Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Chrissy Hofbeck

 

Previous Season:

Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers (2017) - 2nd Place

Am I particularly excited to see Chrissy back? Eh, not really? Do I think this was a warranted return? Yes. While I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Chrissy fan (I don't dislike her, just don't have super strong feelings one way or another), this return was needed. While I'm not certain she would have won HHH even without forced fire making, the twist absolutely screwed her over. If she were going to lose to Ryan and Devon, she should have had the opportunity to do so. I've never believed that the twist was rigged for Ben, I've always believed it would be there regardless, it obviously benefitted him greatly. He should have been the fallen angel, but is instead one of the worst winners. The twist saved Ben, and harmed Chrissy and Devon (arguably Devon more since he went home in a position where he wouldn't have without fire making, and could have gone on to win the game, but Chrissy gets talked about more in this spot since she was at FTC against Ben who shouldn't have been there). In the event that the fans vote to remove fire making (which I really hope happens, I voted against it, but I fear there's a decent chance it stays), it would be kind of poetic if Chrissy makes it all the way to final four, and then gets voted out with no way to save herself. Would be kind of a full circle moment that part of me really wants to see.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Aubry Bracco

 

Previous Seasons:

Kaôh Rōng (2016) - 2nd Place

Game Changers (2017) - 5th Place

Edge of Extinction (2019) - 16th Place

We're at an unfortunate point in Survivor history where I sadly have to say that I would have rather have someone else over Aubry. The entirety of the 20s were neglected in the casting process, but we just have to see Aubry play for a fourth time, right? I really liked her on Kaôh Rōng (and probably would have voted for her to win if I were on the jury, as much as I love Michele and acknowledge that her win was earned), so I was super happy to see her on Game Changers, only for her to receive a really quiet and boring edit. When they brought her back on EoE, I was mixed, partially because I thought the idea of four captains was regardless and production was really just trying to give some of their favorites another chance to win (particularly Joe), but also I thought it was a good opportunity for Aubry to redeem herself after GC... until she got embarrassed by a bunch of newbies. After that she just didn't seem like she wanted to be there, so I really wonder why she wasted all that time on the Edge. The only notable thing about her on that season (other than her embarrassing exit) was her extremely over the top reaction to Julie's "jumping ship" moment. Like come on, it was not that insane. Anyway, because of her last two experiences, I just don't really have high expectations this time around, and would have rather seen someone else in this spot. I hope to see the rootable underdog from Kaôh Rōng, but fear we'll just have quiet and boring Aubry again. However, since she is on the cast, I really hope her and Q are on the same tribe because of the fact that Q voted Moriah out on 46 for being an Aubry fan (yes, I know I'm oversimplifying it). That could lead to some fun.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Coach Wade

 

Previous Seasons:

Tocantins (2009) - 5th Place

Heroes vs. Villains (2010) - 12th Place

South Pacific (2011) - 2nd Place

We've gone from one South Pacific captain that I was not happy to see on this cast, to a South Pacific captain that I am ecstatic to see on this cast. As a TV character, Coach is one of my favorite Survivor players of all time. He was such an insane character on Tocantins and was solely responsible for one of the best episodes in the history of the show with "The Martyr Approach," as well as a bunch of other hilarious moments like his assistant coach loved one visit and the dragonslayer of it all. He was super fun on HvV as well, and him and Tyson (another one of my favorite players) had the iconic moment of Coach's breakdown and Tyson's tough love. While he was not as good of a character on SoPa, he played a super impressive game and showed his strategic chops. He used religion to essentially create a cult on his tribe (which was fascinating to watch) and steamroll the season, he just couldn't own it for the win. Now that he's older and time has passed, one may wonder if he's still got it, and I think he does. As a character, he still makes me laugh on social media. The day before the cast was officially revealed, he tweeted "With friend and foe we march to the battlefield..... Oh you know the rest #survivor." Someone asked him about an NDA and he said "The dragonslayer plays by his own rules," which made me laugh out loud. As for his gameplay, so much time has passed and Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains are much more popular than South Pacific. I think people are mainly going to remember kooky Coach from the former seasons, rather than the strategic game he dominated on the latter. I REALLY hope he's in it for the long haul, but if not, I hope we at least get to see him interact with Q.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Ozzy Lusth

 

Previous Seasons:

Cook Islands (2006) - 2nd Place

Micronesia (2008) - 9th Place

South Pacific (2011) - 4th Place

Game Changers (2017) - 12th Place

I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Ozzy is probably the player that I'm the least excited for on this entire cast. I didn't need him on Game Changers (and was proven right when he was very boring), and I don't need him here. I expect him to be good at challenges in the pre-merge, and then he'll be taken out at the first opportunity after the merge. He comes in and tries to do the same thing EVERY time, and it hasn't worked. I sound like a certified Ozzy hater, but I'm really not. He was a lot of fun of Cook Islands (though he did not deserve to win, Yul rightfully won), was a fun villain with a fun downfall on Micronesia, and had a really fun run on South Pacific that would have acted as a perfect ending to his story. The problem is that they keep needlessly bringing him back expecting something different, and getting more of the same. The fact that Ozzy is joining Cirie in tying Rob for the most amount of seasons played (only counting US) is kind of ridiculous because he should have just been a three time player.

