DC ExtraTime: Siesta Takes Nashville

 CAUTION: Contains Potential Spoilers Below 

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This summer, those who live the good life in Southern California have been served well: Anthony Davis and Kwahi Leonard deciding that Los Angeles shall be the place to be again in the NBA with the Unibrow joining LeBron & the Lakers and the NBA Finals MVP bringing Paul George along across the hallway to the Clippers. This all went down at the same time that the Southland and Las Vegas were rocked by those two major earthquakes over the 4th of July weekend, as well as the opening earlier in the summer of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge down the I-5 in Disneyland.

Another part of this SoCal Summer has been taking place on MTV, as it continued to recognize the millennials' fondness of the 2000's and early 2010's in reviving The Hills. Even without the two main stars of the original show - Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavaliari being happily married and being moms, the New Beginnings revival has continued to carry the channel's momentum as Speidi, Audrina, Whitney, Brody Jenner, Jason and Frankie have been joined by Baywatch mama son Brandon Thomas Lee and Ms. Marissa Cooper, Mischa Barton of The O.C. fame, which brings full circle the show it was inspired by, Laguna Beach, which premiered fifteen years ago this coming fall. And as it was nine years ago this summer, The Hills, Jersey Shore and the Teen Mom franchise are headlining this summer in the MTV schedule, along with The Real World on Facebook Watch.

Chloe (r), w/ Jared, Amanda, Madisson,
Brandon, Juliette & Garrett (IG)

The journey that brought us to this summer of rekindled feelings began in a way two years ago this month when the East Coast-based, college-aged inspiration for this reality soap, Siesta Key made its debut. The show maintains what made Laguna and The Hills so good in all of the addictive drama that takes place among a rich and wealthy group of twenty-somethings and teens as they looked to find love and navigate through life in America's top beach town just outside Tampa Bay. What Siesta lacks in not calling the star-power and celeb hotspot of the world its home, it makes up for adding a Real World-like element to the mix in all of the castmates being relatable to the MTV audience in having backstories of going through much hardship growing up, and touching upon social and personal experiences also. And seasons 1 and 2 have sure offered its fair share of drama amidst the sweltering heat of a hot, humid and sultry Florida summer.

Earlier this spring, Siesta Key was renewed for a Season 3 to come on the coattails of the happenings in Hollywood (for which a Season 2 of The Hills: New Beginnings has just been ordered). We should expect plenty of drama to come our way from the west coast of Florida later this year, with the storyline those who watch Siesta religiously are anticipating of what's next for Juliette and Alex, post their breakup after Chloe's discovery of him being caught cheating. Plus, there's something that's emerged for the most famous member of the Class of 2019 at Florida State University: Juliette forging a relationship with Robby Hayes of The Bachelorette -- yes, that same Robby who fought for JoJo's heart with Ex On The Beach alums Chad and Chase on their 2016 season, who then dated Scheana on Season 7 of Vanderpump Rules, and is a good friend of Kathryn from Are You The One? Season 5.

This past week, Juliette, Chloe, Alex and the rest of the crew made their way up to Music City USA: Nashville, TN for one of the many escapes from paradise that Siesta fans should look anxiously forward to on Season 3. We'd suspect that they got some advice on where to go and what to do there from those who call Nashville home now: Challenge and Real World alumni Davis (Denver), Jonna (Cancun) and Chris/"Ammo" (Las Vegas III), as well as Mattie from CMT's Party Down South and The Challenge: War of the Worlds... and word is that we may see her on another MTV show not long from now. And Nashville is also home to another Siesta-style docu-soap: last year, Hills/Laguna creator Adam DiVello created CMT's Music City, which chronicles friends not only going through life together, but chasing dreams of music success in the capital of all things country.

Below, some snaps from the cast and from a couple fans from Instagram of Siesta's adventures in Smashville, where the clique's resident rapper (and sometimes pot-stirrer), Pauly, celebrated his birthday along with Jules' friend Hannah, who was featured in the winter half of Season 1. And, also check out our look at the cast reenacting scenes from The Hills from before New Beginnings.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? Season 8 - "Hate to Burst Your Bubble"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Welcome back again... we've just gushed over another case of a guy getting a drink thrown in his face, a blast from the past in the latest Big Brother showmance to invade MTV, and when you count other matters - a fight on the Real World as well. Now, we turn to more lovin' in Are You The One? Come One, Come All.

