DC ExtraTime: A Big Brother All-Star's Brother Meets Toddy Rockstar

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Wednesday night, after five months of a season that had much go on in and outside its world and culminated with more history, The Challenge gave way to another show that has gone from strength to strength to dominate our summers. After three members of the same cast made it all the way to the final of Total Madness and became spectators to Johnny Bananas and Jenny West reign victorious at the top of Mount Olympus, it was the turn of the show that introduced them to America to take over our attention for the end of this summer and the first few months of the autumn.

Twenty years ago, the fortunes of a CBS network which fell into the cellar during the 90's put their chips into the reality category to regain its glory days. Survivor debuted in May and it was at this time in August that the country watched in increasing numbers that first season and leading to nearly 50 million watching the finale. At the same time, Big Brother debuted as the network put its hopes behind a format that, like Survivor, did so well in Europe that they hoped would emulate their success overseas here. It didn't necessarily translate into that kind of success they hoped for, but thanks to retooling the format it would eventually become a powerhouse that dominates both TV and social.

This week saw the kickoff of the twenty-second season of Big Brother in America, but this time instead of casting a whole new group of newbies, it's past alumni who have joined for another shot on Big Brother All Stars. BB22 is of most interest to Challenge Naton for two reasons: straight off of her finals appearance one-half of the Swayleigh express, Bayleigh Dayton, is back to where she first became a TV star on BB20 two years ago. Also returning to the fold after a two-season sojourn to The Challenge is Final Reckoning and War of the Worlds cult favorite Da'Vonne Rogers, who was a houseguest on two seasons: BB17 in 2015 and Season 18 a year later. They are the two players that stand out to us in a summer that began with the live move-in on Wednesday and continues this weekend, with episode 2 airing later on Sunday due to golf's PGA Championship in San Francisco.

There is one other person of note in that BB All-Stars house who shares the same blood with one who also knows what it's like to be scrutinized for 100 days in that famed summer house, and this past week the one who proceeded him as a houseguest got to meet up with a multi-talented superstar who is also an icon to two communities. Todrick Hall turned 35 years young back in April having already solidified himself as a quadruple threat, but whose journey to stardom began back on the ninth season of American Idol, where the native of the Lubbock area auditioned in Dallas, made it to Hollywood and was eliminated in the semifinals missing out on the final 12 & the live shows.

But that was only the start of a journey that has seen Todrick vault into the stratosphere in the social media age: over 3.5 million subscribe to his YouTube channel which has garnered 775 million views with his many music videos plus parodies and skits. He is also a choreographer having also helped teach many contestants dance moves on RuPaul's Drag Race and has appeared in many Broadway plays. And a few years ago, he let MTV in on how he makes the magic for the 2015 docuseries Todrick, and where he gets to do all the work by himself and with his friends at his side.

But above all, Toddy has become a role model to the LGBTQ community and people of color, having come out when he was aged 15. It was this fact in mind that last year, his good friend Taylor Swift appointed him to direct the video for her second single off Lover, "You Need to Calm Down," which has become an anthem to the gay & lesbian community. The two-time VMA winning video itself not only features Hall, but also Karamo Brown and his Queer Eye fab five, RuPaul, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Reynolds, Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert, Ciara and, of course, Katy Perry.

The fandom who adore Todrick are affectionately called the Toddlerz, and one of them who got to run into the main man himself happens to be the brother of one of the new Big Brother All-Stars. And one who also was on Mama Day's second stint in the BB house is Paulie Califiore, who made waves during that summer of 2016, and who would ultimately become a new face and villain to Challenge fans in making two finals and scoring Cara Maria, and who made a pit stop on the first season of Ex On The Beach U.S. en route to Final Reckoning.

DC ExtraTime Funny File: A Lion's Challenge Impersonations

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

As part of the promotional blitz leading into this past week's premiere of The Challenge: Total Madness, a guy who's won more of these than any other stated to US Weekly the relief he has that this season has more of what fans like in the competition and less of what he calls "toxic, awful personalities" to make it more favorable to everyone. The subliminal shade Johnny Bananas gave on the magazine's TV podcast referred to two of the biggest notables no-shows to a season that began in grand fashion last week for a sporting nation hungry for some action in this time of uncertainty.

Those two people are Cara Maria Sorbello and Paulie Califiore, who met each other two years ago on The Challenge and have had such a public relationship that it has fascinated everyone who follows both MTV Reality and reality television in its totality. The way the relationship began for the both of them stemming from his split from Bachelor Nation alum Danielle Maltby has divided everyone in Challenge Nation, has seen the approval ratings of the two-time Challenge queen take a nose dive, and helped solidify Big Brother's impact as not just as CBS' summertime guilty pleasure, but now a year-round presence on its once-again cable sibling in the new ViacomCBS regime.