The Challenge Vets & New Threats: Official Cast Reaction Part 2 (New Threats)

   

With last post covering the vets on The Challenge 41, this post will cover the rookies, or "new threats." Like last time, I will start by giving my general thoughts, before giving specifics.

New Threats: General Thoughts

I'm happy with this group of rookies. Truthfully, I'd be happy with any group of rookies because I've been missing rookies on The Challenge. With 39 and 40 having no rookies, and having two All-Stars seasons, it feels like so long since we've had rookies on the show. Hopefully some of them actually stick around for future seasons (and more of the rookies from the 30s come back to join them). Either way though, this feels like a younger group of rookies, which is good, as a lot of the usual suspects are getting older, and we need some younger faces in the mix when they start to retire (and I mean retire for good, not Leroy retire). Anyway, now for my specific thoughts.

Adrienne Naylor (Married at First Sights UK 8): I don't know anything about Adrienne, but I'm good with her inclusion. She's in her (late) 20s, so is younger than most of the vets. Maybe she'll get into some drama? I have no idea if her marriage on her show worked out, but maybe she'll get into some hookups? It's not like production likes to show us when that happens anyway, but would still be nice.

America Lopez (Big Brother 25): I'm very happy with America's inclusion on the cast, as I loved her on BB25. Her and Cory were some of my favorites on that season, only behind Cirie and Felicia. With that being said, America didn't win a single competition, so her inclusion is a bit strange. Regardless of that, America isn't afraid of confrontation, and I think she'll be fun on the season, though I'm not exactly expecting a deep run.

Ben Davis (Boxer): Ben is one of the few rookies that I am actively unhappy about being on the cast. Nothing against the guy personally, I know nothing about him, but I hate when they cast people outside of reality TV (with the exception of Fresh Meat seasons). Production tries so hard to push the "sport" narrative and it's so annoying. This is not a sport, it's a TV show. Stop casting athletes, and give us reality stars.

Blue Kim (Big Brother 25): Surprisingly, I'm happy with Blue's inclusion on the show. I thought she was extremely annoying on BB25, but I'm weird and after a season ends, I look back fondly on players I didn't like. For example, I HATED Robb Zbbacnik on Survivor Thailand, but now I look at him as one of the highlights of that season. While I didn't dislike Blue nearly as much, she falls into a similar boat to where looking back all the "kitty kitty purr boots down" stuff was kind of funny. Her and America had a bit of a rivalry, but I'm actually expecting them to work together, since they didn't outright despise each other. Will Blue do well? I don't know, because a player this good has to be a target eventually, right?

Cedric Hodges (Big Brother 26): Cedric is an interesting choice. While I would ultimately say I'm happy with his inclusion, I'm left with one question: why Cedric? BB26 was such a good season, with a really strong cast, and the sole representative is the 4th boot? I mean, I assume the reason is because the bigger names were in the casting process for Amazing Race 38, but like... Cedric? I'm acting like a hater, but I did like Cedric during his time on BB26, and am happy to be getting BB26 representation, but I can't help thinking about what could have been (Tucker, I'm talking about Tucker. Love him or hate him, he would have been great on this show).

Dee Valladares (Survivor 45): I am so happy that Dee is on this cast. She was great on Survivor, and I'm sure she'll be great here. I really hope we have a deep run from her because, not to spoil my eventual Survivor 50 Dee blog post, I don't see her going super far on Survivor 50. Dee winning Survivor 45 will be a much bigger deal on Survivor 50 than The Challenge. Bananas has won this show 7 times, but Dee would be a bigger threat because she won a different show once? I really hope that Dee becomes a regular on this show, because I really like her and think she has the potential to do very well.

Gabe Wai (Former WWE Wrestler): My thoughts on Gabe are pretty much the same as they are on Ben. Just read that section again, but change athlete to performer (yes I know WWE does take genuine athleticism, I just like clowning on it).

Izzy Fairthorne (Too Hot to Handle 3): I haven't actually seen Izzy's season of THTH, but I did see her on Perfect Match, so she is a known entity to me. I thought Izzy was fun there, so I'm good with her inclusion. Despite getting sick of THTH and only watching a couple seasons, Kelz' brief run on SLA has made me want more THTH rep on this show (and Ed's appearances in addition to that have made me want more Netflix representation in general), and we're getting that with Izzy. I don't know how she'll do competitively, dating show contestants seem to be pretty hit or miss, but either way I'm happy with her inclusion.

