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, and Umberto Eco, who wrote The Name of the Rose.
Here are their surprising connections to reality television.