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...