Jake Cornish (Love Island UK 7): Jake is a weird inclusion to me. While I have not seen him either of his Love Island seasons, there is one thing that I've heard about him: he quit both times he was on the show. If you ask any Challenge fan to tell you one thing about TJ Lavin, they will probably tell you that TJ hates quitters. The guy has basically made a personality out of hating quitters, so much so that his hatred of quitters has caused me to soften my view of quitters and turned me into someone who does not hate quitters (for the most part, Brandon was still lame for quitting Rivals III and TJ's "don't take care, hope to see you never" was iconic). Because of that, I find it so strange that they brought on a guy who has quit both times he's been on TV, though I guess I shouldn't question it too much considering that Beth still gets brought back on All-Stars. Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know how involved TJ is in production. I don't think he's an executive producer like Jeff is for Survivor. He may not have a say in things like casting, in which case, it's kind of funny if they cast a quitter just to annoy TJ.

Justin Hinsley (Cheer): I don't know anything about Justin, but at least he comes from a TV show. I believe Cheer was more of a docu-series than a reality show (though this is just from my very basic understanding of it, I could be incredibly wrong), but if Battle Camp is willing to pull from it and consider it a reality show, then sure, The Challenge can too. Welcome aboard Justin, I'm sure that you can compete since you have history as an athlete, but I hope you're entertaining too.

Leka Sodade (Canada's Ultimate Challenge 2): I don't know anything about Leka, but based on the show she comes from, I'm sure she'll be able to keep up competitively. Seems like she could be the second coming of Jenny West, but that's just vibes. Looking forward to seeing her compete, and I hope she makes good TV while she's at it, because I get the feeling she'll be around for a bit.

Leonardo Dionicio (Love Island USA 5): I haven't seen Leonardo's season of Love Island, so I don't really know much about him. I saw he was getting messy on Instagram a couple of days ago with his LI ex, so bring some of that messy energy to this show and I'm happy.

Sydney Segal (Survivor 41): Sydney is such a weird choice. The mergatry boot from a 4 year old season of Survivor, and one that isn't that popular as well (though I personally am a 41 defender). Cedric was a weird choice too, but he's from the most recent season of his show. There have been several (shoutout Jelinsky) seasons of Survivor since then, but we're going all the way back for Sydney Segal? I guess she's messy and confrontational, but she just didn't really leave an impact on her season. At the end of the day, I'm always happy with Survivor representation, but Sydney is just such a weird choice to me.

Tay Wilcoxson (Big Brother Australia 15): I don't watch BBAU, so I don't have any rapport on Tay, though I have heard a bit about her. I know she won alongside her sister, though I'm not sure if it was like the Paqs Bros from BBCAN (speaking of BBCAN, the fact that no one from that show has crossed over to The Challenge is a crime), or something else entirely. However, another thing I've heard is that her sister was more entertaining than her. Maybe they asked and she said no? I'm open to Tay's inclusion on the show though, and I hope she proves everyone who said she was the boring sister wrong.

Will Gagnon (Are You the One? 9): I don't know anything about Will, but he looks like he can compete. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised that production still goes back to that show, since it no longer releases episodes, but Will appears to be an athletic enough dude. Granted, he could have popcorn muscles like Tyri or Danny, but that would be kind of funny, so I'm good with his inclusion.

Yeremi Hykel (The Amazing Race 35): I haven't gotten to Yeremi's season of TAR, I'm only on season 4, but I'm happy to see him on this cast, despite hearing that he had a pretty underwhelming run on TAR. TAR has always been criminally underrepresented on The Challenge compared to the other two members of the CBS Big Three, so I'm glad it's getting more representation, even if Yeremi himself wasn't sure notable.

The Challenge Vets & New Threats: Official Cast Reaction Part 1 (Vets)

 

Yesterday we got the official cast reveal for season 41 of The Challenge. Full disclosure, I have known this cast for months, as Challenge casts are always leaked, so my thoughts will be less raw than they were for my Traitors cast reaction. Regardless, I still wanted to make a blog post and give my thoughts, since this blog did not exist when the cast was leaked, and I'm completely unspoiled on everything else about the season. Like Traitors, this cast has a few Survivor players, so this is a Survivor adjacent post, though I still would have made. This post will be dedicated to the vets, while the next blog post will be about the "new threats."

Vets: General Thoughts

I think it's a decent selection of vets, but I would have preferred if they went back a bit further. Of the 16 vets, there are only two that weren't on either season 40 or All Stars 5. I would have preferred more people that we haven't seen in a bit, but I guess it could have been worse. Now for my specific thoughts.

