At first blush, a form like reality TV and a show like The Bachelor might seem like an odd subject for a show about breaking the rules. How is it even possible to cheat on a show where the mechanics of competition are simply trying to get the lead to like you? The more cynical-minded might ask, Isn't this all scripted by producers anyway?
Something I've yet to reveal on Jezebel dot com is that-much to my own surprise-I'm a massive The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives fan. I have no issue with reality television, but outside of Real Housewives of New York City and MTV's Are You the One (the best reality dating show of all time, to be clear), nothing has ever really hooked me.
My absolute favorite is a newly sober disaster who's trying to be better but keeps getting in their own way. My second favorite is "unwilling or unable to play by the rules." This is Whitney. She's constantly saying the things you're not supposed to say. She treats group shoots like she's auditioning for a Tennessee Williams production. Her kayfabe is all over the place. It's magnetic!
Openness/Intellect is the Big Five trait most tightly bound to intelligence, and the strongest links to intelligence are facets like "intellectual engagement" and "unconventionality"; big brains like big questions, unusual ideas, abstract debate, and exploring how systems work (Anglim et al., 2022). We find it fascinating to learn new things and enjoy chasing knowledge so that we can level up our understanding of the world around us (Smillie et al., 2021).
The first season of The Celebrity Traitors was buoyed by the casting of gay comedian Alan Carr, who cemented his reputation as a national treasure in episode one after being selected as a Traitor. He was joined as a Traitor by queer musician Cat Burns and TV host Jonathan Ross. While initially being deemed as the least likely Traitor to succeed due to his propensity for sweating and inability to stifle laughter, Carr proved his detractors wrong by winning the show in the shocking finale.
This season of The Golden Bachelor is shaping up to be the most anodyne viewing of the fall. It's just a soothing, hourlong watch that washes over you like the waves are washing over Cindy and Mel on the beach. Is anything interesting happening? No. Are there shapes and colors on the screen that are paired with sounds and music? Yes.
All long-running competition reality television shows fall into the same trap. The longer the show is on the air, the more qualified the contestants. Potential competitors watch every episode of the show that exists, they study how the game is built in order to compete not with heart or passion or instinct, but with strategy. The problem with this is that now competitors on reality television shows are masters from the beginning.
She's absolutely stunning but I'm not sure if she does have a masculine side, so am I gonna fancy her? In this moment, I don't feel like I do. Sh*t,
On October 12, A&E, the cable channel behind "Hoarders" and "Duck Dynasty," will air "The Real Estate Commission," a show about Drowlette's travails and triumphs as a commercial real estate dealmaker. The 8-episode series arrives as the idea of side hustles and DIY investments continues to captivate droves of Americans with aspirations for financial freedom. Drowlette promises that audiences won't be disappointed as he attempts to offer a glimpse into a multitrillion-dollar industry normally dominated by billionaire developers and corporate investment giants.
The family's time on screen ended after the parents were convicted on federal fraud charges in 2022. They reported to their respective prisons in 2023, with Julie Chrisley serving an original seven-year sentence, which was later shortened by 14 months. Todd Chrisley's 12-year sentence was changed to 10 years. After being pardoned by President Donald Trump and released in May 2025, they began filming the Lifetime special " The Chrisleys: Back to Reality. "
This season has been less about who is right or wrong in any argument and more about the tactics they use to fight each other. Just like Guerdy was totally right in her fight with Julia, especially after she threw water at her, but the tactics she used to publish Julia's texts made her behavior unseemly to the women.
By all accounts, Love Is Blind: UK season two is one of the most successful endings we've ever seen. All of the couples except for one are now married, and even the pair who didn't get married parted on an "it's not a no - it's when we're ready." No one's parents refused to show up out of spite, no one's brother started a fight with the groom, and even the couple who did not get married ended on an amicable note.
This week, the new wing-station controller finally comes in, much to the relief of our fearmongering captain, who cautioned that it might not be programmed correctly. Ultimately, it works out fine: The boat can run again. That's about it for things that are fixed - hell, for things that are fixable - on this yacht. There are only a couple of charters left, and if the middle of the season dragged through Solène's reign of chaos, its back half is plummeting toward complete destruction.
Based on the black-box transcripts of downed flights, the root of the problem is the difficulty co-pilots have in asserting themselves in situations when the captain's decision-making needs to be questioned or even overruled.
