*** CAUTION: This Post Contains Spoilers for Those Who Haven't Caught Up with Watching This Series So Far, Please Read with Caution Below. ***
BY DC CUEVA
ESTIMATED READING TIME: 16 Mins.
Along with offering weekly episode coverage of the shows you love as we've gone Inside MTV Reality on here for eight years, DCBLOG has also been able to bring you the other side of television's most-talked about reality programming. Whenever something that pops up on the social feeds that opens our eyes a bit, or when this ecosystem crosses at the intersection of pop culture, then we get to tell these stories through the unique vantage point of ExtraTime... including this first one of the fall 2021 cycle.
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| All Sexy Beasts Screencaps Courtesy Netflix |
Of course, you got MTV to thank -- or to blame, depending on whom you ask -- for making it possible for networks to devote a decent amount of their primetime evening entertainment programming to non-scripted content part of our 21st century television landscape. Same goes for the many over-the-top streaming outlets that have become a hot commodity in our year-plus at home in pandemic life, where they have also invested in reality programming around their elaborate budgets on scripted content.
And as we have been seeing three reality alumni from shows that actually air on internet platforms that compete with Paramount+ for our eyeballs in this new age, over the summer that new world and that of the MTV Reality ecosystem collided, at least for one episode. It all came in perhaps the most bizarre of all dating and reality shows that's come along during the past two decades... and for the root of all this, you have to go back to the last summer of the old normal.
Two years ago at this time, reality television provided its usual array of buzzworthy entertainment: a controversial season 21 of Big Brother, Joseph Allen's show-stopping performance on America's Got Talent, and Hannah Brown having her heart broken twice on The Bachelorette. But summer 2019 was also a breakthrough year: Season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise saw Demi Burnett get engaged to Kristian Haggerty -- the first time a same-sex couple has done so in the Bachelor franchise. And while their romance did not last (and Demi making a big splash on this year's return to Paradise), it marked a huge step for the representation of the LGBT community on reality TV -- so was the case on MTV.
When it debuted five years earlier, Are You The One? marked the channel's first entry into the modern reality dating craze, followed shortly thereafter by the debut in the U.K. of fellow MTV franchise Ex On The Beach. When the American version of EOTB premiered in 2018, it followed in MTV's tradition of featuring one of the most important segments of its viewing audience as part of its cast, an aspect of which is unique to the U.S. version. But in a true milestone in the channel's proud tradition of featuring an increasingly-important aspect of our society: the most recent season of the former celebrated the gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, queer and plus community like no other did before.
Every season of Are You The One? has had its jaw-dropping hookups, love triangles, gut-wrenching moments in the Truth Booth and Matchup Ceremony, and a lot more in this game of high stakes that has $1 million hanging in the balance. Sure, Season 8 had one of those in the first column when five girls got it on in the dark in its signature Boom Boom Room of fun and pleasure -- something no MTV reality show had ever gotten to witness. And yes, there was notable romances that helped to shape the annual quest to find love in laser & light beams and money: Max Gentile & Justin Palm, Jonathan Monroe & Basit Shittu, Remy Duran & Paige Cole and Kai Wes & Jenna Brown -- all of whom made the weekly quest to crack the code a tough one, especially when a blackout at one matchup saw them lose $250,000.
But while the house did overcome that and do the job at season's end, the thing that separated this season from the seven that came before it was that love and acceptance was the true winner over money and all else. Along with what's made it a must watch to MTV viewers, the most meaningful of AYTO's eight seasons brought a greater focus on the sixteen singles as it also told their stories of struggling with being accepted for who they really are. And last summer during the pandemic which postponed the casting process for Season 9 to now, some of the cast discussed the impact of Come One, Come All.
MTV wrote of her: "Kari is a hardcore cosplayer who loves to play dress up, but when the costumes come off, her personality is just as bright and colorful. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about her relationships. Underneath the surface, her relationships got pretty dark. Kari remained the loud and fun person she truly is, but the underlying darkness left her guarded when it comes to love. Can Kari be the superhero for her own heart and rescue it from the cage she put around it?"
