Who Are These Newbies? - All-Star Shore: The Ones Who We Know...

Due to the heavy presence of graphics and video, "Who Are These Newbies?" is best experienced on desktops and fast-performing mobile devices. Some videos embedded contain adult language & situations, parental guidance is suggested.

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Tomorrow -- a few hours from now for some of you, the second all-new series to premiere in MTV's global Shore franchise within the last week will debut when Paramount+ will play host to the show's first worldwide entry to the streaming service, All-Star Shore. It's a first-of-a-kind "party competition series" that mixes two popular forms of reality TV: living it up in a party house, and a big-bucks competition show... and familiar faces to the MTV audience from three different iterations of the franchise will join those from outside the network for this bold new show that is truly unlike any other.

Coming into summer 2000, the reality genre consisted of MTV fare, Cops, America's Funniest Videos and a handful of shows that were here and there. But CBS' successful gamble to put on Survivor and Big Brother during the least-watched portion of the television calendar helped bring a form of programming previously successful in Europe and overseas into something that not only dominates our summer viewing habits, but also during the traditional September-to-May schedule too... and it's now popped up in the new world of streaming. And continuing in a recent MTV Reality show trend, this fact will be reflected in fandoms from all around the dial converging for this social experiment.

As we count down to the premiere, DCBLOG has a longstanding tradition of introducing those who many of us are getting to know for the first time with this thing we call, "Who Are These Newbies?" -- a primer on MTV rookies with background, insight and visuals. This feature has focused on around 200 personalities since we began in 2013... and more will be added to this total both this and next week when over twenty CBS reality alums compete on The Challenge: USA. And after the break, we give these global reality stars their first closeup with the first part of our focus on these All-Star Shore newcomers... starting with a man who comes here from another summer reality tradition.

Inside MTV Reality: It's A Party at the All-Star Shore

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Summer 2022 is now officially in full swing thanks to the long weekend that mixed both Father's Day and the second observed Juneteenth holiday, plus the longest day of the year of the Summer Solstice -- and now, Pride weekend as the LGBT month of celebration wraps up amidst a divided America after what happened yesterday. Summer also means that the reality genre is front and center on the broadcast television calendar, which includes another spinoff of the fifth major pro sport: MTV's The Challenge: USA will debut just after the 4th of July on CBS, and that is only part of a busy summer for those at what is now Paramount Global will have on the reality front -- on television and on streaming.

One year ago, the re-merger of CBS and Viacom into one company once again brought the Eye network, MTV and their various networks under the same umbrella, as well as a blockbuster movie studio that now bears the company's name of Paramount. Wherever you go, their impact is just about everywhere: the fact that Top Gun: Maverick broke box office records over the Memorial Day weekend signaled the return of the communal experience of watching movies at the local cineplex... and soon, another rite of summer will begin in an all-new season of Big Brother, along with that new Challenge that we at DCBLOG will be previewing next week all while Season 3 of All-Stars rages on.

Back in 2009 after waving farewell to the ten-year run of Total Request Live in Times Square, MTV reinvented itself once again as a spot in December offered a glimpse into the channel's next decade: at around the same time as the premiere of the first installment of the Teen Mom franchise, Jersey Shore debuted with no idea that it would not only overtake The Osbournes as the most-watched show in channel history, but also become a pop culture phenomenon. Think back to 2009 and 2010, and you can imagine that the cast was just about everywhere... and to go from being lampooned for the stereotypes it portrayed when it premiered to being loved a year later. It's why the show still radiates over a decade later... and you can see proof of it in the Family Vacation spinoff that began four years ago.

Ever since, the Shore franchise has become a global name: 2011 saw the debut of the British equivalent of Geordie Shore, followed by Warsaw Shore in Poland, Acapulco Shore in Mexico, Gandia Shore in Spain and Super Shore with housemates from the ladder two shows living together. And five years ago prior to the Vacation, Floribama Shore debuted down in Florida which was then followed just this week by its cousin Buckhead Shore outside of Atlanta... and more localized versions are planned for later this year in Australia, Argentina, Colombia and elsewhere to join the just premiered Rio Shore in Brazil.