Last week, there was something that has never gone down in an MTV Reality show: a scene where not two, not three, but FIVE people getting together in an orgy when those inhabitants of this love shack took over the Boom Boom Room. That only adds more to a record-setting season of sorts of hookups in this extraordinary season of sexually-fluid singles being the star of this show, where the Max & Justin show continues to go along, and where the man who's looking to what Devin did a few years ago in being the resident nerd in this place, Danny, teared up discussing his divorce.

If there's a time for any AYTO house to realize that this is a game for $1 million, then it's when they get dealt some bad news: at the end of Episode 5 the group lost one light beam in the fourth matchup. And this week, the house is on a mission to see who that one beam could be as they try to figure out who is a perfect match in that combination. The man with hair to go for days will try to do what he can to get a romance to look for other options in the house, just as another couple who've provided us with memorable moments aplenty here will do just that after they were a confirmed no-match.

After the jump, the 'Pulse of Week 5 of Are You The One? 8. Thanks for joining us, again...

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach Season 3 - "Serving Revenge"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Well, hey there folks... it's a Saturday night and it's the last weekend of July. And as we continue to plow our way through the dog days of summer, we at DCBLOG have something good for you here: a double shot of the SocialPulse during this 2019 Summer of Love in MTV Reality.

Last week, the main course of the year's hottest season in meteorology, Season 3 of Ex On The Beach U.S., began with Romeo welcoming our latest class of singles from MTV, other reality series and twins from the place that's given us reason to stay in this weekend for the last season of #OITNB in a series on Netflix. Though everyone had an idea of what was to come unlike the first two seasons of this, there was some unfinished business right off the bat when two exes came to dinner date night at the house, one of them being Geles' AYTO Season 6 ex, Anthony M.

The other ex who crashed opening night was Big Brother 19 alum Mark's ex, Elena, who broke up with him on Valentine's Day - and that is still very much fresh during a time where a lot of you BB fans are revolting over what you've had to put up through the past month on Season 21. But this week, there is more juicy stuff to emerge with #Marlena as we take our first trip this season into the Shack of Secrets, where things have a tendency to get a bit out of control. And as the house focuses on the summer's first Cut or Crush, another wave of exes will arrive that will teach us how to be ourselves, and to make the choice of going for love once again or going for some revenge.

After the jump, Week 2 of Ex On The Beach 3.... thanks for joining us.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? Season 8 - "Was There a Fivesome?"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Well... happy Thursday to you wherever you may be, and if you are doing what you can to beat the heat we're having in much of the U.S. this week, we hope you're safe and cool. For here, we are in the midst of a season like no other of Are You The One?, as Season 8: "Come One, Come All" rolls on.

When we last left our sweet sixteen sexually-fluid singles on the Big Island of Hawaii, the house had reason to dress up and get down as they got to relive their high school and junior high versions of themselves of having a Prom Night in the house, and it was not your ordinary party as it was "Queer Prom" in the AYTO pad. As you'd expect for these blowout galas, we saw hookups and heartbreak aplenty as the cast continued to make a bid for the record of most hookups in any AYTO season.

As far as the quest to get to $1 million is concerned, not much has changed. But as we rejoin our friends in paradise, a season that has had its share of people making out and getting it on in the Boom Boom Room will get to experience something that, to our knowledge, has never happened on any MTV Reality series: five people getting together to have sex. There is the latest chapter in the tale of what's become our latest fan-fave romance of an Army vet & a Midwesterner, and the one who's the self-confessed nerd of this group shows a different side of him.

After the jump, it's the Pulse of Week 4 of Are You The One Season 8, as we continue this MTV Reality Summer of Love from our DCBLOG point of view.

DC ExtraTime: AYTO'ers Turned Challengers, Turned Parents to Be

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

It might be a summer without a season of The Challenge airing this year, but after what we saw with Turbo being a deserved champion of War of the Worlds in a season of redemption of sorts, we can be comfortable a bit to take a few months off from the fifth major pro sport. But if you follow the broader world of MTV Reality, there's nothing to worry about: Real World on Facebook, the return of The Hills, Cheyenne & Cory's ride through parenthood on Teen Mom OG, and the Summer of Love in Ex On The Beach and Are You The One.

