The "Bold Type" series finale airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Freeform. Even though I got show divorced from it a few seasons ago — no regrets — I can admit that I'm curious to see how everything wraps up. |
 | | Sophie Turner sits for a portrait in a 2013 episode of "Portrait Artist of the Year."Amazon |
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'Portrait Artist of the Year' |
I've been watching bootlegs of this lightweight British competition series on YouTube for ages, and three seasons have finally made their way to a legal streaming option. |
Unlike most other reality contest shows, "Portrait" is done in heats, which allows for a wider range of contestants and more single-serving attachments to various participants. Three different celebrities sit for portraits in each episode, and artists get four hours to create a likeness; most — though not all — are painters, and styles vary. |
So does the quality. Many of the portraits created on the show are not very good, or rather, many are lovely works that have at best a passing resemblance to their subject. While it's not the focus of the judging portion, the celebrities do pick their favorite portraits of themselves, and that moment is often a juicy little aside. Oh, that's how you see yourself? Hmm. |
Because the episodes churn through so many participants, there's no room for back stabbing or gameplay strategy. On the one hand, this lends an air of professionalism and decency. On the other, you lose some intimacy and urgency — you truly can watch just one episode at a time. If you like "The Great Pottery Throwdown" or are in touch with your artistic side, try this. |
I will never pack my knives and go. |
 | | From left, Shota Nakajima, Gabe Erales and Dawn Burrell in a scene from "Top Chef."David Moir/Bravo |
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When to watch: Thursday at 8 p.m., on Bravo. |
This season of "Top Chef" has been among the show's best — terrific cheftestants; intriguing challenges; marginally less-garish product placement; and best of all, an emotionally invested judging panel from within the "Top Chef" fam. Not only was it nice to see some All Stars, but the alumni judges had more legitimacy than the random guest judges from other seasons did. They also offered more guidance. |
"Top Chef" filmed in Portland, Ore., during the pandemic, and it's one of few shows to have dealt openly with the restrictions and the despair. The bubble created in order to produce the show meant the judges seemed more invested, and the cheftestants seemed more motivated. Although the show's commitment to the paradigm that all food is inherently autobiographical grows wearisome, it does make the show feel personal, which was a special relief after months of not meeting anyone at all. |
But I'm curious to see how unscripted shows in particular will continue (I hope) to change in the coming months. For a year, we were all the stars of our own horrible little reality shows, trapped in a house, re-enacting the same conflicts every day, agonizing over trivial matters, expressing ourselves only through screen-mediated communication, reliant on outside forces to dictate what otherwise would have been ordinary behaviors. It sucked! But between hardening our hearts just to get through and our suddenly having enough time to binge all the reality TV we could handle, the contestant pool and the audience for future shows (otherwise known as … uh … all of society) has changed. I wonder how our entertainment will change along with us. |
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