It's with the expansion of this marquee franchise from one that was originally filmed for VH1 in the summer of 2009 into a global phenomenon that offers the backdrop for the latest addition to the Shore series... and one that will bring together those from different versions of these shows, plus even a few from outside of this ecosystem, for a competition show unlike any other. And if the three All-Star Challenges and the upcoming CBS one are something for us in Challenge Nation, then what happens by the Shore here will be the perfect summer pleasure.

The Look Ahead: June '22's Last Weekend

A Note From The Editor

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

As we're into the last weekend of June, as this blogger speaks to you it has been both scorching hot outside my house in temperatures reaching 100 on Summer Solstice Day on Tuesday, and then cloudy the next day thanks to an unseasonal monsoon coming up to California. But thankfully, plenty of fans in my room and our AC system is keeping us all cool as summer is now officially on, meteorology wise -- and I'm also doing this post wearing my ideal summer attire of a tank top & shorts.

Along with everything that this site offers with weekly MTV Reality coverage and occasional posts not related to it on sports, pop culture and the Vegas beat, sometimes DCBLOG will offer these sort-of update posts on what we have planned in the days and weeks to come. This Friday check-in will give me the chance to peek in on what's ahead... and it's all made possible by something that hasn't happened as of yet on The Challenge All-Stars... and if you've seen this week's episode we don't really need to elaborate on it on here for the sake of everyone else who haven't seen it yet.

As we have stated on here before, DCBLOG has a policy in place that, if any episode of shows that we cover end in cliffhangers, then that week's episode coverage is instead pushed back to the following week for the sake of continuity and with our utmost respect to those who prefer to binge-watch rather than watch live. To that end, we will have what happens in this weeks episode, along with what happens next week in the same weeks offerings... or maybe the following week as we are getting closer to the finale of All-Stars 3.

A serendipity of saving coverage of this week's All-Stars to next week is that it does clear away the time for us to focus in on the following posts that we will be featuring on here in the next couple of weeks.

● DCBLOG came online at the same time as the Portland Real World season, and where it has been a focus of All-Stars 3 one of them got to do something brave before the cast of this season was revealed. Our ExtraTime story for this All-Stars season will feature Jordan as he and another multiple champion head across to Ukraine to take part in the humanitarian effort during the early weeks of the conflict the nation had with Russia earlier this spring.

● A week from now sees the premiere of an upcoming new series that debuts on Paramount+ called All-Star Shore. We got to do a "Look Ahead" post at the start of this year to get our feet wet on what we called "the biggest MTV crossover event ever," and now that the cast has been officially revealed we will offer our traditional season preview coming up in the days ahead.

● On the back of that, two weeks from now will see CBS reality alumni take to the same stage that the Stars are in right now: the heat of battle. The Challenge: USA will see those from Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race and Love Island USA compete in the same game as Paulie, Josh and everyone else has played... and next week we will be previewing all that, 

● In both of those instances, we will stay true to the policy we have that you don't meet a new castmate on these shows for the first time on the premiere: we will several editions of Who Are These Newbies? to introduce us to the many CBS alumni going onto the U.S. Challenge, and the cast of All-Star Shore -- but not everyone will be featured in those posts... we'll explain that in due course.

● And in the spot in between our All-Stars doubleheader next week, we will have yet another Look at the world of Dre.Media and a first for the one person who this site has focused on more than any other: the latest season of The Life We Live sees it return to a previous destination for Season 8... and the Poconos will be where Dre & friends will have plenty of fun and drama.

So, that's what we have in the next few weeks... hope you enjoy what we have to come. As always, bookmark this site, subscribe to the notifications on my social channels & the email list, and of course like, comment and share, and tell a friend so they can also become fans of our insightful content. But as you can see from a new statement that appears in the comment section below, please be mindful and courteous... I discovered that I got some hate for my post on CT's brother getting murdered -- you don't see that there anymore as I promptly disabled the comments there for the sake of protecting my mental health. Please, DO NOT leave negative comments... that's why they are now subject to my approval -- and also to promote a judgement free zone during this Men's Mental Health Month of June.