The last Challenge-less summer was four years ago in 2015, where the United States also won the Women's World Cup that year, where The Force Awakens ruled the box office and where collabs by Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth slayed the charts. But imagine being part of what would turn out to be a legendary MTV Reality cast in having to wait out an entire summer after filming a few months earlier only to wait for the fall to have it premiere. A person on this Ex On The Beach cast knows this very feeling so vividly as he returns to the beach and the world of romantic reality television this summer.
   Of course, we're talking about Devin Walker, and his cast of Are You The One? Season 3, which was revealed to the world a month shy of four years ago this summer's weekend in August 2015, before that season debuted after a Teen Mom season finale and then moving to hump day. While the Season 1 cast has the ultimate Perfect Match, Season 5 with notable figures despite losing $800 grand, and Season 6 having representation on both last and this season's installments of EOTB, as well as a slew of notable castmates, it's the class of Season 3 that has, arguably, the biggest notoriety and staying power.
   Which class of lovebirds can say that that they have appeared on every single Challenge season since they debuted on the first season they were eligible for? Who can say that they've had the chance to cross over into not just that show, but also Real World, TMOG and EOTB? And who can lay claim to being the first alum of this show to win a Challenge final, despite their partner's actions?

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach Season 3 - The Premiere

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

If you love summer - even if you have to endure the heatwave gripping many of you this weekend, then it's likely you have a place in your heart for those reality shows where love is the name of the game. Summer 2019 is no different, with Are You The One's historic sexually-fluid, The Bachelorette heading towards its conclusion with Bachelor in Paradise looming, the new U.S. version of global sensation Love Island rolling along in Fiji, and the headlining act in the minds of this site in this Summer of Love: MTV's Ex On The Beach.
   Season 2 of the U.S. iteration of this global MTV format earlier this winter saw the circus head to Malibu, California for a season that was filmed prior to last year's devastating wildfires. An all-star reality cast headlined by Farrah of Teen Mom and Chad of The Bachelor took to paradise, and were joined by a slew of familiar faces to MTV viewers and those who watch all kinds of reality TV around the dial for a memorable season. We saw Challenger Nicole get close to bad Chad, the love triangle of AYTO alums Malcolm, Nurys and Diandra, another threesome in CBS reality stars Corey, Morgan and Jay, and the LGBT community represented in Jozea.
   This summer's class of singles have gathered in the Southern California sun for the latest renewal of Ex in America, and once again we have the pleasure of having a mixture of household names and those who are known to the MTV crowd taking occupancy. The headliner of our Season 3 cast is one who made her debut 15 years ago on MTV and who's been around the reality world with stints in Danity Kane in between: Aubrey O'Day. She is joined by Are You The One alumni Devin, Geles and Kenya; by "Nick the Gardener" of Ellen fame, aka Billy; Big Brother alum Mark, and other notables from the pop culture world, as Romeo Miller again will oversee this love-fest, which sees the singles move in this week along with the first wave of exes and the word that this show is different.

For the many of you who may be new to this site, welcome, get comfortable and take a look around here as we'll be offering our look at Ex On The Beach and the shows you love as we see it here at DCBLOG. The SocialPulse brings you the other show taking place at the same time the episodes air each week: social interaction among castmates, fellow MTV alumni and fans as viewed by them in the Twitter sphere, and offered to you after you've watched the episodes to see how they and those like you saw the drama, hookups and the must-see moments - an exclusive part of our MTV coverage. And this is just the tip of the iceberg: with our take on the usual episode recaps, and our insightful, engaging & offbeat look at MTV Reality through ExtraTime, you are covered.
   Now, the following is the action, reaction and interaction, and the actual posts of the cast of Ex On The Beach Season 3, fellow reality alumni and you the fans as they watched the premiere on Tuesday, July 17, along with the day-before buildup and the aftermath to that first episode.
• As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
• Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

MTV and reality fan favorites getting a dose of their own karma in the show called "the ultimate relations___ show"... Welcome to the premiere 'Pulse of Season 3 of Ex On The Beach U.S., and thanks for joining us... enjoy it, lovebirds.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? Season 8 - Prom Night in Hawaii

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

With a side order of friends by the Shore and some dessert of Realness in the South, it's the Summer of Love in the world of MTV Reality, and we're now entering a busy time of romance, hookups and our fair share of drama with a new season of Ex On The Beach, and here with Are You The One?, as this year's groundbreaking season "Come One, Come All" rolls along.