Aneesa Ferreira (The Real World: Chicago): STOP CASTING ANEESA!!! I am so sick of seeing Aneesa on this show. She is a terrible competitor who will never win. If she was walking through the final on the Duel II, and still walking through the final in Ride or Dies, she is not meant for this show. Additionally, she has the same storyline every season about how everyone else sucks for not taking her seriously because she was good at eliminations in the early 2000s. Maybe it's because you're a terrible competitor, just a thought. I'm sure she's a fine person, but I'm so sick of seeing her on the show.

Ashley Mitchell (Real World: Ex-Plosion): I'm happy to see Ashley back on the flagship. It's been a couple seasons, but feels like even longer with all the spinoffs. Her brief appearance on All Stars 5 was fun (despite her and Aneesa's "rivalry" making no sense coming into the season), so I'm happy she's returning to the flagship.

Aviv Melmed (The Challenge: Fresh Meat): I don't need Aviv back. The novelty of having her on 40 after never coming back after Fresh Meat was neat, but she was kind of boring on that season, so I didn't really need to see her again. Not expecting a super deep run, I'm sure she'll get sniped out as one of Johnny's minions.

Cara Maria Sorbello (The Challenge: Fresh Meat II): I am not happy with Cara's inclusion on this season. If you asked me right after 40, I would have been very happy that Cara was being reintroduced to the series. However, a little bit before the cast flew out, she was in hot water online for comments that came off as transphobic. I don't believe she should have been rewarded with a spot on TV after that.

CT Tamburello (The Real World: Paris): I'll pretty much always be happy to see CT. He's always super entertaining, and I'm expecting more of that. After 40, however, I'm wondering what kind of shape he's in. That wasn't his best competitive season (his elimination loss was a bit fluky due to the nature of the challenge, but that aside he just didn't seem to be at his best competitively). Still, I won't count him out, he did win Invasion in his "dad bod" era.

Derek Chavez (The Real World: Cancun): I'm happy to see Derek back. For a while I was super anti-Derek because I thought he was terrible competitively from his original run on the show (which, to be fair, he was), but he came on to All Stars 4 and surprised me with his competitive ability, and was even more of a surprise on 40 with his final performance (while no one was ever beating Jordan in that final, him beating Bananas was impressive. Still wish Kyland had a shot, but that final sucked so everyone was easily beating Kyland). I'm excited to see how he does without Ryan this time around. He has an ally in Olivia, and likely Theo and Nia because of that, if that group is able to win over the rookies, I could see another deep run (depending on the format, of course).

Derrick Kosinski (Road Rules: X-Treme): I'm fine with Derrick coming back. He was fun on 40, and had a more notable run than most of era 1. It reminds me of how he took a big hiatus after Cutthroat, came back for 30 and 31, took another hiatus (from the flagship at least), and is now coming back for 40 and 41.

Johnny Bananas (The Real World: Key West): I've always had a love/hate relationship with Bananas, but right now he's in a similar situation as Cara. I enjoyed him on 40, but right before the cast flew out he made a comment towards Taylor Hale that came off as racist. He should not have been rewarded with a spot on TV, but of course he was.

Leroy Garrett (The Real World: Las Vegas 2011): I like Leroy, but his return to the show is a bit odd. The ENTIRE storyline of Double Agents was that Leroy is retiring and that was his last season. Couple years later he's on All Stars 4, Battle of the Eras, All Stars Rivals, and now Vets & New Threats all in a row. I know that the context is that he retired due to how he was treated on Dirty 30, but came back because he saw production making an effort to improve conditions for black contestants. That all makes sense, and I'm happy that Leroy feels comfortable enough to compete again, and I'm sure he'll be fun (probably won't win), but I feel like Double Agents is now a season that would be so weird to rewatch. Leroy hasn't just come back for All Stars and the big milestone season, he just seems to be back in the rotation. Hopefully he does better than 40 and AS5, but as a rare Double Agents fan, it's just kind of weird.

Michaela Bradshaw (Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X): I'm very happy to have Michaela back. She was super fun on both of her seasons of Survivor, and had an unfortunate early exit on SLA. I was so happy to see her not only return for USA 2, but make the final. I kind of thought that would be the last we saw of Michaela on The Challenge, but am very happy I was wrong. I worry that she won't go as far without the numbers she had on USA 2 (this group of vets is a VERY MTV heavy group, and while there are a few CBS rookies, rookies aren't known for doing well), but am happy to have her for however long we do.

Nany González (The Real World: Las Vegas 2011): I'm fine with Nany coming back, especially in a post-Kaycee world. I'm interested to see her dynamic with Turbo now that they've mended fences, but don't expect her to win. I enjoyed her on All Stars Rivals, and am expecting more of the same.

