DC SocialPulse Xtra: A Double Shot at Love - The Season 2 Finale

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

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Well, here we are... it might be a long time on the calendar, but it feels not long ago that we were down in Florida with the Siesta Key kids as they got to celebrate Juliette's graduation to begin the 'Twenties. But after being witness to plenty of good stuff in the competitive fire of The Challenge, the craziness of Floribama Shore, and being in the snow of a winter-themed Ex On The Beach, we've reached the last leg of our 2020 ride Inside MTV Reality as far as the shows we have a vested interest in... and where else can we wrap it up than in the capital of adult freedom.
   Las Vegas has just welcomed the Raiders to town, and has been the venue for the only romantic reality series to be recorded & aired in this Covid world, the second U.S. season of Love Island. It has also been a great host to the second season of A Double Shot at Love, the hybrid of the reality dating genre as MTV sees it with the Jersey Shore franchise, and last year saw both fun and heartbreak as contestants competed to win over the affection of the two remaining bachelors of the most beloved family in the MTV universe, DJ Pauly D. Delvecchio and Vinny Guadagnino.

This time around though, it has been a much different story - and instead of the girls trying to win over the bromance Bachelor-style, it has been nothing but a good time in a time where we all in need for an escape. Are You The One? alum Maria and five other girls who impressed Pauly & Vinny were invited for a second shot at love with them, but they were not alone on the plane ride: a trio of guys that the East Coast Best Coast squad brought with them from the Tri-State area have also been welcomed into what you might call Vegas Shore from all the madness we've been seeing in Sin City.
   We have had plenty of fun, drama, pranks, blowups and side orders of hilarity and laughs that you only get in this part of the MTV Reality world... not to mention, guest spots from a Jersey Shore family that, as we speak, are now en route to another vacation in the new year. But now comes the saddest part of all: the final hours in Sin City... but given what we've been able to witness down in Florida they're not gonna go out without a bang. And in the case of the various romances that's popped up this summer, they're the question of what's next before they leave Las Vegas.

After the break, it's the Pulse of the Season 2 finale of A Double Shot at Love, plus love is in the air for another MTV Reality dating alum. Thanks for wrapping your weekend with us...

DC SocialPulse Xtra Backtracked: A Double Shot at Love - "Sealing the Deal"

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

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

It's the last Friday of September as we are now feeling the brisk winds of autumn in the air, and we are in the late afternoon of what for us is the entire year of 2020 in MTV Reality as we at DCBLOG see it. And you can feel fall in just about everywhere you are, except if you're in Las Vegas where it is still summer there -- it's 100° as we speak -- as the Raiders have just christened their new stadium, and up the ways from there is the chateau on the Strip that's home to A Double Shot at Love.

Throughout our summer in Sin City as this show has taken the mantle of being MTV's rep in summer 2020 love television, we have had a slew of special guests come by the penthouse who are no doubt familiar to the Jersey Shore fandom. It began with Mike the Situation & wife Lauren, then more surprises delivered by the prank king in Angelina leading the crew to crash her Staten Island frenemy's book signing. And last we were there, Uncle Nino got the call from Pauly to surprise Vinny to keep some company there while the DJ is away... and he crashed the son & Maria's date night, of course, and we also had another tale in the budding relationship of a housemate and a stripper.

As we join the group here for the first of what will be two visits to Vegas this weekend, there are more shenanigans in store in another prank and an offer to be one's girlfriend... and it wouldn't be a show in the Shore ecosystem without a petty argument about something small. After the jump, we'll get to indulge ourselves in all of that, plus there's a trip to the heartbreak hotel for a Challenger who first found love on MTV. And welcome to the weekend...

DC Vegas: Behind the Vlogs

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

For the past seven years, DCBLOG has been a labor of love for me, having posted over 1200 posts over this timeframe to do what I love being able to do: writing, blogging and translating my passion for being a longtime fan of MTV Reality television into this site. But along with this, I have also been progressive in being able to pursue another passion that I'm been loving just as much.

The global COVID pandemic which has changed all of our lives this year has also afforded me ample time to not only cover the MTV beat on this blog, but also take advantage of my newfound love of videography to also put just as much time into growing my YouTube channel. And thanks to the relatively light schedule that has just The Challenge, Siesta Key and a few other shows air on MTV this year with production on other shows which we normally cover here being halted as with other TV & film content, this has given more a little more time to devote energies into my video work.

And perhaps, there is no better place for me to put my video skills to work than in the place that I have grown into becoming my favorite city other than where I live. And when you have a city that you go to almost every year for the past decade as the breeding ground, and having that famous three-mile stretch of lights, landmarks and the like as the playground, then you have an ongoing series on YouTube that stretches my love for Las Vegas into the video sphere.

