During the summer I love to binge watch reality TV. Most of my weekends are spent outside in the sun, parting at the sand bar on the lake and going to concerts, but when I get a free weeknight or rainy Sunday afternoon I love to binge on the current reality TV shows. Some of my summer favorites are Big Brother, The Bachelorette, Real Housewives of New York, and Master Chef. Not only do these shows entertain me, but they take my mind off everyday stressors and life’s curve balls.
After being on CBS for 18 seasons Big Brother never seems to disappoint. Julie Chen is a fabulous host and the fact that there are about three to four episodes on per week, makes this show something I must see. If you haven’t watched Big Brother before, let me give you a run down. First there are houseguest (contestants) and each week the battel it out to keep a place in the house. The winner of the show gets $500k! Big Brother is played on a set in California. The house is built with multiple cameras in every room and the contestants are cut off from all TV, magazines, internet and phones the whole season. They never get to contact the outside world while in the house and are only hidden from the cameras while using the restroom or taking a shower. The houseguests wear microphones all the time and there really isn’t much to do in the house beside eat, workout, and sleep. This season there are so many twists and turns, which is probably why it’s lasted so many years because they are always keeping it fresh and exciting. There are four teams of four people (2 girls and 2 guys on each team) and they play to win the head of the household competition each week. Winning the head of house hold means you get to keep your team save from “eviction” (elimination) and get to choose two people to “go on the block” (up for elimination). The game is very sneaky this year and Big Brother threw in a twist for a third nominee to go on the block called the BB Road Kill. BB Road Kill is new this season and seems to be a twist from the Battel for the Block from past season. In the BB Road Kill challenge the house guests have to privately complete an activity. They are timed and then secretly given their time. The player who completes the task in the fastest time gets to nominate a third player for eviction. This new twist in Big Brother has really got the houseguest scheming and slithering their way around the house very early on in the game. There have only been a few player evicted this summer and it is by far the most dramatic and mean group of houseguests to date. Of course this year there are the “have nots” and like typical seasons the losing team is stuck sleeping in the crazy “have not” room with no beds, taking cold showers, and eating slop (oatmeal) for a full week. They have also started a mystery punishment t for the team that comes in second to last place in the head of household completion. This is been fun to watch and punishments aren’t anything too crazy, just mainly uncomfortable for the houseguest being punished, like wearing only a pixilated cardboard cutout over their private parts for a week while on national TV. Big Brother turn their game up a notch each season and this year they have four former players in the house from past seasons trying to compete for the $500k because they didn’t win in their season. There are two, possibly three houseguests who are siblings of former Big Brother houseguests. Hopefully these two groups stick together and get out the new players this summer! Big Brother can be watched 24/7 on CBS.com, along with its regular viewing dates on three times a week on CBS. If you are really into Big Brother this summer you can also watch Big Brother after Dark on POP from midnight to 3 AM every day. Big Brother is a great show to have on in the background while doing chores, feeding the kids, and working on the computer. It’s a great mindless escape from our everyday reality.
If Big Brother doesn’t sound like something you would be interested in, or it sounds too complicated to get into mid-year. Then the Bachelorette with JoJo is one of the best reality TV shows on this summer. JoJo’s heart was broken by Ben in the past season of the Bachelor and now it’s her turn at love. ABC has done a great job of casting some charters and hotties for JoJo this season and believe me there is plenty of entertainment to go around. Chad is one of the most memorable characters from this season of the Bachelorette; he is self-absorbed, cocky, eats a lot of protein, works out 99% of time and seems to want to fight all the other guys in the house. JoJo kept Chad around for a while because of his good looks, and softer side she saw in him, but it wasn’t too long before she realized he wasn’t for her. Besides Chad, there is creepy Luke who JoJo seems to have a lot of passion with but to me is slimy. There is Jordan Rodgers, little brother of famous Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who I personally want to win. There are also a few nerdy twerps like Alex, Wells, and James Taylor that are all getting the boot. The Bachelorette is typical in its magical destinations and vacations this season but JoJo bring some spunk and truthfulness to the season. She talks to the camera a lot and rolls her eyes when she knows something isn’t right. She was by far the best choice for ABC, originally rumors were flying that third runner up Kaila was going to be the next Bachelorette… thank God ABC didn’t go with her, it would have been a snooze fest.
Sticking with the chick flick reality shows, the Real Housewives of New York City on Bravo has been packed with drama this summer and I personally love it! Bethany is by far one of my most favorite housewives of all time (next to Lisa Vanderpump of course). Bethany is very real and as honest, this year she has no problem calling a spade a spade and letting the other girls know she has no time in her life for fake BS. Jules is a new coming the series this summer, she is a beautiful Asian/Jewish young women who is raising two kids with her Hispanic husband. Jules battels an eating disorder and talks about her struggle on the show a lot. Dorinda is a spunky New Yorker how is dating a loser John and the women just love to complain about him, and how his isn’t good enough for her. Ramona is single and sexy this season after getting divorced from Mario a year or so ago, she loves going out for drinks and meeting new men. Luann is so annoying and her mousy brown hair drives me nuts. She is head over heels in love with a new guy how apparently has been with Ramona and Sonja in the past. Sonja is trying her best to get her life together and struggles with letting go of her old marriage and life. Carole is still dating a younger man and loving life in the city, she seems to always be pretty happy and have a positive outlook on life. Her and Luann are beef ‘in though because of the young boyfriend.
If the drama of catty women, crazy men, and a house full of nut jobs isn’t your type of show, then I suggest checking out Master Chef of FOX with Gordon Ramsey. This season started off by putting some of the best home cooks agents each other to battel it out in the signature dish round. There were rounds for shrimp and grits, steak and potatoes, cheeseburger, and cupcakes. Chef Ramsey picked one winner from each challenge to begin the season. In the past episodes there was a wedding they needed to cater in teams which was very entertaining, along with a pie baking contest. Master Chef is great because there are cooks of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures. The mystery box challenge is fun to watch and consists of giving all the contestants the same box of food and asking them to create a specific dish. I think I’m a good home cook, but these challenges are very difficult. I can’t imagine cooking without recipe cards or demo prior to the start of my dish. The home cooks know a lot and are very good at what they do.
It can be hard to watch TV in the summer, but I suggest setting the DVR for these shows and saving them for a raining day!