Paulie made his TV debut on the 2016 season of Big Brother, which two years later came to The Challenge starting on Vendettas. He himself moved into the Season 1 Ex On The Beach house just after that season aired, before making a huge impact himself on Final Reckoning as well as the two War of the Worlds seasons. Him being able to play the game relentlessly and fearlessly saw this brother of a past BB houseguest and a former soccer player make a name almost from the start, earning the ire of Johnny and everyone else in making two of his three finals, and narrowly missing the third when him going all in on the last purge on War of the Worlds I cost him dearly.

A member of this year's Challenge cast, "Swaggy C" from the Big Brother season two years after Paul's, BB20, knows what it's like to be the least-liked member of his cast and yet still have an enormous impact on the season. It's very much the same way for Paulie when you refer to not only his original BB18 season but also in what he got to do on Final Reckoning and last year's two WOTW seasons... but while he is taking this season off this time, this past week he took to Instagram to do, what his girlfriend did earlier in her Challenge career.

Back when she was a young up-and-comer who was continuing to earn her stripes, Cara Maria did a YouTube video where she got to do impersonations of fellow Challengers. Those who respected her then who might as well not be on her side now like Jemmye, Nany and Camila, and even Cara were impersonated in that eight-minute video released during Battle of the Seasons 2, where she was part of that infamous Fresh Meat group.

With that video in mind, Paulie decided to do his own impersonations of fellow Challengers which he posted on Instagram TV (the longer version of videos posted on the social app that's longer than 60 seconds). There, he decided to take his chance to act as CT, Wes, Ashley, Rogan, Kam and Jenny. And thus, it includes sights of a wig & bra, a Red Sox hat, and yes, a ginger beard.

When it was posted on premiere night last Wednesday, it might've been just as good as the actual premiere episode itself and over 123,000 of you have seen the video ever since of him doing these spot-on imitations of those he's competed with, and where now he's observing them as just us, armchair fans.

And just about everyone in Challenge Nation, as well as the biggest star of Champs vs. Pros and his fellow Big Brother alumni, had their say in the Instagram comments on the biggest absentee becoming them for a few moments - starting with his #1 fan...

● @misscaramaria: "This is the paulie i know. 🤣♥️"
● @roguesnaps: "Hahahahahahahahahaha mate I’m in tears 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 p.s. BEER ME"
● @mtvashleybrooke: "Oh my god your ct is fucking perfect  you made my day I love you Soooooo much 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😍🔥"

● @darrell_taylor_lb4lb: "CT was on point 😂"

● @jenniferwestofficial: "Oh my god I'm dying!!! C.T and Rogan were spot on!! 😂😂😂😂😂 In this case Paulie you weren't shit you were actually good 😉"

● @lolojones: "Acting skills on point"

● @deenguyen: "I’m mad u didn’t do me. U have the best Australian accent 😂"

● @natalienegrotti: "LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIOO This is incredible now text me back biatch"

● @mrashleycain: "I actually watched the whole thing. I'm cracking up man. You should deffo do some more! 🤣👏🏾"

● @bradfiorenza: "OMG bro 😂😂😂😂😂"

● @stevie_bear: "😂😂😂😂"

● @jossmooney: "😂😂😂😂 @_famous4nothing"

● @fessyfitness: "Bruhhhhh this is to good 😂😂😂😂😂"

● @kcsince1987: "Lmaoooo 😂😂😂😂"

● @iamkamiam_: "You are hilarious 😭😭😭"

● @eastwood100 Clint/Real World Atlanta: "Hilarious bro 👍🙌"

● @zackass Zach Holmes/Too Stupid to Die: "😂😂😂"

● @ginamariez Gina Zimmerman/Big Brother: "Yo the man brother. Without y’all the Challenge is shit. They scared"

● @daniellealexism Danielle Murphree/Big Brother: "I told you!! I’m so glad that you did this 😂😭 the ones with the accents kill me .... Ashley and Rogan 🤣🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥🔥 I miss y’all!! @misscaramaria"

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I’m just going to leave this here.... . . . . @challengemtv @mtv @mtvashleybrooke @westonbergmann @roguesnaps @_famous4nothing @iamkamiam_ @jenniferwestofficial . . . . . . #TheChallenge35

A post shared by Paulie Calafiore (@paulcalafiore_) on Apr 1, 2020 at 3:44pm PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