And while I'm working on a special set of videos going back in time to my earlier trips there - which has also drifted me over there from my MTV coverage, it's worth a trip for a brief moment to how I do DC Vegas on YouTube.

DC ExtraTime: Caught in the Act - A Ex-Bachelor & A Baby Mama

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

On Labor Day last Monday night, the granddaddy of romantic reality shows, the franchise that's known to its fandom as Bachelor Nation, capped off its special summer-long look back at almost two decades of memorable seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Night-long recaps of ten of the series' Greatest Seasons Ever replaced what would've been Bachelor in Paradise due to the pandemic, as host Chris Harrison brought fans down memory lane reliving unforgettable moments and suitors for roses & romance, from Nick Viall to Ali Fedotwsky and Ben Higgins.
   Next month, Clare Crawley of Juan Pablo's season will take the reigns as the new Bachelorette, followed by Matt James for season 25 of its male counterpart - the franchise's second African-American lead after Ghosted host Rachel Lindsay in 2017. But of all of the seasons of the entire franchise -- over fifty regular and spinoffs in all, the one that is of most interest of MTV fans is the Bachelorette season of four years ago starring JoJo Fletcher. It was there that she met her QB fiance Jordan Rodgers, but it also in the villa that four other suitors began their quest for love and then went to MTV: three of them showed up on Ex On The Beach and No. 4, Robby Hayes, flew to Siesta Key.

One of those who went to the U.S. version of MTV's totally twisted take on love was Chad Johnson, who went onto Season 2 of the show back in 2019 after establishing himself as an all-time Bachelor villain on JoJo's season in making enemies of just about everyone in the house. He then had a rather memorable first night on the ensuing third season of Paradise only for an argument with the host sending him home the same week Johnny Bananas stole Sarah's money. Chad went onto EOTB where he clicked with Bloodlines Challenger Nicole Ramos, but like all of his romances both on- and off-camera that flamed out in the California sun.
   This year has been a twisted one for the one they call "Bad Chad," as in addition to having to relive his Bachelorette season (which also included EOTB Season 1'er Chase McNary and Peak of Love's Daniel Maguire) during the Greatest Seasons Ever summer, he has had his own episodes play out for public consumption on social media and the internet. First, there was allegations of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend influencer Annalise Mishler when he had a relapse in trying to abstain from alcohol and was cuffed by the LAPD. Then, there were rumors going around that he had been considering taking his life during this wild time in his life, but cooler heads prevailed in that category.

It wasn't that long ago that Chad was a former member of the Marine Corps trying to adjust back to life back on the home front and helping to sell real estate back home in his native Oklahoma. But with having to pay all of those legal bills and that jail bail money surrounding that circus of him & Annalise that inadvertently gave him an idea of what's next in his life: perhaps a career in adult entertainment? He and the ex had began to explore the possibility of doing some up close & personal matters for that underground world known as OnlyFans... and then he thought of something bigger.
   It's during that phase of exploring those new world that is definitely not suitable for work and intended for a mature audience that Chad developed a love for what OnlyFans offers in pornographic content and becoming an exotic dancer. If what you've seen Vinny do on a guest basis for the Chippendales when cameras of Jersey Shore's Family Vacation relaunch and the spinoff A Double Shot at Love have documented, or when Rogan O'Connor got to do before going onto EOTB UK and The Challenge as part of the UK Dreamboys, then you have an idea of what that's like. Ask any lady of all ages of what that's like being in the front row at those stripping spectacles.
   Just after his world was being turned upside down, Bad Chad decided to take a trip up to Las Vegas to explore the possibilities of launching his own X-rated version of OnlyFans and toured houses with the likes of Hulk Hogan's son Nick and his porn star girlfriend for possible locations where he can film his magic and call home at the same time. Obviously, the COVID emergency has had other ideas and production has not started just yet on this new venture. And last week, Chad was spotted in the latest chapter of his twisted 2020: a public display of affection (a PDA) on the Strip.

DC SocialPulse Xtra: Double Shot at Love - Here Comes Uncle!

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

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Twitter @MCBrandonS

We've just wrapped up a busy sports weekend with a Monday football doubleheader to kick off the NFL season capping off a full array of events across the whole spectrum. Tonight might not be a pleasant one for our friends out there in Las Vegas after the Golden Knights saw hopes for a Stanley Cup evaporate with an OT loss to the Dallas Stars, but let's not let that get that hope down as we're about to bring you a dose of A Double Shot at Love, if you're lucky enough to join us this late - or this early if you're our friend TJ Lavin who's on a late summer's vacation at the next Challenge (and good morning to you Teej if you're checking in from wherever it's at).