When we were last with our sexually-fluid friends in Hawaii, the Season 8 class of singles were still getting settled in for their summer in paradise. But once a love triangle forms for the first time in any reality dating show, then the season as we know really gets going as a former member of the Army, Justin, found himself in the middle of a love triangle with both a girl and a guy. And while the week's challenge saw some dirty laundry being tossed into the house, the sign any AYTO season is now officially starting went down with a game of Truth or Dare.

Game-wise, things are still stuck in neutral: only a couple lights, no truth booth match, but it's just early on. But as our singles enter their third week in Hawaii, the house is about to turn up in a big way, as a thing from their days going to junior high and high school takes over the house: Prom Night will give everyone reason to dress up, and in the case of one person, there is reason for the alter ego known simply as "Dionne Slay" to come to play. And when you have a house party on AYTO, it means only one thing: hookups and heartbreak will happen.

Who will kiss? Whose relationships will sink? And will the house make any movement in the quest for $1 million? Join DCBLOG after the jump for the Pulse of Prom Night on AYTO Season 8.

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before Are You The One? Season 8 - Week 3

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Welcome to the weekend friends, and into a busy time we have ahead of us this summer in MTV Reality. We have a lot of bring you in the coming days with the main attraction of this Challenge-less but love-filled summer of ours ahead, and partying, kissing and madness on Are You The One.

But before that, enjoy the lead-up to Week 3 in Hawaii before that is posted in just a bit. And we'll have this week in MTV Reality covered over the weekend, including the premiere of Season 3 of Ex On The Beach with some familiar AYTO names, among other matters. See you shortly.

MTV Reality: Who Are These Newbies? - The Challenge: Rivals III

From during The Challenge: Rivals III in Summer 2016,
reposted in the interest of our readers after developments
involving some of the subjects in our original posts.

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

We at DCBLOG want to make sure that you never meet a new Challenge competitor for the first time on next week's premiere and to give them the proper respect they rightfully deserve. Hence, we have our Challenge custom called Who Are These Newbies?. We know a lot of you want the big name vets and some new ones back on this show, but with most of them now onto bigger and better things (and I am one of those who feels there are things bigger than doing TV shows), we're sure this show will be in good hands with a new generation. We have profiled every Challenge newcomer since Rivals II, and if you wanna get to know all of them, check out the posts from seasons 24, 25, 26 and all the way down in #27. We begin this season's look at the rookies in the Bay Area.

● ASHLEY: A San Francisco resident with West Virginian roots, Ashley came to the Real World Ex-Plosion house across town as that pageant queen beauty with her stunning model looks and tough personality, which easily won over the attention of her guy friends. Her bubbly personality clicked with her roommates, and they relied on her for all the 411 on the late night hotspots the City by the Bay had to offer. But it took only some time before she clashed with them over who the real Ashley was, especially Jamie. One drunken late night, she tore up the contacts paper brought to the Bay by roommate Jay, who lost valuable time talking to his family back home, including his mom who passed away shortly after he arrived in the City. It was the last straw for them, as the roommates decided to kick out Ashley, all before the scare of their lives when the exes moved in. Since then, she's pursued her budding modeling career, including a lovely stint in Paris. France. And now Ashley has something to prove as she enters The Challenge for the first time.

● BRANDON: We first got to know Brandon on AYTO Season 2 two years ago as a man with two lives: by day he works in cancer research, by night & weekend he's all about fun in that adult playground known as Las Vegas. With prank videos, poker and all else the town that's hosting the current Real World cast, it's no doubt the perfect backdrop for someone who just loves to have a good time. He was at the heart of the season's biggest story when he and Christina got together on the group's first night and never let go until later in the season and well after they were sent into the Truth Booth and returned a no match. On the Challenge front, there's a reason why he earned his MTV return in having won several getaway challenges during the season and will sure make an impact here. To add to the unique nature of this site in offering an angle on the Trifecta you won't get anywhere else, I happened to uncover Brandon's original AYTO audition tape, which you can check out here. And he will sure to have some celeb support this season: check out his Twitter pics with Jack Black and Mike Posner.