But to leave you here on a positive note: this coming Monday will mark my tenth Twitter anniversary... which coincided with the season that came before Portland in that Real World season that took place in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Joining that social media community changed how I would get to experience not just this MTV beat, but also the sports and music world as well. And though it can be a wreck just checking out your Twitter feed, just glancing over at my @DC408Dxtr channel you can see my passion for the things I'm most passionate about on display, along with offering everyone "The Escape You Deserve." Let's go for ten more on there, and ten more on this blog... we'll see you here then.

- I AM DC

#DCBLOG

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach - The Season 5 Finale

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

If you can feel the heat radiating outside your window, then it's hard to not overlook that summer 2022 has now officially begun thanks to the summer solstice and the year's longest day coming on the heels of the duel Father's Day/Juneteenth weekend. But it's hard to think that an early summer is about to come to an end for those who called the villa home to MTV's Ex On The Beach Season 5.

The events of the past two years has prevented us from getting to enjoy the sight of reality television's finest going through the kind of hell of seeing their ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends invade their lives. But this spring saw things finally return to normal in resuming the American take on this global franchise when three familiar MTV faces and a slew of others from around the reality world embarked on the Canary Islands. We've had the usual array of love, heartbreak and everything else that this show is known for the world over, and we can't forget Welborn Ferrene's voice to guide us through this.

Last we were there, the singles found themselves in the hot seat as the house tried to get deep into who's being truthful and who isn't... and as we rejoin matters at the villa one more time, Love Islander Ray will have to air it out about his player ways -- and not everyone will make it out alive on our last trip to the Table of Truth. The last few days in the EOTB compound means plenty of time to reflect for everybody to see where they've come from when they entered back in March to now and the summer solstice... and that will lead to the ultimate choice: the singles who came here must decide whether they will leave the Canaries with their ex next to them, with their next by their side, or just to go at it alone on the last boat.

But, be mindful of what happened the last time we were in this spot on an American EOTB season... we will let you in on why that is the case this time around, along with revealing who is the latest to go from being exes to being parents... just ahead on the final Season 5 edition of the DCBLOG Ex Pulse.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 3 - It's All-Star Trivia Night!

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

Happy Father's Day and Juneteenth to all of you... and on this Sunday where we all celebrate the most important man in our lives and mark the nation's newest holiday, we wrap up this holiday weekend (or if you got the observed Monday holiday off, a chance to stay up a little bit) with something to make up for not having a NBA Finals Game 7 after the Warriors' wrapped up the title back on Thursday: Season 3 of The Challenge All-Stars.

A Father's Day tradition has been the contesting of the 4th & last round of golf's U.S. Open, which today saw Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick survive the game's toughest test and win his first major at where he won the U.S. Amateur event nine years ago: Boston's Country Club. Anyone who is qualified can win America's national championship... it's also the same thing when you discuss one of the unique facets of an MTV Challenge: mental challenges give anyone a shot at winning in any given week. And last we were in Panama, solving puzzles like stacking things and trying to maneuver a ball through a mouse hole was the focus in the daily and elimination weeks... and we also saw Sylvia get blindsided as a seemingly safe Treehouse alliance has now found out how tough this game really is.

Now, if anyone can handle those tough tests of trying something as simple as those tasks above... then those are just ordinary weeks in Challenge Nation compared to what the Stars have to contend with this week. It's that one time of the year where TJ Lavin sort of hybrid of the doctor that creates Frankenstein and Alex Trebek... and that means, the week's daily challenge is all about trivia -- and that will delight those teachers in the audience looking for some comic relief after dealing with final exams and SAT tests at the end of the school year. Meanwhile, one's ways with politics might put the game of another fellow player in danger, and what happens at the quiz show might set up two more big elimination battles.

We know it's late night... but if you are still up on this Sunday night, we hope you'll indulge in the DCBLOG Challenge 'Pulse of Week 6 of The Challenge All-Stars 3, coming up next.