Nia Moore (The Real World: Portland): I'm happy to have Nia back. I'm certain she won't win, but she's an entertaining personality. I don't really have much else to say about Nia, but I swear I'm happy she's on the season.

Olivia Kaiser (Love Island USA 3): I'm very happy to see Olivia here. I enjoyed her on her season of Love Island, and have really enjoyed her on all of her Challenge appearances, so I'm glad she's becoming a regular. Would have liked to see Nurys and Horacio here to see how those relationships evolved, as well as Michele to be here with her and Nia, but I'm still good with Olivia. I'm a bit worried her and Theo will be off cuddling in snoozeville for most of the season, but I have faith that Olivia will be fun.

Rogan O'Connor (Ex on the Beach UK 2): I'm very happy that Rogan is finally coming back. He hasn't been on the show since Total Madness, which is somehow longer than any other vet on this cast. While he did terribly in Vendettas, he completely ran WOTW2 and had a very good showing in Total Madness. I'm looking forward to seeing how he performs this season.

Theo Campbell (Love Island UK 3): I could've done without Theo. I was happy to see him return on World Championship after his eye injury that kept him off the show for a while, but then he was kind of boring. Maybe a bad edit? He came back for 40 and was boring again. Could have been another bad edit, but if production insists on giving him a bad edit then I don't need him, which is a shame because he was one of the stars of WOTW2.

Turbo Çamkıran (Survivor Turkey 8): I'm always happy to see Turbo. Turbo is an insane character who isn't afraid of confrontation. "YOU CANNOT COPY MY WALK" still lives rent free in my head. Wonder if any new pussy chickens will take the place of Jordan and Devin, since neither of them are here.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Cirie Fields

 

Previous Seasons:

Panama (2006) - 4th Place

Micronesia (2008) - 3rd Place

Heroes vs. Villains (2010) - 17th Place

Game Changers (2017) - 6th Place

I love Cirie. She is far and away the best player to never win, and an all time great character. She's fantastic on other shows too, she played the best Traitors game that I have personally seen (I've only seen US, so I guess the bar isn't super high but still) and I loved her on BB25. With all of that being said, I really don't need her on 50. What is she going to bring to the table that we haven't already seen? A win? No one will let Cirie Fields get to Final Tribal Council. Of everyone on the cast, I feel the most confident in saying that Cirie is not going to win. At this point, I don't think she'll ever be able to win Survivor. She has a fantastic strategic mind and is terrific socially, but the problem is that everyone knows that. They'll keep her around for a while, and then probably cut her close to the end because she can't win an individual challenge to save her life. Will I like her on the season? Certainly. Should this spot on the cast have been given to someone else? In my opinion, yes. There are other players who I would have liked to see get a second, or even third shot over Cirie getting a fifth. Well, technically sixth counting AU vs. The World. That is a season I'm excited to see Cirie on. There are other players that have legacies that are both equal to and bigger than that of Cirie. Do I think she'll win that season? Also no, but I also just think the premise sets up an Australian to win (my winner pick for that season is Luke, in case anyone is wondering), as I think Aussie pride will influence how the Australians play, and with the World being split up among multiple franchises, it's less of a bond than the Australians will share. With all of that being said, as much as it seems like I'm just dunking on Cirie, I love Cirie and am sure she'll provide good TV for the time she's on 50, if nothing else, so at least there's that.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick

 

Previous Seasons:

Palau (2005) - 7th Place

Guatemala (2005) - 2nd Place

Heroes vs. Villains (2010) - 19th Place

Casting Stephenie makes sense. She is one of the most popular players of all time. While I was too young to experience the Stephenie hype myself, I hear it was only beat by Rupertmania. In the Palau reunion Jeff talked about how Steph was a role model for young girls, and when Survivor was at its height of popularity in the early 2000s (though it had died down by 2005), that was likely true. However, as much as her casting makes sense, I wouldn't exactly say I'm super hyped for her return. I liked her on her previous seasons, I thought her underdog run on Palau was super fun, and her heel turn in Guatemala was super captivating (with the exception of comments that did not age well, such as using the r word multiple times and calling Bobby Jon gay for celebrating a challenge win). I was even rooting for her to stay over Amanda in Heroes vs. Villains (context: HvV was my third season and I didn't like how James was treating Steph, so I wanted her to stay. If I watched all the seasons leading up to HvV it would have been a much harder choice). With that being said, her run on The Traitors was not very notable. I thought she was pretty boring there, and worry she will be the same here on 50. She doesn't really strike me as the type to adapt to the fast gameplay of the New Era, and will likely be an early boot. If she does stick around, however, I see her working with Joe and anyone else who wants to preach honesty and integrity, which would be very boring. Overall, I think Steph is a good casting choice due to her legacy, but I don't see her being super entertaining.