DC ExtraTime: Big Brother's Sin City Summit

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Of all the days of the year in the world of reality TV, nothing in more anticipated (at least as those in America are concerned) then when the network that brought the genre to the masses here, CBS, gets to air its two biggest reality franchises on the same night the last Wednesday in September during premiere week. There, it premieres the autumn season of the show that brought reality TV to network TV, Survivor, to be followed by the last night of the summer tradition that is Big Brother... it's widely considered to be the genre's biggest night. And this year, MTV's The Challenge also airs on Wednesdays, as both its parent company Viacom and CBS prep for their coming reunion and stamping their place as THE home of reality TV in America.
   Two weeks ago on September 25 saw this one very night take place, starting with the premiere of Season 39 of Survivor, Island of the Idols, where in addition to everything fans of the series expect, two past champions of the series -- Sandra Diaz-Twine and "Boston Rob" Mariano -- return to the show as non-competing mentors as the semi-annual quest for $1 million after 39 days of being marooned on an island for twenty castaways began. Among the notable castaways on this season include Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel, poker player Ronnie Bardah, and former NHL defenseman Tom Laidlaw - the U.S. series' first contestant with sole Canadian citizenship.

After that Survivor premiere came the end of what is, in the minds of many of its socially-active fans, the most controversial season ever of Big Brother, as a summer camp-themed 21st season came to a close a day short of 100 days in the heat of the summer. It was already making headlines even before the houseguests moved in when host Julie Chen stayed on as host after the Me Too controversy surrounding husband & former CBS head Les Moonves, and it was only in May that the season was given a green light to go. But the one overarching controversy of this year's Big Brother summer was something that has appeared all too often in both society and in our social feeds.
   When he first became that season's Camp Director and gained elimination immunity, Nashville native and L.A. bartender Jackson Michie chose to send black houseguests David Alexander and Kemi Fakunle, Latina plus-size model Jessica Milagros and 54-year-old Cliff Hogg to have them battle it out to not be the first to be evicted, which raised fans' ire on Jackson discriminating against race and age, and amped by the title of the first head of household challenge, "Color War." CBS brass was then put in the firing line over diversity and racism when players of color were given the cut early on and editors censoring racist comments, months after a former CBS exec blasted her former employers for its lack of diversity in a Variety magazine op-ed.
   There was more in store when the live feeds were turned on for streamers to binge on CBS All Access when Chicago fitness trainer Jack Matthews was caught making violent & vicious comments towards Kemi before a power of veto competition, and later more deregatory remarks towards Jessica and Knoxville's Ovi Kabir, as well as even the host herself towards Jack when he was evicted. There was also how the "Gr8ful" alliance of Jack, Jackson, Analyse Talavera, Christie Murphy, Holly Allen, Isabella Wang, Nick Maccarone and Tommy Bracco treated Nicole Anthony. And there was the usage of live animals in the week 5 POV challenge that saw viewers and PETA take their shot at them for animal cruelty.
   In the end, one person would be at the heart of all this controversy, and for several reasons. When he was given a Have-Not in week 4 when Jackson was caught stealing food out of camera view when he and others chosen had to go to back to basics living for a week in the house. For the final POV, outrage reigned when he admitted on the live feeds that production helped him in that challenge, and stans everywhere alleged that those behind the fourth wall were biased towards him there. It was no surprise that the social verse erupted in a big uproar when the final jury vote named Jackson the last man standing in a 6 votes to 3 verdict over Holly.

Instagram @TommyBracco

Just barely 50 hours after they were at Camp BB one last time on the CBS Television City lot in Hollywood, most of the Big Brother 21 cast found themselves up in Las Vegas as the guests of honor of the second annual Reality All-Star Reunion, a second gathering of some of the genre's biggest stars in a month after the Hearts of Reality event in Orlando. With their season having just wrapped, RASR also marked the first time that the BB21 cast got an opportunity to meet two segments of the viewing audience: those lucky fans fortunate enough to fork over a fortune to meet them, and some fellow Big Brother alumni who just saw them go through the exact experience as they did... along with other stars from throughout the reality community.
   Among those waiting to welcome them to the alumni were Morgan Willett from BB Over The Top and two-time MTV'er, Elena Davies of the current Ex On The Beach season (and Mark's ex), and Josh Martinez of the current Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 campaign. Also there were BB20 lovebirds Bayleigh Dayton & Chris "Swaggy P" Williams (#Swayleigh, who we featured here last year), the winner of that season Kaycee Clark, and some of their other alumni. Below, some of the best of this Big Brother Sin City Summit... and if things on the grapevine are a sign, we may be hearing from some of these people in the new year. As we always say here, stay tuned...