Inside MTV Reality: Welcome to Buckhead Shore

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

For the first time in three years, it's safe to say that this is a busy but amazing time to be a MTV Reality show fan... and fitting for the thirtieth anniversary of when this incredible saga began in the Big Apple, Summer 2022 will be an absolute treat. Right now, the focus is on the second half of Season 3 of The Challenge All-Stars as a field complete of finals veterans continue to battle it out in Panama, and the drama of a show that got a head-start on the sultry level in Ex On The Beach is wrapping up its Season 5 return. And if you're a history nut in the reality sense, then you just enjoyed drama of another kind in seven strangers getting back together in New Orleans in the third Real World Homecoming.

This summer will be quite an adventure: once the 4th of July firework smoke clears away, yet another spinoff of the fifth major pro sport will take to the big stage and to the bigger platform of terrestrial free-to-air network television when CBS hosts The Challenge: USA, starring its reality stars from Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race and Love Island. On Paramount+, still another competition show with reality stars from across the wide world of this genre will begin a week before when Jersey OG Angelina joins those from other Shore iterations and beyond for fun and games on All-Star Shore. And on the MTV channel itself, the Hamster will also grace Thursday nights once again as the 11th overall season of Jersey Shore continues with the resumption of Season 5 of Family Vacation.

Now, let's be honest here: I might not have been big on the Shore franchise as much as a Challenge, Real World, or even the dating shows. But fall 2017 changed all that and reaffirmed my interest in the wide array of MTV fare when Floribama Shore debuted... and over our four seasons with them, we most definitely got to enjoy the company of Nilsa, Gus 1.0, Aimee, Codi, Jeremiah, Kirk, Candace, Kortni and Mattie. But as the first one on that list is enjoying the life of being a married mom much like three of her Jersey counterparts as well as Candace joining her as a mom, the torch of friends, fun, drama, and in their case - Southern style - is now being passed on this summer to a new generation of Shore kids... and it's all right in Kirk's very own backyard in Northern Georgia.

In the past year, the city of Atlanta has celebrated a world championship when the Braves won baseball's World Series, and then a national title when the Georgia Bulldogs took the College Football Playoff... and the champs have just reminded everyone who they are with a 14-game winning spell. The region has already become a hotbed when it comes to film & TV production as "The Hollywood of The South" including hosting the most recent new season of The Real World, which you only got to watch if you have a Facebook account. And now, the Dirty South is about to become the venue for the newest addition to the global Shore family, as we're about to welcomed to Buckhead Shore, as uptown ATL will play host to what should be another summer to remember... and then some.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach 5 - "Where's The Lie?"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

We welcome you back on this midway point of the month of June... and as we ramp up towards a busy summer ahead in the world of the MTV Reality beat an early summer that began in late March is about to reach a climax in the Canary Islands as Ex On The Beach Season 5 heads towards its conclusion.

Last time we were there, a sign that the stay of many of reality television's biggest stars in this paradise came when the season's last ex came on shore when Sher from Love Island U.S. came by as Alain's ex just before she was nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Award. That could not come at a more bad time for him as he has been getting to know Da'Vonne... and with her fellow Islander Kyra going through things with David as they have all this season. And for the other single that came in late this season, Jonathan and his ex Joelle went through what Angela & Derrick did on the first episode of Season 1: go through each of their phones for possible misconduct... and the SOS did another couple in.

If you've been following this show from the beginning like we have here, starting with Season 2 a scene that caused a trigger alert to everyone in the EOTB house towards the end of their stay has been seeing the sight of a lie detector machine and a man behind it to expose those lies. Well we will not have that this time around, but as we head towards closing up the beach one final night at the Table of Truth will still have plenty of juicy tea awaiting. But before that, there's one more trip to the Shack of Secrets where some perspective on the relationship that began in Vegas may reach its end here... and it may also be the end for another pair when the truth about a player's past comes out in the open.

Ahead, all the action, reaction and interaction from the penultimate week in the EOTB villa... but there is also joy elsewhere in the MTV Reality world in the form of baby announcement. When we begin after the break, two alums of the same Are You The One? season and their Challenge partners welcome new kiddies... and one who was on a Real World season turned EOTB pilot & her champion hubby announce #2 -- and that will also be covered here next...