It would not be a Jersey Shore-themed season of any show related to the biggest franchise in MTV history without guest spots from the most beloved MTV family ever. Earlier this summer, we had Mike the Situation & bride Lauren come by to throw what turns out to be the only big pool party of the summer on the Strip in this new world. And last time, Pauly D. did it once again when, just as he did on the first Vacation two years ago in Miami, the Prank King decided to phone a call back to Gotham to have Angelina lead him and the group crashing Vinny's book signing. And just as she has done so many times, the Hamster once again stole the show and getting down to business with everyone.

Now as we return to Sin City: another situation for the Jersey Shore newlywed, a girl & her stripper crush, and our co-star & the AYTO star. And it's the turn for someone else related to the Keto Guido to make a visit to Sin City: this time it's someone much older - and you know what that means if you've been rolling with this crew all along. We'll have it all covered next on this Pulse Xtra of Double Shot... we know you're not gonna miss this.

Inside MTV Reality: The Look Ahead - A Challenge in a Whole New World

CAUTION: This Post Contains Potential Spoilers, Please Read with Caution Below. But No Worries, It's Only Small & Minor Ones with Just Cast Info. To Prevent Trolls from Spoiling Things Below, Comments In This Post Have Been Turned Off.

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

It is now September and usually, those in the world of television look forward to this month more than any of the twelve months that make up one particular calendar year. It is that this is traditionally when all of the networks launch new programming for this new fall season, but things have changed thanks to the COVID pandemic that halted TV production back in the spring and has backtracked this year's autumn slate by just a few months.

The slate of programming we're usually accustomed to as far as our primary beat here at DCBLOG of covering MTV Reality has been altered a bit: usually we'd be knee deep in covering its take on reality dating, but instead of covering Are You The One? and Ex On The Beach it's A Double Shot at Love that's taking center stage this summer (and we'll have the Pulse of the current episode coming up in a day or so) as well as Season 2 of Love Island USA taking place also in Las Vegas. The same situation goes for what brought us into MTV's biggest global franchise, as there hasn't been a fourth season of MTV Floribama Shore due also to the pandemic - but we do have a nice throwback story on that soon just after a dramatic third season of their cool neighbors over in Siesta Key.

But despite all of these challenges, production is now underway on Season 36 of The Challenge as the show will provide us with what we come to expect from the series while it now begins to adapt to new safety measures in production and standards as well, while staying true to what we love in every other aspect of the fifth major pro sport. And it's not too early for us take a look ahead: after the jump, we'll take a seat around the hotstove for a small peek at who is rumored to be on the cast and some aspects of what we should expect without of course spoiling things... and thanks for winding up this busy Sports Sunday with us.

DC ExtraTime: Kailah and the Bird - A Transatlantic Perfect Match

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB
    Estimated Reading Time: 19 Mins

Instagram @SamRobertBird

Say whatever you can about this year of 2020, and you can think of all the twists & turns that it has brought us... and obviously there's been a lot of tough headlines to take and just as much negative news that we can consume in a whole decade filling up this first year of the third decade of this century. But when it comes to the world of MTV Reality that we cover on here, then it's been quite the first nine months.

When we look back on 2020 when we finally get to kick this year to the curb once the New Year's weekend rolls around in less than three months' time, MTV fans can look to how The Challenge is finally getting the much needed attention it deserves. The fact that the most recent season, Total Madness, did so well in giving us a weekly 90-minute reprieve from this imperfect world and garnered so much buzz speaks to how loyal you are to the fifth major pro sport. And now that the modern era of this show has joined a newly-expanded lineup of offerings on CBS All-Access and Pluto TV, more & more viewers are discovering this thing we call the fifth major pro sport.

The success of this franchise is in no small part due to the many people who have competed either in just one episode in their lone season, twenty of them as our now 7-time champion has, or the twenty-five that host TJ Lavin has been at the helm. And those who have been on The Challenge over the years have made plenty of headlines in all sorts as the media have joined with you the fans to rave about how good this show is. And we've made it a point here to mark every milestone they achieve when the cameras aren't rolling: pregnancies, cameos on other programs outside MTV, and most particularly proposals -- and there's been plenty of those in the past 12 months alone as those who we've enjoyed their company are now onto bigger & better things.

