reality blurred – reality TV show reviews, recaps, and news analysis (2024)

Oleksandr ‘Teren’ Budko, a Ukranian man who lost both his legs in Russia's attack on Ukraine, is now starring in Ukraine's version of The Bachelor, in the first season after the war began.

The Guardian’s profile of him notes he was "a barista and aspiring graphic designer before the war" and "is now a disability rights activist with tens of thousands of social media followers and a YouTube series in which he takes famous Ukrainians on city tours to highlight the country’s need to improve accessibility."

Teren said he “will be able to draw a lot of attention to the problems disabled people face. But of course, this is also about love, and if I find someone, that would be great. I’m 28 and in Ukraine you should already have five children at this age!”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Hollander says he didn't know how famous Truman Capote was when he signed on to play the author in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. "If I’d known quite how much [he’s known], I would have been more nervous," Hollander told THR, going on to discuss his preparation process and the big shoes of previous portrayals.

"Why the reality TV bubble finally burst" is part of the L.A. Times’ headline about the unscripted TV industry, which has been suffering alongside scripted TV since the strikes.

Christi Carras reports that "reality TV production in the Greater Los Angeles area plummeted by 57% compared with the same period last year and 50% compared with the five-year average," and notes that some productions and jobs have moved overseas.

The real reason, though, is that there are fewer companies (thanks to disastrous mergers) while "studios areslashing their production slates and budgets." More money for the rich people, fewer jobs and reality TV for the rest of us.

Amazon's Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? will arrive Oct. 16, and I missed the twist when it was first announced: Instead of a contestant competing against celebrities, contestants will use them for help.

Besides the fact that the title now makes no sense, were celebrity egos so fragile that no one would agree to compete against a normie? Were the fifth graders from the original less terrified of losing?

Wondery's Dr. Death podcast has announced a live tour starting this November. Per the PR email, the event "dives into the unsettling true stories of medical malpractice and the unregulated treatments brought to light by the acclaimedDr. Deathpodcast," with "expert speakers and interactive discussions," including Dr. Death host Laura Beil, Suspect creator Matthew Shaer, and others. More info at the link.

NBC's Deal or No Deal Island is jumping on the lo-fi music trend—which I had to have explained to me—by releasing a 44-minute YouTube video of b-roll from the island, including sloths.

The video is accompanied by a soundtrack that producers Endemol Shine North Americadescribe as "an ambient audiovisual experience comprising twelve original Lo-Fi Amapiano tracks blended with elements of Afropop, Chill, and Trip, influenced by the adventure-packed reimagination of beloved game show."

Carrie Underwood will replace Katy Perry on American Idol season 23's judging panel, joining Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

The season will air 20 years after American Idol season four, which Carrie won. But because of ABC's ridiculous insistence on counting its seasons from zero, we've ended up with this sentence in the press release:

"Television’s most widely recognized music competition series, American Idol, welcomes season four winner and eight-time GRAMMY Award winner Carrie Underwood to the judging panel for season eight on ABC and Hulu."

Yeah, four seasons and 20 years later.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams's colleague Timothy Pearson is facing yet another lawsuit/accusation of harassment and misconduct (more at this NYT gift link). Hell Gate's analysis calls the allegations in the latest action "f*cking nuts"; unsurprisingly, Adams is doubling down in his defense of Pearson.

Here are two fun Survivor-related videos:

• "Survivors Who Broke the Rules," in which Henry Hickman uses the Survivor rule book to find examples of players who broke obvious rules and/or examples of producers not enforcing their own rules.
• Eric Brown's illustration of Jeff Probst's telling a story about Mark Burnett. I saw this on TikTok recently, but tracked down the original, because it'd been copied without attribution. (These reality TV-related social media accounts that just rip off other people's creative work and reporting are obnoxious. How hard is it to give a link or credit?)

The Best Evidence July bonus review is actually THREE reviews of recent(-ish) podcasts: an Errol Morris interview on TCM's pod; Flashpoint, a new limited series on the bombing at the 1996 Olympics; and the long-awaited third season of In The Dark. Grab a paid sub and read those -- and our whole archive!