● BRIANA: When we first met Briana two years ago, the San Diego State University grad was in a big hurry to find love. Her plan was to find her man, get married, get pregnant while on the honeymoon and start a family. In Puerto Rico, she was paired up with Brandon several times on the challenges and on the dates before they got paired up for this season, but the one Bri was most close to in the house was passionate artist Curtis, who had a strong attraction during the time he was in the house, even after they were part of the first-ever AYTO blackout (no lights in a matchup ceremony). It was also there that my most notable moment of her came during their getaway date when she publicly revealed for the first time that she had suffered the trauma of a miscarriage while she was in high school, similar to the devastating story Kailyn from Teen Mom just went through. In the end, she found her perfect matches in three other girls: Christina, Jessica and Ellie by their code name the "Goon Squad," spending an entire summer in her San Diego hometown along with the guy below.

● NATE: From Kalamazoo, MI, Nate appears at first to have that rocker style with that faux hawk and tattoos, but he's anything but the bad boy his looks might point to. When we met him on AYTO 2, he's like any guy in going after the hottest girl in the room and usually has his way, but she then pushes him away by his snap attachment. In Puerto Rico, Nate was initially attracted to Midwesterner turned Hollywood girl Shelby and it became a triangle by way of her also courting fellow Challenger Dario, which became too much for Nate to handle. Later, he turned his attention to Jessica and then to Christina, who as we all know got into words with her after being a TB no match and with Brandon and led to him into those man tears that would score him big points in this Challenge. In the end when the group won the cash, he got matched up to the fourth member of the Goon Squad, Ellie, and later he moved out to SoCal to join the Squad in the Goon House. Now, destination Challenge for this high school football player...but first, check out his audition tape here.

● CHEYENNE: We saw Cheyenne on AYTO Season 3 last fall, and the L.A. girl is smart, ambitious, gorgeous & a frequent flyer - the total package as she sees it. We saw Chey speak her mind in Hawaii as she was quick to notice the group's bad gameplay and to stand up to the guys in representing for the ladies in the house. But as her social handle @CheyNotShy suggests, it was no surprise that she had one of the moments of the season where she woke the group up with a mic-dropping speech at the 5th Matchup where she called the group out for not moving on from their non-matches and the guys' behavior. Her words were, "The fact that this game is set up for us to find love and this is how we're doing it -- it's bizarre. I think you guys need to realize that we all are either going to win together or we're going to lose together. All this fighting, all this negativity, is going to bring this house down and we all know it." In the end, she was part of the final outcome when the plan that was based around her & Tyler was chosen, and that takes us to her partner.

● DEVIN: Finally, there's Devin. If what we saw with Frank recently is an example, than we can expect the same kind of pot stirring with who is AYTO's most controversial castmate. When he went to Hawaii last year, Devin was someone who loves living life to its fullest and is the life of the party. Being very adventurous as he is has also meant going all in on his dating life on Tinder and at the club, being that romantic at heart with a deep connection. Season 3's biggest story was his tumultuous relationship with Kiki, which started in week 1 and, just as it was with Bristina, never let go. They went into the Truth Booth and emerged a no match, but DiKi stayed together well after and they got into it so many times that the house ultimately told him to play the game...and play the game he did. When all hope was seemingly lost in their last 2 tries, the strategist who talked the talk and hadn't delivered came up with a last-ditch plan with red Solo cups and a quarter (!), and the coin went in favor of Tyler & Cheyenne. The rest was history: he went from being the most-hated Trifecta castmate since Puck to becoming the most-feared when it comes to strategy in singlehandedly pulling off the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass in giving his Ohana the $750,000 in comeback fashion.

AMANDA & NELSON

Now, with the addition of Amanda and Nelson to this cast to replace Averey & Leroy, you Challenge fans are asking, "Who Are These Newbies?"  Here's the info on these two from Are You The One? Season 3...
● AMANDA: Coming to us from Westminster, CO just outside of Denver, Amanda came into the AYTO house looks, the smarts and lots of confidence. But it hasn't turned into luck in the relationship department, with past flings leaving her insecure and settling for sub-par guys. She's typically been the heartbreaker rather than play the role of the heartbroken, which is why she's quick to dump a guy rather than wait for him to move on. And during her season, she was involved in so much drama that it was insufficient to fit this all into this brief paragraph...that follows the description of her partner.
● NELSON: A San Marcos, TX native, Nelson is a guy's guy: athletic and one who the girls love. With drive and ambition, he wants everything and can devote time and energy needed to make it happen. However when it comes to girls, Nelly's strong focus becomes the obstacle in his quest for a girl, along with time as well when it comes to juggling school, sports and guy time and not fitting time to see a girl. In Hawaii, we saw him get angry plenty of times, from when his crush Cheyenne kissed funny guy Zak to calling out Devin for not picking Kiki at the first MC.
● WHAT GOT THEM HERE: What got Amanda and Nelson paired up was when they got into one of those fights that he got into one night and the drama she brought on afterwards.

