Hey, reality fans! How are we holding up? Excited to catch up on all our favorite preempted shows next week? Same. But there was still plenty to recap, so let’s dive in.
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Reality moment of the week
While many shows were on election hiatus, Survivor delivered. It was another week, another blindside, but this one gave us our first jury member, Sierra.
What happened: Poor Sierra thought she had Andy in her pocket, but in reality (heh), he was out for blood because he knew she’d once considered sending him packing. In the end, he got it. “I’m out here with some really great liars,” Sierra said. [Gold Derby]
What people are saying: Survivor recapper extraordinaire Dalton Ross hit the nail on the head when he said that Sierra will probably be haunted by her assertion that Andy’s “not a threat” for the rest of her days. Embarrassing! [Entertainment Weekly]
My hot take: Andy was smart to flip on his fellow Gata tribe mate (it’s not like she had his back), and honestly, she should have seen it coming. [Reality Tea]
The recaps
🎤 ‘The Voice’
As Battles ended, Reba McEntire and Michael Bublé used their final steals to round out their teams with country singer Tanner Frick and indie folk singer Cassidy Lee. [Yahoo Entertainment]
🌹 ‘Golden Bachelorette’
Charles L. was the belle of the ball at Joan Vassos’s unsurprisingly glorious “Men Tell All,” but Jonathan had the best reveal of the night: Apparently he’s met someone! [Yahoo Entertainment]
🗽 ‘RHONY’
Everyone still hates Brynn, who showed up at Erin’s mezcal party and flirted with her dad. Eek! Sai saw a chance to be shady to Brynn, who’s dealt with sugar baby rumors, and seized it, telling producers, “if it walks like a duck…” [The Daily Beast]
⛵ ‘Below Deck: Sailing Yacht’
Emma’s struggles to adjust to deck life have been an undercurrent this season, but this week was really rough sailing (sorry) — as in, this girl fully fell asleep on her night shift. [Reality Tea]
Reality trivia
Which Real Housewife has dated both George Clooney and Ralph Fiennes?
Hint: She’s linked by marriage to Jackie Kennedy.
Answer at the bottom.
3 questions
…with Andy Dehnart
It was a banner week for Survivor, so for this week’s Q&A, I called up TV critic Andy Dehnart, who created the reality TV hub Reality Blurred.
Laura: We’re now at the jury phase of Survivor. Who are you rooting for as we near the end?
Andy: No single player has emerged yet for me, so I’ll say Andy. Selfishly, it’d be nice to have a winner who shares my name, but mostly it’s because Andy making it past the merge after that Episode 1 meltdown is so unexpected that it makes me root for the chaos of an Andy win.
Laura: Is there anyone under the radar who has sleeper potential to become Sole Survivor?
Andy: Genevieve, Caroline and Rachel are playing interesting games that I think might take them far. Genevieve’s conversations with Rome should be studied by future players, and Rachel’s move at this week’s Tribal Council was brilliant. They’re the players to watch.
Laura: Last week, our castaways got divided into teams after the merge. What did you think of that decision?
Andy: In a word, 🤬. The merge should be, you know, a merge. Jeff Probst is unfortunately obsessed with the idea of small tribes. Still, I don’t understand why the producers don’t just give us a tribe swap and a later merge. The whole “earn the merge” thing and a merge feast for just half the players is one of the worst parts of a very broken, new-era Survivor.
Go deeper: What’s the best Survivor season of all time? Let’s see where your favorite ranks.
Next week’s watchlist
1️⃣ The Voice: It’s time for Knockouts. Who are our Mega Mentors? Alongside a returning Jennifer Hudson, a message in a bottle tells us to look for an exciting newcomer on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. [Entertainment Weekly]
2️⃣ Dancing With the Stars: Prepare for a party, as the show hits its 500th episode on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Expect our dancers to recreate classic performances and to see some familiar faces. 👀 [Us Weekly]
3️⃣ The Golden Bachelorette: On the finale on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, Joan Vassos will finally pick between her two finalists. But what’s this “weird twist” she’s teasing? We’ll have to wait and see. [The Wrap]
✅ Trivia answer: Carole Radziwill, whose late mother-in-law, Lee Radziwill, was Jackie Kennedy’s sister.
📧 Email me: Got any predictions for the Golden Bach finale? Any guesses as to who’s coming back to DWTS next week? Hit up my inbox.
About In Reality: It’s hard to keep up when there’s so much great reality TV. Good thing entertainment reporter Laura Bradley is an expert at staying on top of everything. Every Saturday morning, she shares a roundup of what happened on the week’s top shows. Sign up.