The Traitors US 4: Cast Reaction

Only a couple posts in, and I'm already talking about a non-Survivor show on my Survivor blog. My defense is that I said from the start that I would use this for more than just Survivor, BUT if that isn't good enough then my other defense is that there are Survivor players on this cast, so it's Survivor-adjacent. Anyway, I'll be getting back to my Survivor 50 cast reactions soon, but this cast dropped yesterday, so I figured I would talk about it first. Why does everyone on Survivor 50 get their own post, but this cast is all one? I have more to say about the Survivor 50 cast since I know all of them (other than Savannah and the Rizz God, of course), while I don't know nearly as many people in this cast. It also gives me easy content to farm during the offseason, I'll have to come up with a new series to fill the time before Survivor 49 once I'm done with that. With that out of the way, let's get to the cast!

Candice Dillard Basset (The Real Housewives of Potomac): I've never watched Real Housewives, so I won't have a lot to say about Candice or any of the other Housewives (with one exception). One thing I'll say here is that they are EXTREMELY hit or miss on Traitors. While Phaedra was extremely entertaining, more often that not the Housewives are pretty boring. Since Traitors insists on bringing Housewives on every seasons, at least give us more Phaedras and Brandis, and please for the love of god not Dolores's and Shereés.

Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai): Housewife, don't know her, don't have much to say. I think Ayan was on her Dubai as well, and people online said Ayan was good (she left very little impact on Traitors though), so maybe Caroline will be good?

Colton Underwood (The Bachelor): Not a Housewife, but another person that I do not know. I've seen some discourse on Twitter after his announcement, and it seems he is not very liked. I'm hoping that's because he plays up a villain role on TV, and not because he's a terrible person.

Donna Kelce (NFL Mother): I think it's hilarious that Travis and Jason Kelce's mom is going to be on Traitors. I saw an old podcast clip where the two of them were talking about the show, so I know they'll be watching (though they should watch and support their mother even if they weren't already fans of the show). I imagine Taylor Swift will probably watch as well, so that means that Taylor Swift will know who Rob Cesternino is, and I think that's awesome. Anyway, people with ties to celebrities have been pretty hit or miss. Sam Asghari was insanely boring, but Dylan Efron was pretty fun. Hoping Donna is fun.

Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York City and The Traitors): This is the Housewife I have something to say about. I don't like that she's here. There are plenty of people who haven't been on the show who could have been cast, but they're instead just deciding to give her a second chance because she COULD have been entertaining. I know Kate got to play twice, but she had a large impact on her original season and was a fan favorite. Dorinda is someone who flopped who is getting a second chance for no reason. It may seem like I'm just a Dorinda hater, but I'm not. When Johnny Bananas was rumored to be on last season, I was not happy about that, and was happy when those rumors turned out to be fake. I love The Challenge, and have a love/hate relationship with Bananas, but he had his shot, and Dorinda had hers.

Eric Nam (Singer/Songwriter): I know nothing about this guy. I imagine his career probably isn't at its peak, otherwise he'd be out touring instead of being on reality TV. Hope he's entertaining.

Ian Terry (Big Brother): Finally someone that I truly know. I like Ian and was happy to see his name on the list. While Ian was boring on BB22, I'm willing to excuse that. 2020 was a really weird time, so I don't blame Ian for not being a shining star during those weird times. Additionally, he was playing in the minority on a season where the majority won every competition. There was nothing Ian could really do except hang out, especially as a past winner. Speaking of his win, BB14! Ian was a fun presence on BB14. While he was a lot younger then, I know that kid is still in there somewhere desperate to have fun in a castle in Scotland. Filming Traitors is a lot shorter than Big Brother, so I'm hoping Ian doesn't burn out like he did in BB22, and we have a fun Ian run.

Johnny Weir (Olympic Figure Skater): And we're right back to people I know nothing about. Hope he at least makes good TV.

Kristen Kish (Top Chef): Haven't seen Top Chef, but I'm happy to see Kristen on this cast. People on Twitter (Owen Knight from Survivor comes to mind) have been happy about her inclusion, so I'm going in with an open mind. A quick Google search also told me that she is now the host of Top Chef, so she presumably knows how to talk to a camera (I say presumably because Julie Chen has been hosting Big Brother since 2000 and BB fans know how she is) and can hopefully make fun TV.

Lisa Rinna (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills): Housewife, know nothing about her.

Mark Ballas (Dancing with the Stars): Don't know anything about this guy, hope he's fun.

Maura Higgins (Love Island USA: Aftersun Host): Admittedly, I have only watched the first 3 seasons of Love Island US when they were on CBS, and have seen most of season 4. I need to catch up on that show because I know season 6 is insanely good, and I've been hearing good things about 7 as it's airing as well. However, even if I were caught up, I always skipped the recap episodes whenever I watched, so I wouldn't know her anyway. Like Kristen though, she is a host and presumably can talk to a camera. Hoping she's fun TV.