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

MTV Reality: Welcome to Ex On The Beach Season 3

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

It's now July and the second half of 2019, and MTV Reality TV has sure given us plenty of talk about and enjoy. Things are a bit different this time: no Challenge season for us to cover for the first summer in a few years, but it's hardly an offseason in this year-round binge-fest of ours. We're a few weeks into life a decade wiser and older for those we grew up watching in the cast of The Hills and Teen Mom originals Maci, Catelynn and Amber. This week, they've been joined by their counterparts to the East in Jersey Shore as they return amidst one of their own getting hitched before going behind bars. And The Real World is rolling along on Facebook as our current class of seven strangers going through life, love and social issues down in Atlanta as well as in Mexico City and Thailand.

Our focus here is on the Summer of Love, which saw the debut of a trend-setting new season of Are You The One with sexually-fluid singles, which has already opened our eyes to the LGBT world getting its own reality dating show for the first time. And on a lesser note, the global phenomenon that gave us UK Challengers Theo and Georgia, Love Island, has just debuted here as those in America are getting to see what the finalists of War of the Worlds have gone through. But our main attraction in this Summer of Love will again be on the show that is a combination of love fest, reality fest and fun fest for those who both love and pretend to love but deep inside hate this genre.
   Ex On The Beach came into our lives on this side of the Atlantic a year ago when four other Brits who ignited the international invasion of The Challenge brought with them the show that mixed what a Challenge baby daddy went through the first time he was on MTV with a romantic dating series gone wild. Season 1 saw the start of what's now a Teen Mom OG storyline in Cory Wharton dating fellow single (and a friend of Jake Paul's) Taylor Selfridge, while introducing us to Big Brother turned Challenge star Paulie and a romance that continued to last season. Also during Season 2, we saw a Teen Mom take her talents to the beach, the continuation of an AYTO love triangle, another triangle that crossed the old Viacom street; a Challenge & Bachelor romance, and the LGBT community as well.

After a season full of jaw-dropping drama, explosive conflict and a whole lot of love, Ex On The Beach U.S. returns in a few days with another stellar season full of stars that MTV fans know and those from the entire reality TV community and even YouTube who will no doubt have their hands full by the sight of their ex coming ashore. Nothing will be left behind as a group of singles and their exes will have to have the music all over again, including a man who loves foamers and returns from having battled a GOAT to where his MTV career began in search of love. We'll also reconnect with a lady whose journey to music stardom started on MTV on a precursor of the modern musical talent craze, a man with abs who loves to go gardening, and many more as we again will find out to the answer of the question, "Can you really get over your Ex?"
   With all of these ingredients, we are guaranteed to have plenty of love, drama, craziness, makeups, breakups and heartbreak by the beach. And after the jump, we look ahead at what awaits us in Cali, acquaint those new to the show to what it's all about, and of course introduce the stars of this season as a new season begins tonight. So, welcome back to California, welcome back to love, and welcome back to Ex On The Beach. We're so glad you're with us.

MTV Reality: Who Are These Newbies? - Ex On The Beach Season 2: The Exes

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Whether it's the Americanized version of it that we cover here, the original British show that started this global franchise five years ago, or the 13 other localized adaptations that take place in Europe, Brazil and overseas, the big moment in every episode of MTV's Ex On The Beach is always that time when a few of the housemates gather down at the Beach of Doom to go through absolute hell. Of course, it's them finding out "Whose Ex Is Next?" when one or more ex-girlfriends or boyfriends invade the beach often to their greatest shock or sometimes to just another reaction other than just pretending to be shocked. It's the looks on their faces that best speak for themselves when the exes invade the "ultimate relations*** show."