And just two weeks ago today came the latest one: a Florida girl who's been a key Challenge face the past few years, started out on The Real World and made her mark in one's celebrity territory became the latest to say "yes" to a proposal. The man who got down on one knee and who popped out an engagement ring in front of her while on a European vacation also appeared on MTV in the past year as part of a romance that was meant for the British tabloids surrounding its biggest reality series. And together, Kailah Casillas & Sam Bird are now officially A Transatlantic Perfect Match.

DC SocialPulse Xtra: A Double Shot at Love - Here Comes the Dirty Little Hamster...

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

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Welcome back everyone... if you're here out west where we are all going through yet another sultry heatwave, we are in the last two hours or so of Labor Day, and in turn summer 2020. But if you can take advantage of some online deals and can do what you can to be smart & safe in our new reality, you can take advantage of extending this summer by taking a trip out to Las Vegas, home of MTV's A Double Shot at Love as well as Season 2 of Love Island USA.

Instagram @MarissaLuccheseMTV

Sunday on here, we brought you the previous week's episode of the former as the crew got back to reality after their 48 hours or so out in Florida supporting Pauly D. on his biggest DJ gig yet: spinning the 1's & 2's at the LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach. But the raging did not stop when they went back to Vegas: the whole grew did some exploring a little bit of this growing community in Southern Nevada when they went to a local winery to taste some fine wine, then went to another strip club: the Crazy Horse not far from the new Raiders stadium. And there, Brandon got a number from one of the strippers, which will now make his situation with Marissa a bit more testy.

For some context going into this episode, it's worth remembering that back in 2009 we saw a girl make her way from Staten Island who didn't afford to buy even a used suitcase or even borrow one from a friend and instead had to carry her clothes in a trash bag. That was how Angelina began her twisted MTV journey, which saw her at odds with the Jersey OG's in those first two seasons and it was just earlier this year that we saw her big wedding night crash down. But one moment led to that: Pauly himself bringing her to Miami just two years ago with perhaps the most shocking of all the pranks he has pulled off.

And now, she's back... and after the jump, the Dirty Little Hamster invades A Double Shot at Love. Thanks for wrapping your long weekend with us with this DCBLOG Pulse Xtra...

DC SocialPulse Xtra Backtracked: A Double Shot at Love - "Not That Kind of Love"

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

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

We have made it to the final weekend of the summer of 2020 - we all wish it would have it better than it turned out... but just imagine if things were just normal in the world right now. Then, it's likely that you'd be in Las Vegas right now enduring the 115° heat that's baking the valley on this middle day of the Labor Day Weekend. Well, the heat is on if you're part of the crew of A Double Shot at Love.

When we last left Pauly, Vinny and the crew here, they were out in another sultry summer paradise: South Florida, and they were in Miami to partake in the DJ's biggest gig yet: the world-famous LIV nightclub at Fountainbleau, just as he expressed his rekindled feelings for Nikki. The infamous bartender girl who was all over Vinny on the vacation two years ago made her return to spice things up with him & Maria. And the group got a rather rude awakening when just after they arrived back in Southern Nevada, a few of them had to go straight into their first night working the Drai's Nightclub, though they managed to beat the jet lag.

Now, everyone is back in Vegas after that epic weekend in Miami and Pauly DJ'ing afterwards up in Toronto, Canada and the raging just keeps on going: another strip club trip, some time to go do some wine tasting, and someone decides to mix it up a bit in their romance by bringing in an outsider. Join us after the jump for this Backtracked edition of the Double Shot Pulse Xtra. Glad you've joined us...

DC ExtraTime: The Floribama Guys Remember Chadwick Bozeman

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

A week ago last Friday night after two political conventions of completely polar opposites and as protests have erupted yet again in this country, we were saddened again by how cruel this year of 2020 has been. An upside to all of the madness that has been going on in this world has been of the now ubiquitous presence of the Black Lives Matter movement and increasing awareness of African-Americans and persons of color during this summer of upheaval both here at home and overseas.

Usually, summers like these would be where the box office and movieplexes everywhere would be jam packed every weekend as the biggest films and stars take over the big screen while the sun is baking outside. But the film industry, like other parts of the entertainment world, have been deeply affected by the global pandemic, and it has backtracked most of this year's most highly anticipated films until next year. That includes the big-name superhero movies that have become a global phenomenon in the past decade, led by the characters who make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The MCU global movie franchise has been progressive in the past few years in diversity, as last year it introduced a female-led character in Captain Marvel with Bree Larson. The previous year saw the massive hit Black Panther, a film adaptation of the comic namesake chronicling T'Challa, the Black Panther, taking over being crowned king of the sub-Saharan African nation of Wakanda after the death of his father, but is challenged by villain Killmonger who aims to strip his nation of the policies of isolation and start a revolution.