DC ExtraTime: Introducing Baby Kingston & Maya Grace

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

IG @IamKamIam_

Glance on over to your Instagram app and you will find so many things... but when we are need for something good in this world there's nothing more refreshing than seeing a post announcing that someone has gotten engaged, married or celebrating the impending or present arrival of a new baby. Over the course of the past several years, so many of those who we have followed in our ten seasons covering MTV Reality shows on here have graduated onto married life and/or parenthood... and this past week during what's now shaping up to be an ultra-busy summer 2022 in this world we welcomed two new additions to the potential draft list for The Challenge in the 2040's.

Just last month one of the franchise's strongest couples celebrated the pending arrival of their first kid, coming just a year after they made the final together on Double Agents before he called it a career on these shows and she finished runner-up in Europe. Leroy Garrett and Kam Williams first met each other on Vendettas, and each time she's been on a final he did too... and though neither came away with the big prize they did get the best-possible consolation prize they could want that's just as good as a several figure paycheck: each other's company. But when the likes of Bananas, Nany, Nia, Jordan and the like came to Houston for their pre-Mother's Day baby shower, KamRoy revealed one more thing: they just got engaged.

Back during the cold of the wintertime and a few days before Christmas last year, the couple announced the first step towards becoming a true power couple in Challenge Nation: becoming parents when they posted Instagram pics of them in their ugly sweaters holding onto a sonogram pic. As it was around four into her pregnancy back there in December 2021, that meant that May of 2022 would be the due date for their baby boy. And after some time to themselves to enjoy the moment, last week saw his identity be revealed for the first time to the entire world, and to Challenge Nation: Baby Kingston.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 3 - Half #2 Begins, and CBS Joins the Fun

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

It's June's second weekend, which is a scorcher if you're out west where the temps have hit triple digits in the hometown of the one who's been on this ride for well over twenty seasons of what's called the fifth major pro sport (and this blogger's favorite vacation city). TJ Lavin's digs of Las Vegas are feeling the heat in the 100's, but down in Panama it's best for most to also just stay indoors: it's wet there. That's also where Season 3 of The Challenge: All-Stars is raging on into its second half... and we at DCBLOG bring you into our 'Challenge Pulse. 

The house was stung a bit by the arrival of an All-Star from our first go-around when Beth came in as a replacement, and last week she was on the loose when she went in on our defending champs MJ and Jonna... but stirring the pot in the house and opting to quit a sky-high daily and then again in a nighttime elimination just added to her legend. Between all that, a Teej-bomb was dropped in giving just those who win the weeklies the power to control the game however they want, and in what was the only arena battle last week the gingerman knocked out the Season 1 winner while also saving another star who was part of one of his biggest days ever.

Thanks to that twist, the second half of this season is now underway... and as we head into this week the Stars are feeling quite motivated to now starting those big moves to change up the balance thanks to Yes and Beth being gone. Pivotal to anyone's success when the money is on the line is solving puzzles, which are no doubt considered the ultimate equalizer when it comes to this game, and a game of trying to stack things and even try to put a ball in a little mouse hole will no doubt put the players on edge, while also giving some heat to some boiling rivalries. And to top it all off... no season of any of these competition shows would be complete without a blindside going into the arena.

But Week #5 of All-Stars Season 3 is hardly the only news in Challenge Nation in a week where BTS dropped a new album among other new music releases (which made my just promoted to high school niece who turned 14 yesterday feel so good), Britney Spears getting married, golf being turned on its head by the LIV Tour, and the events of what happened one Challenge Wednesday in D.C.  This week saw the launch of the new Challenge spinoff: The Challenge USA which begins the Wednesday after the 4th of July... and along with all the action, reaction & interaction to Episode 6, we'll also have all the hoopla surrounding the launch of the version of this show that everyone in this country can watch for free on the CBS Television Network. All of that is next... and thanks for joining us.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach 5 - The Last Ex, and Truth on the Phone

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

Wherever you are on this second weekend of June, glance on over to your window and it's either wet outside if you're in Miami or Seattle, or if you're in California or Vegas it is scorching hot... they're both signs that summer has arrived. But it might be hard to think that the early summer for those living in the Season 5 Ex On The Beach villa in the Canary Islands is in its late afternoon phase... it's almost the end of our time in paradise.