Past British series of Ex On The Beach have seen some of MTV UK's most notable stars appear for a second, and some a third, time on the show... often times as an ex. That includes all four alumni who were part of The Challenge's British invasion to Vendettas in Kayleigh, Joss, Melissa and Rogan, and their second generation successors Ashley C., Bear and Zahida, who recently crossed the pond for The Challenge: War of the Worlds. And on the first U.S. EOTB, the list of notable exes who came to Hawaii to shock Cory, Paulie, Angela, Tor'i and the singles were just alumni from Are You The One? and a star of the VMA-winning video of Camila Cabello's "Havana," Marco Delvecchio.

For Season 2 in the U.S., there were a few exes who while they have past reality experience, unlike what we had with Derrick H., Alicia, Andre, Shanley, Cameron and Joe, they are not well-known to MTV fans. That's where we here will get to know them a little bit more, as among those who have or will emerge out of the water include a man who's now part of a big love triangle, another who shared the Big Brother house as a Texan who won the only season of that show to air online, a pair of exes who had a fiery relationship documented on TV, and a non-reality ex who's used to having a lead role during the autumn.

Once again, it's time to ask, "Who Are These Newbies?" This time, DCBLOG turns the focus to the notable exes of Season 2 of Ex On The Beach USA. And after the jump, we begin with one-third of the all-CBS reality love triangle who took hold in Malibu.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? Season 8 - Truths, Dares, Trash and Acceptance

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

We just had a long holiday weekend that saw the U.S. Women's National Team rule again, a new season of Stranger Things cause you all to go bingeing, and bombs going off in the NBA. And it was a most stressful weekend for those of you in Southern California and in Las Vegas after the two earthquakes that shook, rattled & rolled your 4th of July fun. But as far at the MTV calendar is concerned, we are now in the Summer of Love with Ex On The Beach to come our way next week, and here it's Are You The One?.

The last week of Pride Month saw the beginning of a historic and game-changing season for both AYTO and romantic reality TV, with a season taking the LGBT community under its wing for an all sexually-fluid Season 8. As usual, the cast got to know one another as they began the annual quest to "love together, win together" in paradise, but quickly our class of sixteen lovers all found out about how unique and special they are, and we got to know them a bit more than has been the case in years past. Not surprisingly, love triangles, new romances and trouble began to form in the house, but they escaped what would've been a devastating blackout by eeking out getting the minimum of two lights.

The holiday week sees our sweet sixteen continue to get to know one another as they settle into the pattern of having ten tries to going 8 for 8. For one of the guys who was a member of the Army prior to this season, he will see himself be caught in the middle of a triangle of one who wants him and another who doesn't have any idea of what they want. For the drag queen who identifies as both genders, they are struggling for acceptance as a season that's more than finding love continues on. And while this week's challenge sees the house take out the trash while answering some personal trivia, a popular early season tradition takes over.

Truth or Dare, garbage time, and tears for the drag queen... it's all ahead on the Pulse of Are You The One: Come One, Come All.

DC ExtraTime: AYTO Falls In Love with Cardi B

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Often times, there are moments in the MTV spectrum that are so amazing, so startling and incredible that it even being left on the cutting room floor would leave us dazed & confused. Remember those two fights Are You The One’s original firecracker Simone Kelly had on The Challenge that never got aired in an actual episode? Or the incident involving Amanda and the boys during War of the Worlds that brought the show negative publicity & fueled more viewers to come along and watch? Or so many other moments that got us talking?

Last month, the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards had one of THOSE moments, and it had shades of what happened with Kanye West crashing Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards a decade earlier. A person who was mad that his show didn't win an award they were nominated for supposedly jumped on stage and did the Kanye trick of speaking for a few moments before being ejected from the event. Not only did it not make air out of respect for the winners, it also made those at 1515 Broadway cringe the Sunday morning after when they found that it was Johnny Bananas of Challenge fame who pulled the trick.

That unseen moment that took place while this blogger took a sojourn from the site to win $2,000 at the slots while seeing his cousin get married in Reno offers the context to the latest story of a high-profile celebrity currently in the headlines getting to meet up with a member of the MTV Reality family. And of all the stars who make up an official language of the genre that's brought a generation together for decades, perhaps there is no bigger star in the field of female hip-hop than the most famous alum of the show that pulled off an upset of sorts at one of summer's biggest parties, and the one who had everyone leaving their jaws dropped last week when she dropped her latest music video amidst the latest episode of the biggest star in the hip-hop world right now: Cardi B.