Kari didn't fare much in the love game on AYTO, despite being paired for part of the season with Kylie Smith (who was on MTV YouTube's Match Me If You Can earlier this year) and actually having it out with her perfect match Max on social media after the season ended. When the afterglow of her time on MTV ended (and after a full recovery after a bout with COVID), she turned her attention to becoming a trendsetter within the extravagant world of beauty pageants. Last summer, Kari represented New Jersey in the Miss United States Pageant, which targets the older 20-29 year-old age group (unlike its more well-known Miss America and Miss USA/Miss Universe counterparts).
Kari didn't come home with the crown, but as she wrote on Instagram afterwards she came away with a consolation award: "Being Miss New Jersey at Miss United States was not only such an honor to represent my home, but Miss Congeniality is one of my favorite movies so I got to have such a Sandra Bullock moment 🤣 💁🏼♀️ At the pageant, I am so proud to say I won the ladycode brand ambassador award!!!! I’m so completely overjoyed & grateful to have been chosen for this. I love everything about these products and what this brand stand for."
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| IG @Kariselle |
And that's not all to her backstory: two months after AYTO ended, Snow opened up on YouTube about an episode she had of domestic violence, for which she considers herself a survivor of rather than being a victim of abuse. She hopes that because of her profile, she can help to fuel the conversation about that traumatic time in her life.
But when she took to the stage as Miss New Jersey at last year's Miss United States, Kariselle didn't know that she was about to extend her 15 minutes of fame from TV and a beauty pageant to something that combined aspects of both into one of the world's weirdest reality shows.
Last week, Netflix offered their own big reality crossover event: the Netflix Reality Games brought together cast members from its Trifecta of three reality franchises that have emerged in the past year. There, those from the first two seasons of Too Hot to Handle and The Circle and Season 1 of Love Is Blind all competed in those Games, which unlike the paid platform itself, was posted entirely for free in front of the paywall on its YouTube channel, all as two members of the former two shows are competing on the just-premiered new season of MTV's The Challenge in Spies, Lies & Allies.
As the reality genre has grown a bit, the success of its biggest shows from The Real World to American Idol and beyond gave networks and emerging platforms ideas that if it wanted to keep up with the demand for this kind of programming, it had to dive in. Besides those three aforementioned shows above, Netflix has also had success in the non-scripted sphere led by MTV alum Karamo Brown being part of Queer Eye, family game show Floor Is Lava, and the series described as the real-life version of Crazy Rich Asians, Bling Empire. And then, there's that show...
Other than for those costumes, the format of Sexy Beasts is very much the same as what we're used to for the standard romantic reality show with a smaller cast: one eligible single gets to go on a date with each of the three suitors who were specially selected for him or her. During this process, two will eventually get eliminated and where the remaining person will score a second date with the bachelor or bachelorette... and as it is on the Masked Singer and Dancer shows, the real identity of everyone will be revealed. In addition to Britain, Sexy Beasts has been adopted for local versions in South Korea (where Masked Singer originated), Germany on the ProSieben suite, and here in the U.S. on A&E.
Recently, British production outlet All3Media's Lion Television unit brought this rather furry concept to a worldwide audience on Netflix, and as it was on previous iterations of this franchise, the reception for Sexy Beasts has understandably been a bit too close for comfort in the mainstream press: NBC News wrote that the show committed "...a crime worse than bad taste," while the Manchester Guardian added that it has set "a new low for dating shows." Same goes for some of those in the millions of subscribers to the king of pay streaming services which, thanks to this weird undertaking and other matters, gave them second thought about whether to continue late night sessions of "Netflix & Chill" in lockdown.
