Welcome to Unscripted. A twice-weekly check-in for people who watch too much reality TV and somehow still want more. At Bracketology HQ, aka my living room, we eat, sleep, and breathe reality TV. Our goal is to deliver the stories that actually mattered this week straight to your inbox, so you’re still in the know even if you didn’t catch every episode. Miss something we should be covering? Send it my way.
-Kaitlyn, Bracketology Co-Founder
TRENDING
Netflix is at it again with the dating ‘experiments’ - they just dropped the trailer for Age Is Just a Number, a new show hosted by Nick Viall and Natalie Joy that keeps contestants’ ages hidden. Simple premise, potentially messy execution.
It’s officially the end of an era on The Great British Bake Off. Prue Leith is stepping away, and her replacement has been announced. Cautiously open-minded, but it won’t feel the same without Prue.
Survivor launched a nationwide idol hunt tied to Season 50 this week, sending fans across the country in search of clues. Demand was high enough to crash the CBS website shortly after launch.
Love Is Blind is coming off its least successful season yet, with none of the Season 9 couples making it to two “I dos.” This week, the show revealed the Season 10 cast and announced the next setting will be Ohio. Not a city. The entire state.
Bracketology has expanded into the Bravoverse with new prediction pools, where players can win real cash by forecasting what happens on The Real Housewives, Summer House, and beyond.
HEADLINES
🏰 When The Traitors Drama Escapes the Castle
📲 Have you joined The Traitors fantasy league? It’s not too late.
The Traitors had an unusually loud off-screen week, proving that for this cast, the game did not end when they left the castle.
Last week’s Episode 6 was fiery, but things escalated when Lisa Rinna publicly called out Colton Underwood on Threads, resurfacing his very real and very serious stalking history. Bachelor Nation may remember Colton’s 2019 season for the now-infamous fence jump after his front-runner Cassie Randolph left the show. The two dated briefly, but in 2020, Cassie was granted a restraining order after alleging that Colton stalked her and placed a tracking device on her car.
Not long after Rinna’s post made the rounds, The Traitors official account shared a familiar reminder asking fans to stop harassing contestants online. It is a message networks seem to issue more often lately, usually after the drama they happily amplified spills a little too far off-screen.
Then came the post-show fallout. After being banished from the castle, Ron Funches addressed his experience publicly, describing it as far more difficult than what viewers saw. He credited the show with helping surface unresolved trauma that ultimately led to his autism diagnosis, and accused Dorinda Medley of saying “truly terrible things” that never made it to air.
On a lighter note, Ron has been very clear that his favorite part of The Traitors experience… was Rob. Same, Ron. Same.
🌹💒 The Two Reality TV Lives of Taylor Frankie Paul
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is gearing up for its March 12 return, and the Season 4 teaser suggests the fallout from last year is far from settled. Friendships are strained, tensions are high, and as usual, the entire season will drop at once, giving viewers plenty of time to immerse themselves in the mess.
At the center of it all is Taylor Frankie Paul, whose profile has only grown since last season aired. Outside of Mormon Wives, Taylor has been busy wrapping a very different reality TV chapter. She confirmed in late December that she finished filming her season of The Bachelorette, teasing that she “can’t wait to talk all about it.” Her season will premiere Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, moving the franchise to Sunday nights after years of Bachelor Mondays.
Taylor’s casting has already split Bachelor Nation. Some longtime fans see the choice as a clear deviation from tradition, while others say they have not watched The Bachelorette in years and are planning to tune back in specifically because Taylor has proven to be good TV.
By the time she starts handing out roses, many viewers will have already binge-watched one version of Taylor navigating her friendships that predate fame. The Bachelorette-version is about to play out in real time. Love the casting decision or hate it, people are already talking. And for a Bachelor franchise that has more than struggled to find its footing recently, that’s really all producers could hope for.
Will you be watching this season of The Bachelorette?
WHAT CAUGHT OUR EYE?
The Traitors is well-known for its fashion, but the outfits at last night’s banquet may have set a new standard. Please enjoy.
ASK THE AUDIENCE
As someone who has loved Rob Rausch since his first appearance on Love Island, I couldn’t be more thrilled that the rest of America is finally catching on. But he can’t be the only reality heart throb on TV right now.
Which begs the question… Who’s your current reality TV crush? Respond to this email letting us know & we’ll include our favorite answers in next week’s newsletter!
