Reality Roundup: ‘Love Island USA’ reunion drama, ‘RHOSLC’ season 5 trailer and more
Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here’s a look at what happened in the world of reality television this week:
Love Island USA(Peacock) JaNa Craig came prepared with four pages of receipts to the Love Island USA season 6 reunion, which aired Monday on Peacock. Unfortunately, she feels as though the cast did not get the closure they needed from the experience. “I personally don’t like the way it ended. Lots of emotion, lots of tears, lots of yelling, lots of hurt,” she told US Weekly. “I don’t think it left off on a good note. I wish other people could get closure and we just used to be a really big happy family. It doesn’t feel like that anymore, so it sucks.”
Speaking of Love Island USA season 6, islanders Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky called their relationship quits after the reunion episode aired. They made the announcement in separate Instagram Stories posted on Tuesday night. “It reached a point where it was not healthy for us to continue the relationship,” Kendall shared in his post.
House of Villains (E!) Get ready for more from your favorite reality show villains very shortly. The trailer for season 2 of House of Villains is available to watch now. This season starts with a 75-minute premiere episode on Oct. 9 that’ll air on E!, Bravo, Syfy and USA simultaneously.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City(Bravo) Receipts, proof, timeline, new season! The women of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are returning to TV screens oh so soon. Bravo released the season 5 trailer for the reality show, which returns on Sep. 18 and promises lots of drama between cast members Lisa Barlow, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks Whitney Rose and Mary Cosby.
It seems fans were ready for the return of Cobra Kai: The debut of the first half of the show’s sixth and final season debuted at #1 on the streamer’s ranking of English language TV shows for the week ending July 21.
According to Netflix, the show starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka attracted 14.8 million viewers.
On the movie side, while the romantic comedy Find Me Falling starring Harry Connick Jr. debuted at #1 on the English language movies chart with 14.4 million views, the drama Hillbilly Elegy popped onto the top 10 list.
The 2020 Ron Howard movie stars Glenn Close and Amy Adams and was based on the bestseller from U.S. Marine-turned-author-turned lawyer-turned-Ohio senator, JD Vance.
The movie’s jump onto the Top 10 with 4.8 million views coincided with Vance’s jump into the 2024 presidential race, as former President Donald Trump‘s vice-presidential pick.
The jump was even more pronounced Monday, July 15, when Trump chose Vance: Variety reports the movie surged in views by 1,179% — from 1.5 million minutes viewed on July 14 to 19.2 million minutes July 15.
The 76th Emmy Awards, which aired Sunday night on ABC, had quite a few memorable moments — but perhaps none as memorable as the acceptance speech centered around a dead dog.
While accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series for Last Week Tonight, John Oliver thanked the usual people and then shifted gears, paying tribute to his family’s “fantastic” dog, who’d recently passed away. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us for two pregnancies,” he said. At that point, the “playoff” music started, indicating that Oliver should wrap it up, but he wasn’t having it.
“Perfect choice of music,” he noted. He then continued, “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now. She was an amazing dog.” The music continued, to which Oliver shouted, “F*** you! This isn’t just for her. This is for all the dogs! All dogs, you are all very good girls. You are very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now!”
Some other memorable moments:
—Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen, a presenter, took a shot at J.D. Vance by recalling that during the show’s heyday, then-Vice President Dan Quayle attacked her character for having a baby and raising it as a single mother. “Oh, how far we’ve come,” she said sarcastically. “Today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, my work here is done.” She then added, “Meow.”
–One of the many TV reunion segments during the evening brought together Ron Howard and Henry Winkler to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Happy Days. Speaking from a replica of the show’s hangout, Arnold’s, Howard complained that they didn’t have any theme music introducing them. After some encouragement, Winkler adopted his “Fonz” persona from the show, went over to the jukebox and wrapped it with his fist, causing the Happy Days theme to start up.
–Will Smith accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Slow Horses. No, not THAT Will Smith, as the British showrunner acknowledged. Taking the podium, he said, “First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace.”
—The Bear’sLiza Colón-Zayas became the first Latina to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and she recognized that moment by saying, “To all the Latinas who are looking at me? Keep believing. And vote. Vote for your rights.”
—John Leguizamo did a lengthy monologue about diversity in Hollywood, noting that he didn’t see a lot of Latinx representation on TV and movies growing up. “Everybody played us but us,” he noted. Then, he praised the diversity of this year’s nominees, saying it made him “almost happy and certainly less angry.”
–Along those same lines, presenter Diego Luna announced the nominees for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series in Spanish, directly addressing the “more than 50 million Spanish speakers in this country.”
— A number of actors from The West Wing, including Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hilland Richard Schiff, reunited to present the Emmy for Best Drama Series and joked about modern politics. Schiff noted that today, interesting storylines could be “plucked right off the news — storylines that writers would have deemed a bit far-fetched, if not utterly ridiculous, 25 years ago.”
–Baby Reindeer‘s Richard Gadd had a message for the entertainment industry. At the podium to accept the Emmy for Best Limited or Anthology Series, he said, “If Baby Reindeer has proved anything, it’s that there’s no set formula to this — that you don’t need big stars, proven IP, long-running series, catch-all storytelling to have a hit. The only constant across any success in television is good storytelling that speaks to our times. So take risks, push boundaries, explore the uncomfortable. Dare to fail in order to achieve.”
For Brian Jordan Alvarez, creator and star of FX’s latest comedy series, English Teacher, it all goes back to high school. Specifically, it can all be traced back to a certain English teacher who changed his life.
“I went to a very English-forward high school called St. Andrew’s-Sewanee in Tennessee for three years of my high school experience,” Alvarez told ABC Audio at the Disney Upfront event in May. “I had [a teacher] named Claire Reishman in high school, and she really taught me to write in a really meaningful way. I always think back on that.”
In the new sitcom Alvarez plays Evan, a teacher at the center of many different competing energies.
“The parents, the students, the administration. Everybody wants something different,” Alvarez said. “Everybody has a different definition of what’s right.”
Alvarez said he owes “it all to my high school English teacher.”
“Now I’m out here playing a high school English teacher,” Alvarez said. “I always think when I’m writing, I go, ‘Maybe that’s where I learned how to write,’ because I didn’t formally study screenwriting or anything.”
While Alvarez couldn’t disclose if his viral character TJ Mack will make an appearance on English Teacher, he did tease it happening in the future. “We can only hope. Well, maybe the energy of TJ Mack will infuse English Teacher. Maybe we can get a TJ Mack cameo in season 2, season 3,” Alvarez said.
And he couldn’t let the interview go without sneaking in a Lady Gaga reference.
“There could be a hundred people in a room and all of them would be watching English Teacher,” Alvarez said.
English Teacher premieres Sept. 2, on FX. You can also stream it on Hulu and Disney+.