But, it's on Sexy Beasts where we find Kariselle once again: when her return to TV was announced she wrote on IG, "'How was your 15 minutes of fame?,' they asked. 'Great!,' I said, 'I'm going for 30.' I feel so incredibly blessed to have had this experience, and have you all watch it back with me. Craziest part is?! A psychic actually predicted this! The past year has been tough on all of us, and being able to entertain others really makes me feel like I'm living my soul's purpose, so thank you so much to all of you who have been watching and supporting❤️."
They were marine biologist Ethan being depicted as Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, self described "hot nerd" Josh being disguised as a bull, and Tyler as an alien from outer space. She had the chance to go on dates with each of them in different settings around London, and when she completed all three she and those wanting to score her heart came together for the big decision.
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| IG @TylerSmithWho |
But just it was on her first go-around on national TV, Kariselle's didn't find true love with Tyler and they decided that their relationship be just one of a cordial than romantic. She wrote afterwards, "Surprise! I’m engaged!!! hahaha KIDDING. But how cute would that have been?! Anyways, here’s what happened after the show. We tried our best, and really gave it what we could given the circumstances, but we live across the country and the pandemic didn’t help. As my favorite artist Taylor Swift once sang “I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale” and if I want something to succeed, I know I have to start being more realistic. But the important thing is, we’ve stayed in touch constantly since filming and speak almost daily, and continue to be extremely close. Tyler, If I had to do it all over again, I’d pick you every time. I love you my sexy beast and I’m always going to be your biggest fan. ❤️"
And she added in another post, "You had me at “Hey Panda.” 🤣 So what happened after filming? Well, first off- I felt SO BAD that I couldn’t even speak to him after not picking him following such a fun day. After he left the tunnel of love, he was gone and I had none of his contact info, but wanted so badly to explain myself and tell him how much I cherished our time together and hope to do it again one day. I even tried finding him at the airport when they sent us home by going to the gates heading to Atlanta 🤣 But eventually I was able to do what I do best, tracked him down, and reached out. We’ve been best friends ever since. Josh and I are NOT dating but we DO have a pact that if in about ten years we’re both single, we’re gonna say screw it and go get married to each other. Sooooooo MAYBE THE PSYCHIC WAS RIGHT?!"
And Tyler wrote, "@kariselle 🐼 where do I start… I remember when we both were back home and I told you I didn’t want all this publicity/online world to ruin our friendship, that came above anything and I still mean it. No matter what the audience or critics have to say about you, I appreciate who you are and I’m always gonna care about you. I know how toxic dating culture is and I’ve finally learned from all my lost relationships that a friend is more important than my ego. Stories don’t always follow the script, and there is no right or wrong ending. But I’m sooo thankful for this entire experience!We tried and things didn’t work out but I’m thankful for our friendship and everything that it’s come with. We’re still close friends and I got your back! You always got someone in your corner and I know your story will be a happy one!"
But despite the mostly sketchy reception it has been getting since the entire season was posted at once on Netflix last month, there's still been something hilarious about watching people get dressed up in Halloween costumes when it's still hot & warm outside and Starbucks' famous pumpkin drinks haven't gone back on their menu. Sexy Beasts brought Kariselle, Tyler and many others together for the most bizarre dating show most of us have ever seen, and judging by the interaction that they've had above... it proves that aliens, pandas and the like can co-exist -- all in the name of love.
🐼 💖 👽
As we talk to you on this Friday, August 27th, according to sources Kariselle's historic season of Are You The One? will be joining the library of MTV shows that's on the Paramount+ streaming service next month, as will the first season of A Double Shot at Love with Pauly D. & Vinny, for which Season 3 of Jersey Shore's take on love premieres also in September along with Floribama Shore. And on the topic of streaming, after we cover this week's episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies we will introduce you to Netflix alum Ed Eason of The Circle... and later, we'll take a Look Ahead to the next season of Ex On The Beach -- for which a DSAL original is part of that next wave. We hope you'll join us then...
- I AM DC
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