DC ExtraTime: The Challenge/Big Brother Invades Love & Hip-Hop

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood cast

Back in June, DCBLOG spotlighted the one & only Cardi B. when she made out with Nurys of last season's EOTB in the opening scene of her video for "Press," all amidst the legal proceedings the rapper went through earlier this summer. Their makeout came weeks after the biggest moment no one ever got to see at this year's MTV Movie & TV Awards: Johnny Bananas reportedly crashing the acceptance speech of the cast of VH1's Love & Hip-Hop franchise when they were chosen over The Challenge, Jersey Shore, The Bachelor and Vanderpump Rules for best reality show.

Since the addition of a fourth city to make VH1's highest-rated franchise a year-round one every Monday, the rotation sees the newest addition of the Miami series kicking off the year in January, followed by Atlanta in Spring, the current season of Hollywood in the summer, and wrapping up with the original New York series in the winter... all, of course, starring the titans of the hip-hop and R&B world in their Hills-like drama. And in California, Brandy's brother Ray J. has been the one constant of the Hollywood series, and where Keyshia Cole and Soulja Boy have also appeared as have one of the biggest acts of the 2000's, B2K, who have recently reunited amidst BTS & boy band mania.

For Season 6 of Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood which premiered this month, the show's roll call has been changed quite a bit. A protege of Ice Cube, YoYo, is among the newbies joining the SoCal squad this season as someone who champions female empowerment in a genre where more and more women are joining the hip-hop game led by, of course, one of LHH's biggest alumni. Last Monday's episode saw her officially join the cast in her first appearance on an episode as a regular cast member, all as she threw a party that turned into a staredown between two beefing cast members: wife of rapper A1, Summer Bunni, and singer Lyrica Anderson.

One of those who were watching in the background of the drama that took place at YoYo's initiation party in the Love & Hip-Hop community was someone who we last saw on Ex On The Beach earlier this year go through a breakup via a lie detector machine on the reunion, Jozea Flores. We first saw him on The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars I as one of the stars who competed on that season, then became the first of them to come onto the main show itself on Final Reckoning being partnered with cult figure Da'Vonne Rogers.  Below, he shared his three seconds of fame.

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Last nights @loveandhiphop episode was lit !! Who else saw the me and @missterray double cheetah prints 😜🔥 #lhhhollywood

A post shared by JOZEA FLORES (@jozeaofficial) on Aug 13, 2019 at 10:35am PDT

Him going to YoYo's party and taking a selfie with castmate, influencer and an alum of BET's College Hill, Ray "Misster Ray" Cunningham, marked Jozea's second time on VH1 after he and Da'Vonne were spotted in the audience at the Season 10 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race two weeks before Final Reckoning began last year. And on a side note, this took place during a big week for MTV's corporate parent that may have big implications for the entertainment industry in its totality.

With Jozea and Mama Day being Big Brother alumni, this past week Viacom agreed to merge, once again, with CBS and creating the media industry's latest mega-conglomerate after both companies first aligned two decades ago, splitting up in 2006 and being brought together again by the family of Sumner Redstone, chairman of controlling shareholders National Amusements. This comes on the heels of Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox, AT&T taking control of Time Warner Media (HBO, Turner and Warner Bros.), and NBC's parent Comcast buying British giant Sky... all as a giant called Netflix has helped alter the viewing landscape from when CBS and Viacom were last married.
   If what happened with their fellow BB18 alums Natalie Negrotti and Paulie Califiore crossing over to MTV on Vendettas and Ex On The Beach was a sign of things to come, then the merger news with the two companies that held joint custody of their reality TV journey is that day and moment CBS and MTV had in mind when they decided to expand The Challenge's draft pool and whoever is out there to endure hell in paradise on EOTB to eventually just about anyone in reality land. Like any other media deal, the CBS & Viacom alliance now creates a powerhouse with programming, platforms, promotion and possibilities that will have everyone step up around the industry, while simultaneously transforming it once again.
   A reporter who follows MTV closely, US Weekly's Emily Longeretta, brought up one of those possibilities of more alumni from Survivor and The Amazing Race, plus the islanders of Love Island USA, joining Big Brother houseguests on The Challenge, and vice versa at the Eye. Cord-cutters may rejoice at these shows being available to stream on CBS All-Access if they want to pony up $6 a month, or save up and binge for free on Pluto TV (like they will when an all-Challenge channel debuts with War of the Worlds II in two weeks). We could see the same CBS reality shows air encores or their after shows on MTV, among other things that are now possible with this union... just part of Viacom and CBS kissing & making up in time for a new challenge awaiting the two companies.