Michael Rapaport (Actor): I didn't know this guy until yesterday when I saw the backlash towards him being on this cast. I've learned that he's a grifter and not a very good person, so that sucks. While I'd like to say I'm surprised, I'm not, and am more just disappointed. With Tom Sandoval on last season, it's clear that they're fine casting bad people. I hope Michael gets a worse edit, rather than one like Tom that turned him into a goofy comic relief that came out of the season pretty well-liked. Hoping to see an early exit from Michael.

Monét X Change (RuPaul's Drag Race): I don't watch Drag Race, but I'm happy to see Monét on this cast. Apparently she's a big fan of social strategy shows, so that's fun to see. Additionally, Bob the Drag Queen was fantastic last season, and Peppermint's short run on season 2 was still quite memorable, so I have high hopes for Monét.

Natalie Anderson (The Amazing Race, Survivor, and The Challenge): I'm very happy to see Natalie on this season. While I have not seen her Amazing Race seasons yet (currently watching season 4), she was great on Survivor. Her revenge storyline on San Juan del Sur is one of my favorite winning stories, and while I was not a fan of her game on Winners at War, she played with the cards she was dealt. Her early exit on The Challenge was disappointing, and I'd love to see her back on that show. Now she's on The Traitors, and I'm super happy about it. Natalie brings good TV whenever she can, and I have no doubt she'll be fun to watch here. Jeremy got his chance last season and didn't do super well, so maybe Natalie can get revenge for him a second time.

Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta): Housewife, know nothing about her.

Rob Cesternino (Survivor): Rob is the player I am most excited about on this cast. Rob is one of my favorite Survivor players of all time. While not all of his jokes on Amazon have aged the best (something he has apologized for), he was still wildly entertaining. To this day, I'm still crushed that he had no shot on All-Stars, as another deep run would have been so exciting. However, at this point Rob is probably more notable for what he's done outside of the show. What he has done with RHAP is truly incredible (there was even a section on it in one of my textbooks in college, I vividly remember freaking out in my freshman year dorm reading it), and he has done so much for both the Survivor and reality TV communities. Him getting cut from 50 was a travesty, but being on Traitors is an incredible consolation, and I really hope he goes the distance.

Rob Rausch (Love Island USA): As I mentioned already, I have not seen Rob's season on Love Island. HOWEVER, my brother watched it with his girlfriend, so I called him and asked for his take on Rob, so I'm going to base on opinion based on what he told me. He said Rob is a drama queen and makes for really good TV. I love drama queens on reality TV. Messy TV is good TV, and as long as it doesn't cross the line into icky territory, I welcome it. I'm now excited to see Rob (though he will still be the lesser Rob in my mind).

Ron Funches (Comedian): I've never heard of this guy, but he's a comedian, so he'll probably be entertaining, considering that it's literally his job. Even if he's only around for a couple episodes, if he's entertaining then I'm fine with his inclusion.

Stephen Colletti (Laguna Beach and One Tree Hill): I know nothing about this guy. Maybe he'll be fun? Maybe he won't? Guess we'll find out.

Tara Lipinski (Olympic Figure Skater): If I had a nickel for every time the Traitors cast an Olympic Figure Skater on season 4, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother and The Challenge USA): I'm very excited to see Tiffany on this season. She has been extremely entertaining on every show she's been on, even in her very short run on The Challenge USA 1 (though her flirtmance or whatever with Cinco did weird me out). For modern Big Brother legends, she probably would have been my second choice, only behind Taylor Hale, but second is still really good. Every season so far has started with a BB Traitor (Cody, Dan, and Danielle), and I think Tiffany would be a super fun Traitor. I see her getting frustrated if her other Traitors are bad at the game, which will make for some elite confessionals.

Yam Yam Arocho (Survivor): I'm super excited to see Yam Yam. Carolyn opened the floodgates for New Era Survivor players, and I think Yam Yam is a very good pick. He was on a couple "leaked" Survivor 50 casts, and I was happy about that because I really enjoyed him on 44. He didn't end up making the cut, and I don't know how close he actually was, but like Rob C, Traitors is a great consolation. With Survivor 50 avoiding 44, Traitors clearly isn't and fair enough. While 44 isn't the most loved, I still enjoyed watching it while it was coming out, primarily because of Carolyn and Yam Yam. Now that Carolyn has had her shot, lets see Yam Yam give it a go (no, that does not mean I want Carson on season 5). Not sure whether I'd prefer him as a Faithful or a Traitor. Going into last season, I thought Carolyn would have been better as a Faithful, but was proven wrong when she was a wildly entertaining Traitor. I think Yam Yam would be very fun in either role, and I look forward to seeing him play the game.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Colby Donaldson

