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Andy Dehnart

writer, TV critic, teacher

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reporting and journalism

Andy Dehnart > writing > reporting and journalism

In my coverage of reality television, media, and popular culture, I’ve broken news, conducted in-depth interviews, and examined trends.

A selection of those stories is below, or you can browse all my reporting by publication.

Photo Credit: GrubStreet

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

As Netflix moves into Food Network’s territory, and critics wonder why Food Network has left some of its audience behind, a Food Network executive told me, “I’m not in the food business. I’m in the television business.”

Photo Credit: The Daily Beast

Survivor Spoiler Exposes Russell Hantz as His Source

Who was leaking the results of CBS’ reality show Survivor? I discovered that a lawsuit filed by a shell corporation revealed the answer, and it turned out to be the show’s biggest star.

Photo Credit: Pacific Standard

'Married at First Sight,' Now in a Lasting Relationship

A ridiculous reality show premise—strangers getting married the first time they meet—actually offers lessons for how to create healthy relationships, according to the research I explored and experts I interviewed for this story.

Photo Credit: Salon

Don't call it a comeback

Long before the era of peak TV, television had a problem with its inclusion of black characters—both in terms of numbers and content. Interviewing researchers and experts in and outside of the industry, I looked at how television portrayed, and created programming for, people of color.

Photo Credit: reality blurred

Reality TV cast contracts

As part of my work on reality blurred, the website I created in 2000 to cover reality television, I’ve obtained, published, and analyzed the cast contracts for several major reality shows—reporting that was once legally challenged by a broadcast TV network. Those documents are important because they reveal what cast members on these shows are giving up, and what they’re agreeing to.

  • The Survivor rulebook and contestant contract
  • The Big Brother houseguest contract

    The RuPaul’s Drag Race contract

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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

    • Top Chef’s pub crawl became Top Chef Catering yet again, alas
    • Who was evicted from BBCAN? Plus: Wendy’s Rewards points, explained
    • Vanessa exposes Zach on BBCAN11
    • Survivor’s most brainless tribe swap ever did provoke some action
    • Does anyone want The Zach Show on BBCAN11?
    • Why Top Chef Kristen Kish’s new NatGeo series is so liberating and personal
    • Dan’s surprise BBCAN 11 nominations, plus fractures and friend-zoning
    • A former Survivor winner voted for a ‘terrifying’ Kentucky law
    • The Challenge All-Stars 4’s cast and spoilers
    • What BBCAN11’s shorter Friday and Saturday Digital Dailies revealed

    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

    • Top Chef’s pub crawl became Top Chef Catering yet again, alas
    • Who was evicted from BBCAN? Plus: Wendy’s Rewards points, explained
    • Vanessa exposes Zach on BBCAN11
    • Survivor’s most brainless tribe swap ever did provoke some action
    • Does anyone want The Zach Show on BBCAN11?

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