When I wrote my first post for the relaunch of Psychic Damage, I said we were in a "blessed era" because of all the reality game shows that are currently airing. But as each production tries to shake up its format—particularly the Dutch and American Traitors—their gameplay has become quite chaotic, with more and more producer intervention in a bid to shape the narrative of each season. So while I do feel blessed by this abundance of content, I think it's fair to say this is a very messy era too!
February Blog Posts
⭐ A purple edit and an anti-millionaire hate crime: I watched the first season of The Traitors Canada, which was riveting until its most interesting players were killed off.
⭐ I believe in aliens. I have conspiracy theories. I love cartoons.: The Traitors US S02 is bonkers. (The title of this post is a direct quote from Love Island icon Ekin-Su.)
⭐ From dry Melba toast to diabolical duo, and "drama by design": On the tension between The Traitors as a game and as a TV show, particularly in America.
⭐ De Mol takes Belgium by bike to tease its new season: Thanks to some cryptic Strava posts, we found out that De Mol will debut on March 17th this year.
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| "I believe in aliens. I have conspiracy theories. I love cartoons." |
Miscellaneous Links
🔗 The Traitors star Diane Cardon offered a fizzy rosé deal with Lidl: That's it, that's the headline. (The "deal" is actually just a cheeky tweet by the German supermarket.)
🔗 Defector's Kelsey McKinney, host of the excellent Normal Gossip: "The Traitors, for me and many of my friends, is appointment television now. We text each other about what happened. We meet up for drinks to discuss the gameplay decisions made. We devise strategies we would use if (in some alternate universe) we were to be cast."
🔗 My other favourite podcast Rehash just started a new season: "Hillary Clinton does not have joy in her soul, I don’t think she watches Housewives." — Maia
Picture of the Month
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| Former De Mol stars play padel together (via @gillesvanbouwel on Instagram) |
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