 

Previous Seasons:

The Australian Outback (2001) - 2nd Place

All-Stars (2004) - 12th Place

Heroes vs. Villains (2010) - 5th Place

Casting only one of Colby and Jerri is kind of insane. Their stories are so intertwined with one another, it feels so weird to only have one of them. HOWEVER, if you HAVE to cast only one of them... it should have been Jerri, why is Colby here? If Colby was labelled "Superman in a fat suit" nine years after his original season, then what's he gonna look like after twenty four? I don't think Colby is long for the game, he's always been the kind of player who shows up for the adventure, rather than the game. I know things were different back in season two, but come on. Taking Tina over Keith is insane. I can never really grasp how big Survivor was back then, considering that I wasn't alive yet, but I know he did it to look like a hero to America. It wasn't a strategic move, it was one to save face with the audience. While Survivor isn't as big now as it was back then, why is there any reason to believe he doesn't want to still be the hero? I'll give him props for playing a more strategic game in All-Stars, the Hatch blindside and picking Ethan so Mogo Mogo could vote him off were both strategic plays (even though Ethan actually outlasted him because Lex and the others blindsided Colby before voting Ethan out). However, all of that strategy was gone by Heroes vs. Villains. Colby was just kind of there, and a complete shell of himself. Australia's challenge beast was being dragged around by the Dragon Slayer (dying for a rematch on 50) and dropping out of challenges at the same time as Sandra. I feel like Colby will come on to 50 and his entire storyline will be about him being a fish out of water since he played so long ago. While Colby is a legend of the game as America's first golden boy, I simply didn't need him on this season. I will say though, many people online have pointed out that the prospect of Colby going on a journey and losing his vote is really funny, and I do agree with that.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Jenna Lewis-Dougherty

 

Previous Seasons:

Borneo (2000) - 8th Place

All-Stars (2004) - 3rd Place

This post marks the beginning of a series I will be running on this blog, where I will be going through the entire cast of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans (allegedly) and talking about how I feel about their inclusion on the season. This series is what prompted me to start the blog, so I am very excited to get into it!

I am happy to have Jenna back. For the 50th season, we obviously needed a Borneo representative, and I am happy to have Jenna serve that role. People may say someone like Richard Hatch would have been better since he was the first winner, but I personally have no interest in seeing him play again. The other members of the Tagi Four may come to mind as representatives for the season, but Kelly was not super interesting on Cambodia, Rudy has sadly passed away, and I'm not sure if Sue would ever play Survivor again (that being said, I would love it if she did, but I don't think production would want her back). Next up is the Greg of it all. Greg would have been really fun to see back and, from what I have seen, he was called and cut. Cutting Greg is kind of insane, considering how long they have wanted him back, BUT I still think Jenna is a good choice. She was a fun character on Borneo, and proved to be a decent player on All-Stars. While the game has changed A LOT since she last played (idols didn't even exist!), I have faith in her ability to adapt. I believe she still watches the show, so she will not be going in completely blind. I think she will be able to navigate the prospect of going on a journey and losing her vote (unlike some of the other old schoolers), and we could see a deep run from her. For my sake, though, just don't put Dee or Kyle on her tribe...

Welcome to my Blog!

 

Welcome to my blog! My name is Bailey, and I am a 21 year old from Alabama. I graduated from the University of Alabama while majoring in Creative Media with a minor in American Studies. My journey to Survivor is a very fun one. As a kid, I loved (and still do) Total Drama. It was my favorite show, and I was extremely obsessed with it. I followed many fan accounts on Instagram, some of which hosted “games” for people to play. In middle school I discovered an account that hosted a Big Brother game with Total Drama characters. I didn’t understand how it worked, so I went and watched Big Brother so I could understand the game, and ended up becoming a fan. As a Big Brother fan, I ended up watching a bunch of YouTubers who made Big Brother videos, such as Peridiam and TheMeranianReview. These YouTubers also made Survivor videos, and in high school I eventually got curious enough to watch the show. Once Island of the Idols started airing, I started watching the show and became hooked (with IOI of all seasons, I know). I watched Winners at War as it was airing and loved it. Netflix briefly added Heroes vs Villains and Cagayan to their roster, so I watched those seasons. After that, I knew that I had to watch it all, so I binged every season with just enough time to catch up right before 41, as well as my freshman year of college.

I love Survivor and writing, so decided to take the opportunity to give myself an outlet to talk about it. I will likely talk about more reality shows than Survivor, but Survivor is my favorite and for a little while I will mostly be writing about Survivor 50, so that is why I decided to theme the blog around Survivor!