Last we were on the island, the arrival of her Love Island ex Emily cast some complex scenarios for the lovebirds of this season of Kyra and David. But for one who we saw on another summer-themed MTV show three years back, we saw a whole new side to Lohan Beach Club VIP Mike when he went off on ex Arisce. But if what we've gotten to see from her three times in the Big Brother summer share or those two Challenges, maybe we weren't prepared for the sight of Judge Da'Vonne presiding over Exes Court much like Devin back in Season 3. She donned the robe and oversaw the various exes confronting each other on the witness stand... and we really haven't seen just everything on our EOTB.

Last weekend, the MTV Movie & TV Awards returned to an in-person gala down in L.A. as we marked summer blockbuster season with the awarding of the golden popcorn bucket... and one category in the Unscripted portion hosted by The Bachelorette's Tayshia Adams saw one girl get shortlisted before even entering the villa. And as we return, she will have the honor of being the season's last ex to arrive to the villa... and that may spell bad news for a recently sparked romance between the judge and one of the last two singles to arrive. They came surprisingly from the Shack of Secrets, and it's in here that another couple might see the end to their relationship when they get to do what Angela & Derrick did all the way back on the first episode of this series: a scan into each other's phones.

After the break, it's the 'Pulse of Week 10 of Season 5 of Ex On The Beach as we wind down quite the week Inside MTV Reality. And welcome to the weekend...

DC ExtraTime: "Come On Be My Baby Tonight"

*** CAUTION: This Post Contains Spoilers for Those Who Haven't Caught Up with Watching This Season So Far, Please Read with Caution Below. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

The story of MTV Reality represents the history of the non-scripted genre as it is recognized by fans and the industry, encompassing three decades of some of TV's most unique programming. As MTV's reality programming celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, DCBLOG's ExtraTime series will offer timely Flashback posts as we reflect on some of the most memorable moments, greatest shows, incredible personalities and unique backstories that has shaped this entire genre.

Last month, MTV marked three decades since the start of a new phase in its long life as a cable powerhouse: expanding beyond music videos into creating youth-oriented original programming and low-budget shows. Arguably the most notable of those was a series that mixed a documentary with aspects of daytime soap operas, and The Real World was the result of that mashup... and it began the channel's long and proud legacy as the undisputed pioneer of the reality genre.

Both MTV and Real World enjoyed an eight-year headstart on the competition in the genre in the U.S. -- which also included Road Rules and the first iterations of The Challenge, and the year 2000 marked the beginning of the modern era of reality TV... the first season of Survivor dominated the summer TV landscape, while Big Brother also began during what was traditionally a time for summer reruns... and it singlehandedly turned around CBS. That same year, the then 3rd place network was absorbed into the Viacom corporate umbrella for the first time with MTV, which was led by the mayhem that took over Times Square on a daily basis for Total Request Live.

After trips to California, Miami, Boston, Seattle and out of the continental United States to London and Hawaii, the summer of 2000 saw The Real World enter the new century with its first trip into the mid-South. And after a season in the fiftieth state that saw an unprecedented romance, a future Challenger battle alcohol abuse and plenty of blurred naked people, the Season 9 cast that invaded New Orleans made a lasting impact in many ways.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 3 - "More Than Friends?"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

It is now officially the month of June, which means reality shows are everywhere in the TV landscape - broadcast networks, cable and streaming. And if you're lucky enough to have a subscription to Paramount+ in addition to the MTV channel itself, get set for a bevy of goodies to come... and Season 3 of The Challenge: All-Stars rolls along in Panama. 

Last time out came one moment that happens just about every season that will sure get a triggering kind of moment for everyone: a replacement making their entrance. After both an injury and a family emergency put Tina and Jemmye on the same flight back home to America with Laterrian on Week 3, the queen of the first generation of The Challenge came in... and Beth wasted no time making her presence known -- well actually, she quit in that first daily she was in over heights. That saw her go into elimination where she beat out Kendal... but that was an undercard to the biggest All-Stars arena battle yet: Jordan beating Darrell in a battle of champions.