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

DC ExtraTime: Paulie Calafiore - Waking the Lion

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Last year, the MTV Reality family got bigger by quite a bit when the 2018 end of The Challenge's now much-maligned series trilogy, Vendettas and Final Reckoning, got to invite those from shows outside of both the U.S. channel to its draft pool of potential competitors. It was also the case for the show that Vendettas also helped to introduce to the American audience in between it and Final Reckoning when the U.S. adaption on MTV's global reality franchise Ex On The Beach debuted just after Cara Maria Sorbello came away victorious as the first solo winner of a final challenge in series history.

Someone who is on everyone's list of the Top 20, 50 or 100 of the reality stars who defined the twelve months is Paulie Calafiore, who joined this MTV family a year ago from a network that was, once upon a time, a corporate sibling when CBS and MTV were under the same Viacom ownership as part of what Disney, Comcast and AT&T's WarnerMedia are now -- a media super conglomerate. And the show he comes from is one that defines summer to both die-hard reality fans and to casual viewers during the broadcast networks' offseason... and come next month, we'll again hear those familiar terms "veto," "head of household" and "evicted" when Season 21 of that show debuts.

Paulie first burst onto the scene on Season 18 of Big Brother in 2016 as part of a twist that offered keys to America's most famous summer share to siblings of past houseguests, as he is brother of Season 16 runner up Cody Calafiore. Two years later, he found himself on MTV in eventually becoming one of The Challenge's biggest names in making the Final Reckoning final as a rookie and just falling short of a second straight trip to the dash for the cash on War of the Worlds when he got eliminated in the regular season finale Purge. But months before, he gained his MTV membership card by being one of the ten singles who formed the first cast of Ex On The Beach USA.

Along the way, Paulie has certainly become one of those figures in reality TV that viewers would love to love, or love to hate. Those who saw BB18 know about his showmance with Zakiyah Everette, his bromance with two-time runner-up Paul Abrahamian, his questionable treatment of the female houseguests including future Challenger Natalie Negrotti and Da'Vonne Rogers, and all that took place that summer. Those who watched EOTB last year saw him click with Lexi Marsella, but that came crashing down like many other romances in the Shack of Secrets. And of course, there's The Challenge and his much-publicized relationship with Cara Maria, which was sealed with tattoos for each other on the first season of How Far is Tattoo Far. And everyone has heard of the news that unraveled with them and Bachelor alum Danielle Maltby in the run-up to the past two seasons, which saw Cara and Paulie break up and then get back together amidst much public attention.

It would be easy for you to either support him or to root against him, and those who saw him struggle in the sea in the semifinal of War of the Worlds had reason to cheer either way or feel for him when he came away empty. But to better understand who the real Paul Calafiore is, you have to know more than just this divisive reality TV personality: there is a side of him who actually is well-spoken even with his Jersey accent, well-versed and has an understanding of the whole world around him, and not just of what goes on in the new section of the reality world he has entered. The title of this post brings to mind the animal which he has used to offer a platform for which he can discuss the things he wants to talk about in great detail: the lion.

DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - Big Brother's Swayleigh

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Chris "Swaggy C" Williams & Bayleigh Dayton,
with BB host Julie Chen (center; from CBS)

As we enter the Christmas portion of what is referred to in the social media verse as "cuffing season," love is in the air for reality TV fans. A new season of Ex On The Beach begins in a matter of hours from now with an Are You The One? love triangle and reality villain Chad Johnson being part of this season's cast of singles. Former NFL receiver Colton Underwood is waiting in the wings as the next leading man on The Bachelor, while one of the most controversial reality shows ever created, Temptation Island, will return in the new year.

Finding a couple who met on a reality show and them making it work after the cameras turn off is about as rare as the matchmaking process that those who follow AYTO as much as this site does can attest. But when true love is found, everyone has reason to celebrate: Amber & Ethan Diamond are the epitome of relationship goals to fans who handicap who are perfect matches while their original show airs... and they're one of a handful of those who have made love work in the long run among couples that met on a reality television series.

For 2018's romantic reality success story, the couple of our focus here met inside the most scrutinized summer house in this country: dozens of cameras and millions of eyeballs fixed on every move, televised and edited to viewers every year. One was a representative from the Midwest in an event ExtraTime focused on back on Tuesday, while the other is (like just about everyone in this blogger's family) an avid basketball enthusiast who shares a nickname as one of the NBA's most celebrated non-megastars. Their story of them meeting in the house and everything that occurred since has been well documented, and it's what happened when they left the house that is sure to be one of 2018's biggest reality TV moments.

And with the help of another couple who also met on reality TV and are still together a year later which they met last week, here's our chance to introduce you to Someone You Should Know: the couple from Big Brother 20 known simply as #Swayleigh.