The film blazed its way into theaters in February 2018 over a quarter-century after discussions of a possible film adaptation of the Black Panther comic was first discussed with Wesley Snipes many years before, but it never got beyond the planning phases. But it was later revived as part of the first wave of films developed by Marvel that would become the biggest and most lucrative movie franchise ever and solidifying the company's leadership in the comic book business.

The character itself made his movie debut in 2014's Captain America: Civil War with Chadwick Boseman playing that role before taking on the task of leading the first MCU film with a predominantly black cast and African-American director Ryan Coogler leading production efforts, and with it dropping during Black History Month. Black Panther made over $1.3 billion at the box office to place it among the top ten grossing films ever, was shortlisted by critics & organizations as among 2018's top movies, and won the franchise's first Academy Award.

This role was the crowning moment for Boseman, who also appeared in the final two installments of the Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame, following his Black Panther role that netted him a Screen Actors Guild Award and an NAACP Image Award. Having first studied directing at Howard University, the native South Carolinian then took to the front of the camera in numerous TV roles in regular and guesting roles before landing his breakthrough role playing the man who broke baseball's color barrier, Jackie Robinson, in 2013's 42. He also portrayed two other prominent figures in Black history, the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown and Supreme Court judge Thurgood Marshall, in two later bio-pics, along with playing an NFL prospect in Draft Day, and playing a cop in last year's 21 Bridges.

MTV Reality WRAP: Siesta Key - The Season 3 Finale & Reunion

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Instagram @MadissonHaus

It was all the way back in relatively simple times last December that the countdown began to the drama starting up once again down in a small beachside community just outside of Sarasota, Florida. And now, here as we turn the page to September and on this spiritual end of summertime in Labor Day Weekend (and also on the birthday weekend of the one dressed up in that red dress, no less) that we now wrap up this twisted, crazy, dramatic and eventful journey that is Season 3 of MTV's Siesta Key.

In the course of what's gone on here the last nine months, there's been a showmance with the queen of this place and a man from Bachelor Nation, while her ex & his new girlfriend have gone to uncharted territory: becoming parents. We've also had the bombshell that began this season in a man who's older than any of the cast members who he worked with when this journey began now dating one of them. There's also been plenty of drama on an interpersonal & romantic level with everyone, while there's been parties just about every week here to remind us of fond times back then, and which has kept everyone from die-hard's to casuals and big names entertained.

And when we last left Siesta Key, the group came together once again to celebrate Garrett's new fitness supplement, but again they just couldn't get the holy grail of a drama-free night when Amanda's ex JJ came walking in with his new girl in tow, the guest of honor & Kelsey being at odds again, and a friend of Juliette's crush Sam getting into it with Jared and left Mike in the pool after spreading nasty rumors. And Kelsey & Jules also had it out a little bit over the ladder beating her to a fashion executive about a new swimwear line while they were in Miami for New Year's.

Now comes one last wave of the endless summer here in paradise, as everyone in this power clique begins to plot their future, and then they get to do what those on The Challenge Total Madness got to do: get together virtually in the comfort of their own homes to dissect this whole season. Join us after the jump as DCBLOG brings you our final Season 3 installment of the Siesta Key WRAP. Dive in...

DC ExtraTime: The Challenge Joins The House Hunters

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Pic Courtesy: HGTV

If you spend some time at the Cueva household in this world struck by a pandemic, then you might find me on the desktop or my mobile devices putting together vlog videos and blog posts like this one, just as I have been doing even before this lockdown began in March. But while I have long been used to working at home before it has been commonplace, I've also had some company at my house while we have been stuck here in the past six months under this quarantine.

Both of my parents who are now retired, including my dad who worked his last day at NASA last month, have plenty of things to do now as they don't have to worry about those early wake-up calls other than for frequent casino hops. Aside from our mix of sports, YouTube slot videos and Bachelor Mondays among other things, something my mom & dad have been enjoying watching on TV a lot of have been home improvement shows. And inspired by that, they have been doing a lot of work in our backyard, from gardening & manicuring our plants to making new things in the same house I've spent my whole lifetime in.

And as those of you have been enameled with rumors of those cast on the next Challenge around staring at the live feeds of America's most closely watched summer house, last week the influx of MTV Reality alumni appearing on shows outside of the ones of their origination continued after stops this summer on Married at First Sight, Holey Moley, Say Yes to the Dress, Chris Brown's "Go Crazy" video and of course, Big Brother. But this time, this was something totally different: one alum actually doing her day job, all in a city that's been enjoying what's otherwise been a twisted 2020.