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Andy Dehnart

writer, TV critic, teacher

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writing

Andy Dehnart > writing

My writing life ranges from my daily reviews and reality TV news analysis on reality blurred to long-form magazine journalism.

Explore what I’ve written, starting with these highlights:

Shark Week and Sharkfest’s experts are mostly white men. Why? And does it matter?

Photo Credit: Reality Blurred

"To say that there aren't women in shark science is utterly ridiculous," a Black female marine biologist told me. So I asked both Discovery's Shark Week and National Geographic's Sharkfest why they focused on white male shark scientists in their marketing and casting.

This piece won an L.A. Press Club 2021 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award.

An L.A. chef tries to preserve a dying Italian tradition

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times

Chef Evan Funke travels to Italy to learn how to make rare shapes of pasta by hand, a tradition that’s dying. I interviewed him and the producers of this new Quibi documentary show.

Reality on the High Seas

Photo Credit: Playboy

Sea Shepherd activists went to the Faroe Islands to try to stop whaling, a tradition that goes back centuries. Aboard their ship was an Animal Planet film crew.

This piece won the Society for Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State Award for magazine feature reporting.

Double Dare's Marc Summers' new role: vulnerability on stage

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times

I traveled to Indiana to profile one of the stars of 1990s television: Double Dare host Marc Summers. He was performing in an autobiographical play that told stories from his life I wasn't aware of, a performance that I wrote was "both biography and a triumph of vulnerability, a very public rejection of the fear of being stigmatized after sharing his OCD diagnosis."

How Could Survivor Have Screwed Up This Badly?

Photo Credit: Vulture

In this essay in Vulture, I explored Survivor’s clear, unambiguous illustration of sexual harassment, and the show's many failures in its handling and presentation of real-life events.

Forget the pounds. The Biggest Loser tries to shed critics of its weight-loss plan

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times

The Biggest Loser returned, promising that it had changed. I investigated whether or not its formula and format was still causing harm to its participants and the public.

'Survivor: Samoa' Rises To New Season Of Challenges

Photo Credit: NPR

On location in Samoa, I explored for All Things Considered about what it takes to create a reality TV challenge.

Can Food Network Survive in the Age of Netflix Cooking Shows?

Photo Credit: Grub Street

I reported on Food Network, which has evolved into a home for reality TV competitions and personalities, not instructional cooking—and whether Netflix's food shows represent an existential threat.

Did The Real World change, or did I?

Photo Credit: Vulture

In my review of The Real World: Atlanta, a rebooted version of the show produced for Facebook, I looked at the show's history, from seminal unscripted TV show to drunken mess.

For my other writing, explore one of these categories:

essays and TV reviews
reporting and journalism
long-form journalism
all publications

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Andy Dehnart, photographed by Kellie Warren, March 2019

Hi! I'm Andy, a writer and teacher who obsessively and critically covers reality TV and unscripted entertainment, focusing on how it’s made and what it means. Learn more about me.

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RSS recent writing on reality blurred

  • Hulu’s new show wants to make you uncomfortable, because we’ve been ‘indoctrinated’
  • Squid games leave squid juice squirting on Tough As Nails
  • Physical: 100 is a visually spectacular but bulky strength competition
  • Rachel Reilly’s answers to all of my Traitors questions
  • The Traitors US: Who won? Who was banished? Betrayed? Recaps of episodes 6-10
  • Oil and tears spill everywhere on Tough As Nails
  • 25 reality TV news and must-read stories: prison, renewals, Netflix, and more
  • How Trafficked films ‘risky and dangerous situations’—and deals with ‘holy sh*t’ moments
  • Are all Great Pottery Throw Down seasons streaming? Why do TV shows end mid-season?
  • Milf Manor’s twist was exactly what we expected

what I’ve been doing

  • Three podcasts, two stories, one wild year December 30, 2021
  • Thank you again, SPJ Florida! August 8, 2021
  • Me and my writing, in your inbox October 24, 2019
  • I asked CBS executives about their reality shows’ problems with race. Here’s what happened. August 16, 2019
  • An anniversary, and three recommendations, plus a way to really stay up to date July 15, 2019

“It’s good to be curious about many things.”

—Mister Rogers

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RSS recent reality blurred stories

  • Hulu’s new show wants to make you uncomfortable, because we’ve been ‘indoctrinated’
  • Squid games leave squid juice squirting on Tough As Nails
  • Physical: 100 is a visually spectacular but bulky strength competition
  • Rachel Reilly’s answers to all of my Traitors questions
  • The Traitors US: Who won? Who was banished? Betrayed? Recaps of episodes 6-10

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