Thanks in part to Beth's entry into this game it has sure been turned on its head... but that is miniscule compared to what's going down next for both the Stars and the game itself. On a personal level, there's the question of whether interpersonal relationships may give way to $500-grand -- and we've seen plenty of that in our first two seasons... and even she might have a say in one of those budding things going on. But the one sign every season that the game is about to get a bit more eye-opening: a midseason twist may help draw the lines for what half #2 will be like... and again, it's what happens there one Star might put a friend's game over theirs.

Just ahead, DCBLOG brings you the 'Pulse of Week 4 of The Challenge All-Stars... and could the MTV King be making his way to yet another different show? See you after the break.

DC ExtraTime: An Ex On The Beach Goes Dating at The Hype House

BY DC CUEVA                         

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

   ESTIMATED READING TIME: 18 mins.

It is now summer in the television universe, which means the reality genre is once again taking center stage across the entire TV landscape. And fans have had plenty of devour in the first half of this year: Clayton on The Bachelor, the return of Celebrity Big Brother, the debut of American Song Contest, and the usual suspects of American Idol, Survivor and The Masked Singer. Two weeks ago, MTV marked the thirtieth birthday of its first & most famous entry into this field with The Real World, and it marked the occasion by unveiling a 2022 reality slate that mixes both old and new, including the newest addition to the Shore family of Buckhead Shore based in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the social media universe has continued to grow and grow in the mainstream, as you really can't go anywhere on your phone now without seeing a TikTok dance video or an Instagram funny clip in your app feed. For here, members of that community have been frequently featured in our ExtraTime series over the past decade, from the Paul brothers to Rachel Levin, and so many more... and even recently we showcased that time where the Siesta Key cast mingled with The Island Boys. Yes, you really can't get away from all these icons, don't you? It's everywhere nowadays.

Something seems to click whenever this two aspects of 2020's American life come crashing together, including three seasons of MTV's No Filter on its YouTube channel with Jake Paul's ex Tana Mongeau and YouTuber Bretman Rock. But this next story involves the most well-known clique in the TikTok universe, where before everything went down the drain in this world one of them went on a date with one who just proposed to his forever & ever... but before that was just looking for love, all after he found himself on a reality dating show. Care for a date at The Hype House?

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach 5 - The Exes Court, & Dump 'Em for Dollars

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and 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/TK

We are now into the month of June, which means that summer is now in full swing thanks to the long Memorial Day weekend last week... and if you were able to, it's likely you got to spend some time on the beach. That will be a familiar sight for those who are into reality dating television over the course of the coming months, and one show got a headstart on all the summer madness: Season 5 of MTV's Ex On The Beach down in the Canary Islands.

Last we were there, the house's biggest romance was offered its second big test of the early summer when her Love Island ex came to the Islands... but it wasn't the only change in occupancy in the EOTB villa. A late night blowup surrounding an air conditioner of all things led to not one, but two houseguests having their keys in the palace swiped away from them, and in a surprise trip to the Shack of Secrets saw it amount merely to an indoor beach entrance in dance show alum Jonathan and one of the few with no prior reality experience, Alain, taking their place. And things also got complicated just a tiny bit with the Double Shot Vegas couple, Derynn & Ricky.

As we return there, two romances may find itself at a crossroads: Kyra has gotten to know David quite a bit here, and Emily has just arrived --- and that may get a little bit more complex. If you saw him in the Lohan Beach Club, Mike was the life of the party... but the explosive nature of this show might prove that there is much more to him than what we got to see over in Greece. But our latest visit to the Table of Truth will see the various romances confront each other -- but in a totally different setting than what they've been used to this spring... and after various dinner dates, a prom night and even a game show, now they will have to face the judge.

The last time we made a trip to Exes Court, it was Devin who settled things with the love triangle surrounding Cameron on Season 3 three years ago. Now, what will happen when Mama Day dons the judge's robe and does her best imitation of Judge Judy? We will have that covered on the 'Pulse of Week 9 of Ex On The Beach 5 just ahead here, along with the show taking a cue from local television in the 70's and 80's for its midseason special. And we'll also say our congrats to another pair who are parents once again... we'll see you here next -- and welcome to the weekend...